American with Disabilites?

I Need help so here goes with my situation, I rent an apartment in N.J. My landlady is a real estate agent & her brother is an attorney with interest in the property as well. I moved here in July of 06 my rent is taken care of due to my disablities. My niece who suffers from disabilites as well as being an amputee has a dog who services her. Now I just received a letter from my landlords Atorney that states if the dog is here then I will be evicted. After Phone calls with this person he has stated that I can't have her come over, stay over & niether can the dog. I know this is against the law but they don't care, they even asked me for her medical records (which I declined to give), and they believe that a service dog is only for the blind. How do I handle this? I have already contacted the ADA and the civil rights dept in Trenton as well as the realtors board. We are on fixed incomes and connot pay for an attorney. This is a shame too the dog is almost 9yr & had him since 5 weeks old

Sound like it could get very complicated. I would suggest you find a lawyer who gives free consultations, talk to him/her. It may be a very simple fix for someone who understands tenant law and the disability acts.

Heres the thing, even if they have a strict no pets policy, that dog is meant as a guide dog, or at least is similar to one so they cant legally evict you for having the dog. More than that if the dog was around when they signed the lease they really cant say anything about this. They are violating your civil rights and you need to take this to the proper agencies within the government meant to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. I do know that there are several federal and state agencies that provide legal services to people in your situation pro bono. Dont let that ambulance chaser push you around.

I wish I was an attorney and could help. Maybe just wait till they try and evict you and explain it to the judge

You need to get ahold of an attorney that deals with disability as the person telling you this is wrong-service dogs are used for more reasons than just the blind. Call the Legal board and ask them if there is someone that can help you--------or call the Legal Aide through the State and ask them who they would suggest you use . They are there to help.

It sounds as if you are doing the right things and you've gotten some excellent advice here. But there is another excellent recourse (I've used it myself).

The newspapers love stories of this nature. Can you see the headlines now? "Lawyer Evicts Disabled", "Slum Lord Runs Over ADA", and my favorite, "Amputee Thrown into Street".

There are two other ways around this brick wall; your local and state Bar Association might be interested in hearing of your landlord's moral bankruptcy and local pastors also love to latch onto an issue like this. Think outside of the box. Your landlords already have. Good Luck to you and your niece...