Emotional support animals, known as ESAs, provide comfort and support to individuals with qualifying mental disabilities. The comfort that these animals provide has immense therapeutic benefits, and for many people, living with their ESA becomes an essential part of managing their well-being.
Because of this, there are certain housing laws that grant protections to emotional support animals so that their owners can continue to benefit from the presence of their animals, regardless of their living arrangements. However, understanding these laws isn’t only important for those who have an emotional support animal (or are considering getting one). Landlords must also know the laws to navigate ESA requests.
In this article, we will cover everything both landlords and tenants need to know about emotional support animal housing laws. Read to the end to get your complete guide.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
Before we dive deeper into the housing laws, let’s cover what an emotional support animal and an ESA letter are first.
An emotional support animal is an animal that provides emotional support to an individual with a qualifying mental disability, such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Unlike service animals, which perform disability-related tasks for the benefit of the handler, emotional support animals simply exist and provide their therapeutic benefits through companionship.
To have an emotional support animal officially recognized for housing purposes, individuals must obtain an ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional. This letter confirms their diagnosis and need for an emotional support animal for that condition.
Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws: 5 Core Things to Know
Below are five core things that everyone interested in ESA housing laws needs to know.
1) You Need a Valid ESA Letter
First and foremost, tenants must obtain an ESA letter from a mental health professional licensed in their state of residence. This is a must not only for an animal to have housing rights but also for an animal to be legally considered an emotional support animal.
Using their ESA letters, tenants can then request reasonable accommodation for their animals to live in otherwise no-pet housing. However, note that registration or certification doesn’t replace an ESA letter. You can register an ESA and have additional documentation to strengthen your claim, but a landlord can still demand an ESA letter before allowing an ESA in the property.
2) You Must Request Reasonable Accommodation From Your Landlord
While having an ESA letter is a must, it alone doesn’t automatically allow you to keep your emotional support animal in a rental property. You must also request reasonable accommodation from your landlord.
This usually involves providing your ESA letter (or a copy of it) and informing the landlord that you are requesting accommodation under housing laws. Once you send the request, the landlord can then review the documentation before making a decision. In most cases, they must accept your request, though there are certain exceptions, which we also cover below.
3) Your Landlord Cannot Demand Pet Fees, Rents, or Deposits
Emotional support animals aren’t legally considered pets under housing laws, and due to this, landlords cannot demand pet-related expenses. This includes additional pet fees, pet deposits, or pet rents.
However, tenants may still be responsible for paying for any actual damage caused by the animal beyond the normal wear and tear. The exception from pet-related charges doesn’t apply to damage caused by an emotional support animal.
4) HOA Restrictions Don’t Apply to ESAs
HOA and similar housing organizations often have rules regarding pets, including breed, weight, or overall size restrictions. In many situations, these restrictions don’t apply to a legal emotional support animal as far as ESA housing laws go.
If an individual qualifies for an emotional support animal and has an ESA letter to back it up, housing providers must make exceptions to standard pet rules unless a valid legal exception applies, which brings us to our next and final topic.
5) The Animal Must Not Cause Undue Hardship
Despite the housing laws, emotional support animals don’t have unlimited protections. An ESA must not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or cause substantial property damage. Similarly, if an ESA would create an undue financial or administrative burden for the landlord, an exception may apply under certain circumstances, such as the landlord losing insurance coverage.
Owners are also responsible for ensuring that their emotional support animal behaves appropriately and doesn’t create ongoing disturbances for the other tenants. However, these exceptions apply only to a very small number of emotional support animals and their owners; the overwhelming majority of ESA claims don’t cause undue hardship for the landlord.
Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws: Living With ESAs
ESA housing laws provide important protections for individuals who rely on an ESA. The law allows emotional support animals to live with their owners, even if there are no-pet policies in place. Nonetheless, there are also responsibilities that owners should understand, such as having proper documentation and following the accommodation request process.
Overall, emotional support animals can live with their owners, but the owner must obtain an ESA letter from a qualified mental health professional in their state and submit it to their landlord when requesting accommodation. The landlord must accept this request in most cases, unless the animal’s presence would cause undue hardship.
By understanding all these about ESA housing laws, both tenants and landlords can better navigate the accommodation process and ensure everyone’s rights and responsibilities are taken care of.
