Whilst the pros and cons of whether to accept dogs or not is a topic that has been widely documented on holiday cottage blog pages, the question of whether ‘pet free’ holiday cottages should accept an assistance dog is much less commonly asked. Perhaps this isn’t a question you have considered. Or it is one of those topics that is still sitting on your ‘to do’ list to research. Or maybe accepting assistance dogs is something that you would actively like to encourage in your holiday cottage.
This article looks at the laws surrounding assistance dogs, and what it means for you as a holiday cottage owner. It attempts to answer questions such as what exactly is an assistance dog? As a holiday cottage owner am I legally obliged to accept assistance dogs? And what are the benefits of accepting assistance dogs into my holiday cottage?
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs are most commonly thought of as guide dogs for people who are blind or visually impaired. Whilst this is broadly correct, assistance dogs can provide assistance to any person with a disability. This might include for example, people with hearing difficulties, physical mobility problems, epilepsy, autism or psychiatric disabilities. According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, thousands of people rely on assistance dogs every day to help them carry out activities that many people take for granted.
Assistant dogs are not pets. Not only are they vital to their owners’ mobility and independence, but they go through years of intensive training and are very unlikely to damage your property in any way. It’s also extremely unlikely that an assistance dog will be left alone in a property given the vital role they perform for their owner.
The law
Assistance dog owners have important rights under the Equality Act 2010 (for England, Scotland and Wales) and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (for Northern Ireland). It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because they have a disability. If you are a holiday cottage owner, it is therefore against the law to treat people with disabilities less favourably than anyone else because of their disability, or because they have an assistance dog with them. In order to ensure this happens, the Equality Act 2010 states that ‘reasonable adjustments’ should be put in place.
What are reasonable adjustments?
There is no set criteria of what constitutes a ‘reasonable adjustment’. It is up to each service provider to interpret this in a way that is sensible and relevant for their business. What is reasonable for a large chain of hotels is going to be different for a single holiday cottage owner. Equally, what is reasonable for a rural, pet friendly holiday cottage with a large enclosed garden and plenty of dog accessories might differ from a town house that opens onto a busy road, has four flights of narrow stairs and is furnished with white sofas and cream carpet throughout. However, there are a few ‘reasonable adjustments’ that can be applied across all holiday cottages.
For any holiday cottage owner it is reasonable to waive a no dog policy. The Equality and Human Rights Commission states that “it would be unlawful to refuse access to a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog except in the most exceptional circumstances”. Refusing assistance dogs on religious grounds or because other people might be allergic or consider them unclean is also unlawful and it would be seen as discriminatory to charge an assistance dog owner extra for cleaning. It would also be unlawful to increase your damage deposit, or introduced a new charge, specifically for guests with assistance dogs.
You can make sure that you have positive policies in place. For example, amend your ‘no dogs’ policy to allow assistance dogs and ensure you have an up-to-date Access Statement. This should be easily accessible and should clearly state what facilities your house does or does not have and any other practical information that would be relevant to a guest with a disability.
Remember that holidays are important to us all, regardless of the need for an assistance dog. We all want to feel comfortable and relaxed whilst on holiday, so as holiday cottage owners, we have a duty of care to point out what might not be suitable to any potential guest. Point out any physical characteristics that cannot be easily changed, for example low ceilings or doorways, uneven floor surfaces and steps or changes in floor height. Such information should be disclosed to all guests, not just those with accessibility requirements so that each guest can make an informed decision based on their specific needs.
It is reasonable to show a proactive willingness to help. For example, ask a guest what you can do to accommodate them as best as you can. If you have any questions regarding a guest’s specific access requirements, or their assistance dog, simply ask them, or contact a relevant organisation. It is essential to maintain a good dialogue with the holidaymaker during the booking process in order to ensure that the property as a whole is suitable for the guests’ needs and to manage guests’ expectations.
Take the assistance dog’s needs into account too. This might include access to an enclosed garden, providing a dog bowl, dog bed, blankets, poo bags and even some treats.
Ensure all alarms are audible and any signs are legible. The Guide Dogs for the Blind charity recommends that large print should be “a size 20 Arial font with a good contrast between the text and the background, for example a black font on a white or yellow background”.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but following these good practices will go a long way to making reasonable adjustments to accommodate a person who relies on the support of an assistance dog.
