AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RHODE ISLAND FAIR HOUSING PRACTICES ACT

HB 5504 amends Rhode Island's Fair Housing Practices Act to explicitly protect tenants with disabilities who request to keep emotional support animals in their housing. The bill adds emotional support animals to the list of accommodations that landlords cannot deny based on disability. This change clarifies that landlords must allow such requests as a reasonable accommodation under the state law, directly affecting tenants with disabilities seeking housing. The amendment updates existing protections to specifically include emotional support animals, reinforcing that discrimination based on disability - such as refusing housing for this accommodation - is prohibited.