Students will research state policies and case law related to nonrefundable pet fees and rents in rental housing in the United States. In addition to a nationwide survey of laws, The Humane Society hopes to understand the role courts have played a role in defining a “reasonable” nonrefundable pet fee. Students will have the opportunity to join work groups and participate in other educational activities related to intersectional work between affordable housing and animal welfare advocacy. Additionally, students who participate will have opportunities to collaborate on publishing articles on this topic and crafting polices for the Texas legislative session.
Organization
The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a national nonprofit working to end the cruelest practices in animal-related industries. One program within HSUS is called the Pets for Life program, which focuses on challenging the institutions within animal welfare and outside of animal welfare that create and perpetuate divisiveness, unjust policies, and the stark imbalance in resource accessibility. Nationwide data suggests that housing insecurity is the second highest cited reason for pet relinquishment (the most cited reason is cost of veterinary care). There has been a trend in recent years for landlords to charge nonrefundable fees and additional “pet rent” that have no relationship to cost of upkeep for units where pets are allowed places. These fees place an unreasonable burden on pet owners at a time when over 70% of rental households have at least one pet and nearly 10 million low- and extremely low-income renter households are severely housing-cost burdened (meaning they spent 50% or more of monthly income on housing costs).
Project Details
- Website
- http://www.humanesociety.org
- Project Start Date
February 2021
- Approximate hours of work requested
- Approximately 25 hours total over the course of the semester; students will turn in a spreadsheet with state laws and summary of any relevant litigation by the end of the semester
- Training
- TBD based on student volunteer availability; training will be provided by the Texas State Director, Lauren Loney, on an ongoing basis and students will be encouraged to view several recorded webinars on the relationship between affordable housing and companion animal welfare
- Skills used
- Legal research/writing
- Project location
- Students will work with the HSUS Texas State Director via online collaboration or in person (safety permitting!)
- Address
- 1255 23rd Street NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20037
- Number of student volunteers requested
- 4
- Class year preference
- 1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
- Required skills
- Strong research and writing skills required; students with an interest in affordable housing, animal welfare preferred but not required.
- To Apply
- Register at https://pets4lifesp21.eventbrite.com