Good for business
As the owner of a holiday cottage, not only do you have legal obligations to accept assistance dogs and their owners, but it also makes sense from a business point of view. According to Assistance Dogs UK there are over 7,000 working guide dogs in the UK. That is a lot of potential holiday makers. Making your holiday cottage a comfortable and welcoming place for assistance dogs and their owners to stay could result in repeat guests, good reviews and more bookings.
We advertise as no pets for none of the above reasons, we chose no pets so that we can offer people who have allergy intolerance’s a safe play to stay, in the full knowledge that they are safe from pet allergies- having a pet or assistance dog would mean that our guests who do have pet allergies would not be safe and our advertising would not be correct and people wanting confidence that its a safe place to visit would not be able to stay.
So whats right ?surely there has to be a way that people with allergies can be safe too, you cant have one if you have the other!
We do try and help ie. one guest wanted to bring a parrot- we let it stay in our house and our guests came an fed it each day.
We have had a hedgehog bought into the cottage , dogs on two occasions without our knowledge in one cottage and were found sleeping and being fed in the bedroom, then last year two dogs were spotted being taken into our second cottage and they where asked to remove them. We had to thoroughly clean for future quests and the worry is you havnt done enough for the allergy friendly sector and they might have a reaction despite best efforts so that leads to a worry. We try and cater as best we can and have hearing devices fro those with hearing disabilities but owners do have to sometimes make choices as to what they can do.
I am currently in the process of having a new website so advice on wording and legalities would be much appreciated
Hi Pat, thank you for contributing and I do appreciate your comments and concerns with regard to allergy sufferers. We carried out the research as this subject was highlighted by a couple of owners and we wanted to raise awareness of the legalities surrounding accepting assistance dogs. I hope you have found the article interesting.
We do of course recommend that owners do their own research to draw their own conclusions. From our interpretation of the current legislation, it appears clear to us that holiday home owners have a legal obligation to accept assistance dogs. For owners who offer ‘pet-free’ accommodation, possibly it is sensible to add a clause to booking terms and conditions to highlight the fact that whilst pets are not generally accepted, by law assistance dogs are so may on occasions stay in the cottage.
Hello,
I have just come across the assistance dog issue in our self catering holiday home. I had an enquiry asking if we would do 2 nights in November/early December for somebody with their carer. I replied normally no but in this case yes and quoted a price. Our website says no pets. I got a reply thanking me saying ‘ I also need to say I have a medical fully qualified assistants dog, very very well behaved.’ I emailed back and said ‘Sorry but we don’t take dogs’. He then emailed me back to say it is illegal not to accept Assistance Dogs. I checked the legislation and he appears to be right. I am shocked and saddened at this as I don’t want to discriminate against a person because of a disability, far from it . However, is it discriminating saying no dogs to all guests whether they have a disability or not? There are lots of self catering holiday homes that do take dogs.
Thank you for sharing your experience Jerry and I think the legislation surprises a good number of holiday home owners which is why we felt compelled to write the article.
Hi. My asthma is a real disability to me, I am allergic to anything with feathers or fur. Also contact dermatitis from animal saliva and urine. I do the cleaning and even stay in my holiday home sometimes. Is my disability more or less important than someone who has a choice to visit my holiday home or not? If I am hospitalised can I sue them? Thanks.
Hi Hazel, it is a valid and interesting point you have raised and one I have pondered myself many times with regard to other guests staying who have severe allergies. Unfortunately I cannot answer your questions but would be very interested to hear from anyone who has first hand knowledge.
My wife is highly allergic to animals to the point she has been hospitalised after entering premises that stipulated no animals and told us no animals present but ‘Forgot’ they had a dog that came in when cleaning! Severe Allergies/ asthma are equally protected (or should be) under the EA2010. We struggle to find a pub/ hotel that does not allow animals at all which makes it very difficult to eat out sometimes and a nightmare when booking away time. It is just as discriminatory to people with severe allergies to allow dogs at all. But the balance these days is always towards the animals. We were recently abused by dog owners in a park because we tried to stop a dog jumping over us. We have had to get off busses where dogs travelling free appear to have more rights the fare paying passengers, where small dogs sit without mats on seats, that we touch with our hands! There must be respect for allergy sufferers under EA2010 as well so those who do stop all animals (including service animals) from the bottom of my heart thank you!
