Therapy dog causes tenancy row
Church minister alleges bullying over autistic son's labradoodle
An Anglican Church minister has taken his former landlord to the Tenancy Tribunal, claiming harassment after being told to get rid of his son’s therapy labradoodle.
Reverend Simon Falconer and wife Jessica claimed their former landlord bullied them after realising they were keeping a dog as a comfort companion for autistic son Sam. However, Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Kaye Stirling rejected their claim, saying there was not enough evidence to prove harassment.
The saga began after Brenda Currie, Oxygen.co.nz property manager for the Lower Hutt rental, appeared to fail to notice the Falconers had written on their application that they owned a therapy dog.
Simon Falconer didn’t write he owned a pet under the main heading on the tenancy application form, adjudicator Stirling said.
Instead he wrote under the heading pet details: “Therapy labradoodle — 2 years old; therapy certification available on request.”
The family’s application was subsequently accepted and they moved into the rental on a one-year lease last October.
On learning about the dog, named Griffin, Currie sent the Falconers an email 13 days later.
“I have been informed that you have a family pet dog. As you know, the tenancy agreement states no pets. Can you please confirm if this is correct?” she wrote.
Jessica Falconer replied the same day, saying she was “a little puzzled by your email”.
“We do not have a pet at our house. Nor do we have a family dog. What we do have is a registered service animal.”
She said the family had declared the therapy dog in their application and that it was unlawful under the Human Rights Act to discriminate against someone with a disability over housing.
Currie then told property owner, Lina Shao, who asked Currie to seek legal advice because she considered the rental unsuitable for pets. The tenants were given a 14-day notice to remove the dog.
However, after the Falconers complained again, Currie requested they provide a copy of their animal’s service dog certification. She said that, once given this, the landlord could close the file and “apply all the rights that service dogs are entitled to”.
Owner Shao told the Tenancy Tribunal that after the certificate was handed over neither she nor her property manager, Oxygen.co.nz, took any further steps to evict Griffin but the Falconers argued the harassment continued.
They said they were told by lawyer friends the owner had sought further legal advice and claimed that neighbours had said they were keeping an eye on them on behalf of Shao. The Falconers said Sam dreaded he might lose the dog.
Shao, for her part, said she was very upset by the harassment allegations. She told the tribunal she only heard of the allegation when the Falconers sent a letter saying they wished to vacate the rental early in August.
Shao submitted statements from two of the Falconers’ neighbours, saying they had not complained about the family, nor had passed on information to Shao.
The adjudicator said the Falconers had relied on hearsay evidence, which was not strong enough to back their claims of harassment.
Stirling dismissed the Falconers’ claims and their appeal to be released early from the tenancy.