Minnesota panel backs bill letting volunteers train service dogs in HOA homes

A Minnesota Senate committee on Thursday approved House File 688, a measure to prevent homeowners associations from prohibiting or charging fees when volunteers host service dogs in training for Assistance Dogs International–affiliated organizations.

Committee members heard that assistance dog groups use long-term volunteer raisers to socialize and train dogs for people with mobility limits, seizure disorders, deafness, diabetes and autism. Supporters said the change would align housing rules with existing protections for fully trained assistance dogs and expand the volunteer pool that organizations rely on.

Jeff Johnson, executive director of Can Do Canines, told the committee the group relies on more than 1,000 volunteers and estimates it costs about $45,000 to raise and train each service dog. “We give them away free of charge because few of our clients could even come close to affording that,” Johnson said. He described dogs’ multi-year training timeline and said some volunteers host dogs for months or years.

Senators asked whether the bill would override landlord-tenant leases. Johnson and the bill sponsor said the measure is intended to cover homeowners associations that have rules prohibiting animals or imposing size limits; it was not drafted to directly alter unrelated private lease terms. Senator Loomer and others noted the bill allows a landlord or HOA board to require written certification from the organization supervising the training to verify the animal is legitimately enrolled in an Assistance Dogs International program.

Sponsor statements emphasized the bill does not change existing rights for people who use fully trained assistance dogs; it extends similar housing access to dogs actively enrolled in training supervised by the certified organizations. The committee recorded a voice vote to send the measure to the Senate floor; the motion to refer House File 688 to the floor was moved by Senator Westland and passed without recorded roll-call votes.

If enacted, the bill would add homeowners associations to statutory provisions that currently protect active service dogs from housing restrictions and make “dogs in training” part of the protected category when the training is done through ADI-certified organizations. Supporters said the change would allow groups such as Can Do Canines to recruit more volunteer raisers and place more dogs with people who need them.

Opponents or unanswered questions at the hearing focused mainly on how the new rule would interact with unrelated lease provisions in rental properties. Committee members and witnesses repeatedly noted the statute allows verification by the overseeing organization and that some questions about tenant/landlord leases would require further legal review.

The committee action sends the bill to the Senate floor; lawmakers and stakeholders said follow-up work could clarify lease interactions and the certification process for organizations supervising training.