As a Guide dog owner I feel compelled to write a comment here. I am a young woman who lost their sight suddenly at the age of 24. I originally used a white cane to navigate but unfortunately had to apply for a guide dog due to severe nerve damage which causes numbness and severe pain. (It is essential to be able to feel the vibrations in the cane to know surface changes and obstacles.)
I have now had my dog for 3 and a half years and often book holidays in dog friendly accommodation not because I don’t know the law but because unfortunately there are many people who don’t know the legalities around accepting assistance dogs. I have in the past experienced access refusals to shops and leisure facilities and I just thought it may be helpful to know how it feels to be refused access. I absolutely loved having my guide dog as I felt like there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do with her by my side. Do all of the normal things that I find sighted people (myself included when I could see) take for granted. Traveling independently, grabbing a coffee, going shopping, getting to work and going on holiday. When you are refused access it is demoralising, extremely upsetting and hurtful. I have in the past year suffered with severe anxiety due to the thought of being refused access to places. As much as I can appreciate that people who have allergies also want to enjoy time away it is against the law to refuse access to an assistance dog and their owner as you are treating them less favourably which is what The Equality Act 2010 states. Reasonable adjustments must be made, these can be as simple as saying no dogs upstairs or on the furnishings, it will then be easier to clean once the property has been vacated. Our dogs are groomed daily to minimise the amount of shedding.
I notice that a number of people have made comments about dogs on here but they all seem to relate to pet dogs. An assistance do IS NOT a pet dog and has spent two years intensively training. They should have a good bond with their owner who is able to handle the dog to ensure the high standards are upheld. A guide dog will not be left in the property alone as they are our eyes and without them we cannot navigate even walking safely on a pavement.
It is very upsetting to know that there is so much animosity against working assistance dogs and their owners. I did not ask to lose my sight, or to not be able to use a white cane and if I could have my sight back I would in a heartbeat purely and simply for the way it makes you feel knowing that people are not accepting of my disability. I am proud of the things that I have done since having my guide dog and I hope that this will help people understand that an assistance dog is not a pet nor is it a choice that we take likely when applying for one. All we ask is that we are treated equally to any other person as that is exactly what we are, a human being.
Thank you for raising this subject and I hope it is a little clearer what the law states as well as how it can make someone feel when they are treated differently because of their disability.
Hi,
Interesting to read this article and thank you for providing the information.
My query is a bit different as it’s not regarding self catering accomodation, I can’t find what I’m looking for exactly so I am hoping for some guidance.
I run a camp site and we do not allow dogs, this is because we have sheep located near (and sometimes on) the site. Now I know assistance dogs would be of absolutely no concern to my sheep – I know that, my sheep do not. Where my sheep are is right next to cliffs, their park isn’t fully fenced as that would not be feasible. I’ve recently had enquiries regarding bring assistance dogs and I do not under any circumstance want to discrimate against anyone requiring an assistance dog, and I do understand they are very well trained and behaved, however when it is impossible to explain that to my sheep (who were all orphans and hand reared, so are my actual pets) what position does that leave me in legally? I did allow someone on with an assistance dog 2 years ago and he was very disrespectful, did some very dubious things (including taking his dog into the park with my sheep without the dog on a lead) and I wondered if I had maybe been conned.
Any clarity or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sammy, very interesting question. Sadly I am not able to answer it but maybe someone else will be able to reply to this and provide further guidance?
Hi Sammy. A genuine assistance dog owner will have official documentation showing that their dog is an authorised assistance dog. Unfortunately it is possible to buy assistance dog vests, leads etc from the internet and unscrupulous people will claim that their pet is an assistance dog. For those who do have a genuine assistance dog I’m afraid that you have no choice but to allow them at your accommodation. A genuine assistance dog owner should respect your concerns regarding the sheep and not allow their dog to be in a position to cause them worry. Most genuine owners will have no problem showing you documentation regarding their dog however you cannot discriminate them, if you do you risk being fined up to £9,000.
Hi Jim, unfortunately you are not correct, there is no legal requirement for documentation and owner trained dogs are just as valid. BUT – any genuine AD handler will act responsibly at all times and remove their dog if it is behaving inappropriately, and we are still required to follow the usual codes to ensure safety of animals etc, and a business is permitted to ask an AD to be removed if it is causing a problem, so if seen walking offlead with sheep the business would be jusitifed in asking them to remove the dog from the premises without fear of repurcussions.
