{"id":4722,"date":"2019-03-24T19:42:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-24T19:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/?p=4722"},"modified":"2022-10-05T11:30:23","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T11:30:23","slug":"accepting-assistance-dogs-for-owners-of-pet-free-cottages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/accepting-assistance-dogs-for-owners-of-pet-free-cottages\/","title":{"rendered":"Do owners of pet-free holiday homes need to accept assistance dogs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Guide<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whilst the pros and cons of whether to accept dogs or not is\na topic that has been widely documented on holiday cottage blog pages, the\nquestion of whether \u2018pet free\u2019 holiday cottages should accept an assistance dog\nis much less commonly asked. Perhaps this isn\u2019t a question you have considered.\nOr it is one of those topics that is still sitting on your \u2018to do\u2019 list to research.\nOr maybe accepting assistance dogs is something that you would actively like to\nencourage in your holiday cottage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article looks at the laws surrounding assistance dogs,\nand what it means for you as a holiday cottage owner. It attempts to answer\nquestions such as what exactly is an assistance dog? As a holiday cottage owner\nam I legally obliged to accept assistance dogs? And what are the benefits of\naccepting assistance dogs into my holiday cottage?   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assistance dogs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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<\/a>, thousands of people rely on assistance dogs every day to help them carry out activities that many people take for granted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fluffy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Assistant dogs are not pets. Not only are they vital to their owners\u2019\nmobility and independence, but they go\nthrough years of intensive training and are very unlikely to damage your\nproperty in any way. It\u2019s also extremely\nunlikely that an assistance dog will be left alone in a property given the\nvital role they perform for their owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Assistance dog owners have important rights under the Equality Act 2010<\/a> (for England, Scotland and Wales) and Disability Discrimination Act 1995<\/a> (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 \u2018reasonable adjustments\u2019 should be put in place.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are reasonable adjustments?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no set criteria of what constitutes a \u2018reasonable\nadjustment\u2019. It is up to each service provider to interpret this in a way that\nis sensible and relevant for their business. What is reasonable for a large\nchain of hotels is going to be different for a single holiday cottage owner. Equally,\nwhat is reasonable for a rural, pet friendly holiday cottage with a large\nenclosed garden and plenty of dog accessories might differ from a town house\nthat opens onto a busy road, has four flights of narrow stairs and is furnished\nwith white sofas and cream carpet throughout. However, there are a few \u2018reasonable\nadjustments\u2019 that can be applied across all holiday cottages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For any holiday cottage owner it is reasonable to waive a no dog policy. The Equality and Human Rights Commission<\/a> states that \u201cit would be unlawful to refuse access to a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog except in the most exceptional circumstances\u201d. 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Blue<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can make sure that you have positive policies in place. For example, amend your \u2018no dogs\u2019 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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that holidays are important to us all, regardless of\nthe need for an assistance dog. We all want to feel comfortable and relaxed\nwhilst on holiday, so as holiday cottage owners, we have a duty of care to point\nout what might not be suitable to any potential guest. Point out any physical\ncharacteristics that cannot be easily changed, for example low ceilings or\ndoorways, uneven floor surfaces and steps or changes in floor height. Such\ninformation should be disclosed to all guests, not just those with\naccessibility requirements so that each guest can make an informed decision\nbased on their specific needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is reasonable to show a proactive willingness to help. For\nexample, ask a guest what you can do to accommodate them as best as you can. If\nyou have any questions regarding a guest\u2019s specific access requirements, or\ntheir assistance dog, simply ask them, or contact a relevant organisation. It\nis essential to maintain a good dialogue with the\nholidaymaker during the booking process in order to ensure that the property as\na whole is suitable for the guests\u2019 needs and to manage guests\u2019 expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the assistance dog\u2019s needs into account too. This might\ninclude access to an enclosed garden, providing a dog bowl, dog bed, blankets,\npoo bags and even some treats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ensure all alarms are audible and any signs are legible. The Guide\nDogs for the Blind charity recommends that large print should be \u201ca size 20\nArial font with a good contrast between the text and the background, for\nexample a black font on a white or yellow background\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This list is by no means exhaustive, but following these good\npractices will go a long way to making reasonable adjustments to accommodate a\nperson who relies on the support of an assistance dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good for business<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Golden<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u2018pet free\u2019 holiday cottages should accept an assistance dog is much less commonly asked. Perhaps this isn\u2019t a question you have considered. Or it is one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":4818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[63],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4722"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10002,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions\/10002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}