Getting an emotional support animal brings a number of benefits to the pet owner. One of the most distinctive ones is a chance to live with your pet in any kind of a rented property without the need to pay any fees.
Housing discrimination is a well-known problem for all pet owners. Fortunately, there is a way to avoid that – registering your animal friend as an ESA. According to ESA laws, emotional support animals have almost the same rights as service animals, when it comes to accommodations. Read more about the federal regulations in the field and make your choice.

Federal Fair Housing Act for emotional support animal: key points

The Federal Fair Housing Act (or FHAct for short) is a piece of legislation that protects Americans from discrimination in housing. But when it comes to emotional support animal laws, we are particularly interested in parts that pertain to assistive and service animals.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (an agency tasked with enforcing FHAct) considers ESAs to be a part of the assistive animal’s category. This means that when it comes to housing, ESAs enjoy the same protections as service animals do. In particular:

• A property owner or a manager can’t deny your application, basing on the ground that you have an ESA;
• They also have to accommodate an ESA, regardless of ‘no pets’ policy;
• No pet fee or deposit can be charged for an ESA.
• Minor modifications to the property to accommodate the animal must be allowed.
• An animal should be allowed to the common area if such exists.

In case a property manager or owner fails to comply with the given regulations, is it considered a violation of the law. Such cases are filed to the HUD. You also can press your own discrimination charges in court.

But it’s also important to remember that there are cases where a landlord doesn’t have to accommodate an ESA or even can evict a tenant due to it. Notably if that’s a case when:

• An animal is a danger to a landlord or other tenants. Note that it can’t be based on the perceived danger of a species or breed, but rather on animal’s behavior or personal history.
• Accommodating an ESA would result in significant damage to property. This probably would only apply to extremely large or feral animals.
• It will pose a significant financial burden on a landlord. For instance, if an insurance company will decide to raise rates because of a particularly large or dangerous animal.
• Such accommodation will change the nature of the landlord’s business. For instance, you can’t keep a marine animal in a common pool.

Please, note that in order to apply for ESA accommodation, you need to be able to provide a valid ESA letter for housing. This document is generally valid for a year since signed by your licensed mental health professional.

Emotional support dog requirements

ESAs don’t require any special training, certification or registration. Also, no identifications like vests or badges are necessary. Similarly, there are no specific emotional support dog laws in place. However, an ESA is still subject to the laws on animal vaccinations, local animal registries and dangerous or aggressive dog regulations.
Some local restrictions can potentially be circumvented by an animal with ESA status. Like limitations on animal size or breed, or even some restrictions on exotic animals. That’s because the rights of disabled people protected by federal legislation trump local regulations.
Here are some examples for you to grasp it better:

• If your locale has a dangerous dog breed ban in place and you happen to have an ESA pitbull, it doesn’t apply to it.
• If your locale has regulations on dogs, exhibiting aggressive behavior, and your ESA pomeranian mauls a mailman, all consciences and sanctions of the law do apply.
• If your local government asks you to submit information about your ESA dog to an ESA registry, you can deny this request. Mandatory ESA registration is not legal.
• However, if they ask you to submit info to a dog registry because it’s a dog, you have to. If it’s mandated by law, that is.

When it comes to keeping animals, especially dogs, it is only appropriate to teach them good manners. Having a well-socialized and well-behaved dog is better for everyone, including your four-legged buddy. Vaccination is also mandated by law in some jurisdictions. Contact your local veterinarian’s office for exact details. And keep in mind that it’s a good idea to vaccinate a dog anyway. Don’t let your fluffy friend to get sick!

So what is this ESA letter for housing you’ve heard so much about?

Simply, it’s a letter from your licensed psychiatrist counselor or psychologist. In this letter, he or she vouches that you have an unspecified DSM-5 mental condition and you are in his or her care. And in order to be treated, you require an emotional support animal. In order to get one, you would need to be diagnosed with a mental disorder first. The list of them is pretty wide: depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, OCD, phobias, panic attacks, and many more included.
If you have one of the listed conditions, you need to get in touch with the licensed mental health practitioner, either live or online (using a telemedicine service like ours) and tell the details of your disability. LMHP will then provide you with the recommended treatment plan and issue the ESA letter if it is the integral part of your treatment.
With your ESA letter for housing, you can expect to rent an apartment regardless of a ‘no pets’ policy, with fees or deposits. But what is more important, you would be able to stay close to your pet friend. And staying close to the ones you love matters most in the end.