Hello,
Assistance dog users are not required to carry documentation for their assistance dog.
Regards,
Sally
Hi,
I too have sheep and alpacas, sometimes with babies, who will freak at the sight of a strange dog. We also have free range chickens, guinea fowl and cats. We live on a smallholding where the accommodation is too. Having a strange dog, pet or otherwise would be impossible.
The welfare of other animals is a valid reason to limit the areas an assistance dog can go, and most of us are very sensible about it. You still have to make reasonable adjustments, so perhaps think about ways of ensuring the animals and assistance dog are not in the same area. So long as I can get in and out of the property with my dog on the lead, that’s all I need. The equality act is about my rights and not my dog’s. It doesn’t give my dog ‘access all areas’ and there is no way I would let her off the lead with livestock nearby. For exercise, I would take her somewhere without animals. But if the cottage can only be accessed through a field full of dog-wary animals, or if you have concerns, talk to us… we don’t want to put our animals in harm’s way either! They are amazing, highly trained professionals and their work allows us to do things everyone else takes for granted.
To address another point, severe asthma is also covered by the equality act, and people with severe asthma are also to be afforded reasonable adjustments where necessary. But the act is applied case by case. Most of us (assistance dog handlers) prefer to go for pet friendly accommodation if it is available, just because it is easier and tends to have more of what we need. But where supply is limited and other access considerations come in to play (eg needing step free accommodation, or needing to be in a particular location for access reasons) it is awful when you are refused access on the grounds that a hypothetical future customer might have different needs. Like your other commenter above, I can confirm that assistance dogs are kept clean and well groomed, and are well trained not to jump on furniture etc. We also obsessively take lint rollers and cleaning stuff everywhere, just because I don’t want someone to have to clean up after me. People with dog sensitive asthma presumably check before booking that there hasn’t been a dog in, so the property owner is in a good position to be able to tell them if an assistance dog has been in under the reasonable adjustment part of the EA, and how long ago that was. The customer can then advise what adjustments would be necessary, if any. I am currently trying to find accommodation for our next holiday and I am really struggling at the moment. I do not want to go where we are not welcome, for obvious reasons, but i am being turned away due to having an assistance dog.
Emma, if you’re being turned away because you have an assistance dog then report the owners/management to the local council. The organisation that provided me with my assistance dog are very proactive with dealing with contraventions of the Equality Act. There was an issue with one of the members being refused entry to a number of taxis with his dog, the drivers were reported to the council and dealt with swiftly. I appreciate that it may feel easier just to move on and try another place but the message really needs to be put out there that we cannot be treated differently.
The solution to this problem would exist and it literally falls down to this:
How about you simply book somewhere that allows pets? There’s this thing called a filter on the booking sites, where you can literally tick a box “Pets allowed”. And only properties will come up that allow pets. Simple, but no… sadly, some people with disabilities are so self-entitled, they take advantage of the legislation and force it upon hosts that do not accept pets.
Hi, this is something that you would need to ask your local planning department and/or accountant
We have a small rental studio in the garden of our property.
We love animals, but we specify no pets as we have 2 rescue cats which roam freely in our garden. One of our cats was attacked so badly by a dog that he had to have his eye removed last year. This cat is now so distressed at even the sight/sound of a dog. We have had to have him sedated twice and removed from the top of a tree where he’d been for around 6 hours, petrified and drooling.
We have just received a booking with absolutely no prior communication re a service dog.
The guest has added at the end of her message re restaurants ‘by the way, I am also happy to answer any questions you may have about my assistance dog and can provide his certification paperwork if needed.’
I completely understand and agree with non discrimination and would never dream of cancelling a booking due to a guests disability. But how is this situation fair on us and our animals? I’m supposed to sit back and watch my own animal become distressed. The guests didn’t even have the courtesy to speak about her service animal during any of the communication prior to booking. Presented it to me as an afterthought knowing I now have no option.
I seriously recommend guests with service animals be open and upfront with accommodation providers. This lack of communication causes ill feeling on both sides which is not what any of us want.
I’m appalled at the lack of decency this woman has shown towards us and our property and also feel hurt knowing this will impact our animals welfare.
There should be common sense involved on both sides.
Hello,
It is against the law for anyone to require the disclosure of the use of an assistance dog in advance. This would be equivalent to requiring wheelchair users to disclose their use of a wheelchair before entering any public place.
