Students unable to find housing with service dogs

American students from Montreal — Tobias and CJ — have been trying to find a place to live with their service dogs Winston and Shadow since March. But every landlord they meet are refusing their dogs.

The pair calling for a ban of no-pet clauses.

“We’ve been denied because we have dogs. We have service dogs. When you combine that with the financial position that people with disabilities are in, it creates this storm where even people who have clear service dogs have clear protection under this charter for human rights don’t have the money to pay for the places that would allow them without a fight and have no way to fight back,” explained Tobias Gurl.

“There’s also the emotional impact of knowing that you’re not wanted of feeling like you don’t belong. That you are not allowed to be part of this community because of who you are.”

Quebec is one of the province’s that still legally allows landlords to forbid animals.

“When we send the promise to lease to them, they go over all of our financials and in the past they’ve gone, Oh yeah, we really like your financial profile, but we don’t like the dogs. And we’re like, But they’re service dogs. Yeah,” explained CJ.

“If you cannot find a place to live, it affects every other part of your life,” said Gurl.

Gurl has anxiety, major depression and is seeking diagnosis for autism.

His service dog Winston appeases a lot of hurdles that would otherwise take over and stint Gurl’s ability to work and study.

“Having an animal in my life is emotionally and logistically important. People think of dogs as This is so much work. You have to get up in the morning and walk them. I look at it as if I don’t have a dog I don’t have a reason to get up in the morning,” explained Gurl.

“There is nothing that will compel me to get out of bed at a healthy hour. So I will stay here and it becomes increasingly harder to get up. So the needs of a dog are actually very important for some of my disabilities.”

CJ has anxiety and PTSD, her service dog shadow helps her when she has flashbacks and symptoms of anxiety.

“When I have flashbacks, he immediately starts licking me. And he also when I have flashbacks or bad dreams, he also wakes me up. So it’s like it helps me stay present and in the moment and I suffer less. But it also because I suffer less.”

Tobias Gurl with service dog. (Photo Credit: Brittany Henriques, CityNews)

Gurl adding, “It’s very clearly spelled out in Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights. That disability and measures taken to palliate a disability are covered. Um, that you cannot deny service to someone for those, including in areas of housing.

“This is very, very clear. But the combination of being unable to prove this is a service dog, especially if you’re from outside of the country and dealing with all of those assorted barriers. And the fact there is no enforcement mechanism for that law to mean that, yes, it is illegal to refuse housing to someone on the basis of them having a service dog. But in practice it is completely legal.”

In a statement to CityNews the Montreal SPCA says the issue is not uncommon and the housing tribunal has found it to be against the charter of rights and freedoms but adding – the scarcity of animal-friendly housing is one of the main reasons why animals end up being surrendered to shelters in the province.

“When the problem is that you can’t get a lease it creates an obvious loophole. Just don’t rent to the tenants in the first place and they won’t be a problem,” said Gurl.

“If you cannot find a place to live, it affects every other part of your life. It affects your ability to open a bank account. It affects your ability to get a library card. You can’t receive mail. So anything that requires an address you can’t do. You don’t have stability, emotional, physical. You don’t have an ability to move in and out of a space to make it to appointments.”