HHPC Pet Policies as of September, 2025
Residents who live at elderly properties are permitted to own common household pets. Service animals that are needed as a reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities are not considered pets, rather tools or auxiliary aids. Service animals are fully functional tools to assist individuals with disabilities. Emotional support animals (ESAs) are permitted as long as proper documentation that the animal is needed to support the mental and emotional well-being of the resident is submitted along with the other requirements of registration below. ESAs are also not considered pets.
Registration:
Pets, services animals, and ESAs must be registered with the property owner before they are brought onto the premises. Registration includes documentation signed by a licensed veterinarian or state/local authority that the pet has received all inoculations required by state or local law, and that the pet has no communicable disease(s) and is free of fleas and pests. Documentation that proves that the service animal is trained and certified as such is required. Documentation from a therapist that the ESAs is required must be submitted as part of the registration process. Registration must be renewed annually and all documents submitted. This will be coordinated with the annual re-certification date for lease renewal.
Animals will not be approved to reside in a unit until the registration requirements have been completed. The following animals are not permitted:
- Any animal not permitted under state or local law or code
In the case of fish, residents may keep no more than can be maintained in a safe and healthy manner in a tank holding up to 10 gallons. Such a tank or aquarium will be counted as 1 pet.
The name, address, and phone number of one or more responsible parties who will care for the pet if the pet owner dies, is incapacitated, or is otherwise unable to care for the pet must be provided as part of the registration process and verified or updated annually.
Pet owners may be required to pay a pet deposit in addition to any other required deposits. The pet deposit is $100 and must be paid in full before the pet is brought on the premises.
Sanitary standards:
Designated areas on the project premises for pet exercise and the deposit of pet waste are established at each property;
Pet owners must exercise their pets in designated areas and must deposit waste on the project premises outside the designated areas as indicated;
Pet owners must remove and properly dispose of all removable pet waste along with other trash; and
In the case of cats and other pets using litter boxes, the pet rules require the pet owner to change the litter at least twice each weekly or more often if needed, as part of the unit housekeeping requirements.
Pet restraint:
All cats and dogs must be appropriately and effectively restrained and under the control of a responsible individual while in the common areas of the project.
Refusal:
These pet rules permit the project owner to refuse to register a pet if:
(i) The pet is not a common household pet;
(ii) The keeping of the pet would violate any applicable house pet rule;
(iii) The pet owner fails to provide complete pet registration information or fails annually to update the pet registration; or
(iv) The project owner reasonably determines, based on the pet owner’s habits and practices, that the pet owner would be unable to keep the pet in compliance with the pet rules and other lease obligations.
The pet’s temperament may be considered as a factor in determining the prospective pet owner’s ability to comply with the pet rules and other lease obligations.
The project owner will not refuse to register a pet based on a determination that the pet owner is financially unable to care for the pet or that the pet is inappropriate, based on the therapeutic value to the pet owner or the interests of the property or existing tenants.
These pet rules require the project owner to notify the pet owner if the project owner refuses to register a pet. The notice shall state the basis for the project owner’s action and shall be served to the pet owner in accordance with program requirements. The notice of refusal to re-register a pet, may be combined with a notice of pet violation