It is a discriminatory practice to require this.
Disabled people have the right to move about freely like all other people.
Regards,
Sally
I have only just discovered from talking with a colleague, that it appears that the Equality Act 2010 requires that all holiday properties, regardless of whether they allow dogs MUST allow assistance dogs where a guest requires this. I run a holiday business. I have not yet had enquiries or bookings from any persons with an assisted dog but would like to be clear of the consequences of this policy for those guests who need to be especially sure that no dogs have resided in the property before them.
Over the last 6 years we had a small number of guests in our property who suffered variously from one or more medical conditions, some serious, that required them to select a dog free property. If such a guest books a property and is subsequently informed ( or worse, not informed ) that another guest has booked the preceding week with an assistance dog, this is strongly and clearly discriminatory to the guest requiring the dog free property who may then need to cancel or suffer from exacerbated health problems such as anaphylactic shock or asthma attack.
Even with deep cleaning and with the best behaved highly trained assistance dog it is simply not possible to guarantee that the property be 100% free from dog saliva, dander, hairs, urine and excreta. This cannot be mitigated, especially where it is normal to have only 5 to 7 hours gap between guests, and impossible if carpets, rugs, gapped floorboards or soft furnishings are contaminated.
I have checked the main agent sites to see what proportion of holiday properties are dog friendly. I checked Scotland, Wales and England with each agent. Each of these agents provides more dog friendly properties in every main region. This is easy to verify. So guests with assisted dogs already have a better level of choice than guests that need a dog free property. One can easily do a search and count for properties that allow and disallow dogs then note down the numbers. Guests looking for dog free properties are even more disadvantaged by the Equality Act 2010 because it is no longer possible for them to choose with any certainty, a property which is dog free.
All decent human beings want and need to consider those less fortunate and not to discriminate against them. This must however include those with health conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis or susceptibility to anaphylaxis related to dog allergies.
I think the Equality Act 2010 needs to be adjusted such that only those properties which already allow dogs cannot discriminate against guests with assistance dogs. Otherwise those guests requiring ( not wanting, but requiring ) dog free properties are disadvantaged and put at risk by effectively having NO properties available that can be guaranteed dog free. This is discriminatory to the extent of being incredulous. It is also unsafe.
I see on this discussion that some are making claims about high levels animosity towards those requiring assistance dogs. This is nonsense and only serves to inflame discussions and cloud objectivity.
Surely it should be about providing an option for everyone. There are lots of pet friendly accommodation options for those with assistance animals. What option is there for those with sometimes life threatening allergies if assistance animals must be permitted in all accommodation? Or is it okay to discriminate against those individuals?
Nico,
I agree 100% with what you have written. The legislation needs review to take account of allergies, asthma, anaphylaxis ( life threatening) and the serious consequences of these being triggered by a dog being in the room over at least 48 hours ( minimum 2 night stay) checking out at 11am and new guests who booked a no pets space checking in three hours later. Interestingly I recently had this situation in my Airbnb studio, third floor, tiny space, wooden floors, no outside space, town centre. I have asthma, am very allergic to dogs and cats and have once suffered anaphylaxis. As I would need to go in to clean and because I advertise my space as suitable for allergy sufferers Airbnb advised that under their rules I could decline the enquiry.
Lynn
As a holiday cottage guest, I appreciate that many cottage owners are unaware of their legal duties. But just as as you have a duty to educate yourself about about health and safety rules when renting out a property, which I am sure you all check up on and ensure all those legal requirements are met, then similarly equality legislation awareness is also part of the preparation for renting out a property.
I have an adult daughter with a number of complex illnesses who has a fully certified assistance dog, who also alerts her to medical crises. We have just this morning enquired about a cottage rental and clearly explained that it was not a pet, but a certified assistance dog and we’re just given a reply, no pets. We have sent further details and alerting them to the situation and await their reply.
My daughter is also a wheelchair user, so we are only able to rent cottages with a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, so this considerably narrows our choices, so we can’t just choose another property which allows pets. She has limited opportunities to go on holiday and we cannot risk a holiday abroad. She faces enough discrimination in her life, going into different buildings, accessing care and medical support, so where the law does actually protect her, it would be good to see it followed.
Assistance dogs have lots of training and we went through different independent assessments to achieve certification. They are not a pet, they are a lifeline to so many people.