How to Tell My Landlord About An Emotional Support Animal

Moving into a new apartment or house can be stressful, and this stress can increase tenfold for pet owners. Many people with pets consider their animal companions to be part of the family, which is why it can be heartbreaking when countless apartment buildings issue no-pet policies. 

Thankfully, the rules are different for emotional support animals (ESAs). Once you have an ESA Letter for Housing, a legal document or “doctors note” that prescribes your ESA as a necessary treatment plan for an emotional or mental disability, then in most cases, you should be able to move into your apartment complex without a hitch. However, for an emotional support animal owner, part of the process of moving into a new apartment involves when to tell the landlord about the emotional support animal. When do you need to tell your landlord you have an emotional support animal? Do you need to tell your landlord at all? All of the best practices surrounding emotional support animal etiquette are explained below.

Emotional support animals (ESAs) are a different category of house pets. Emotional support animals are great additions to a family and can offer many benefits to a person's mental health. However, for some people, a singular emotional support animal may not provide all the benefits needed to live a whole and healthy life. 

However, if you already have one emotional support animal, do you need to inform your landlord about your new pet? This article covers all the bases about telling your landlord about your new emotional support animal and how to work with your landlord to lead the best life in your housing development with your emotional support animal.

How to Tell Landlord About ESA

To ensure that your ESA is allowed in your new rental home, you’ll have to let them know about your assistance animal — whether they typically allow pets or not. Putting this off puts you at risk of fines or eviction. Here are the steps to telling your landlord about your ESA:

1. Have the right documentation: To put your landlord at ease, the best thing you can give them is the proper documentation about your need for an emotional support animal — an ESA letter. 
2. Read the pet policies in your lease: Before you sign on the dotted line, read your lease and learn all about the housing provider’s pet policies. It’s good to know what the landlord’s typical stance is before you unleash your ESA needs.
3. Email the housing provider: Since you want the lease process to be as smooth as possible, it doesn’t hurt to email the housing provider and give them a digital copy of your ESA letter. It might be an easy way to start a dialogue about your needs.
4. Stay cool: Although they are required to accept your ESA (in most cases), don’t bombard them with legal mumbo jumbo. Your new landlord has likely dealt with ESAs or service animals before and has a built-in process. 

Listen to this ESA success story from a Pettable client:

If your ESA Letter does not work for you, we will refund 100% of your payment.

What is the Fair Housing Act?

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) was passed in 1968 to prevent discrimination and protect the housing rights of all people, including people with mental and emotional disabilities. This act also makes denying housing to any individual due to sex, race, national origin, religion, and other classes, illegal. According to the United States Department of Justice, under the FHA, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that significantly limits a person’s major life activities. Additionally, under the FHA, emotional support animals are not considered pets, but medical tools that serve a necessary purpose. 

What are your ESA owner rights under the Fair Housing Act?

Even in apartment complexes where there are "no pets allowed", housing providers are required to make what is called a "reasonable accommodation" to allow pets who serve as assistance animals to live in the building. Breed and weight restrictions do not apply to assistance or service animals, and emotional support animal owners are not required to pay a pet deposit or any pet fees. 

However, the wording of the Fair Housing Act specifically states that the reasonable accommodations landlords are legally required to make for tenants with disabilities are to be within reason. As an ESA owner, you can expect a reasonable accommodation made by your landlord to be allowing your support pet to live in the building, even if there is a no-pet policy. An unreasonable accommodation would be demanding a more expensive unit for you and your ESA, with a balcony and extra space, without paying the extra costs.

As an emotional support pet owner, you must provide your landlord with a legitimate ESA Letter for Housing or an emotional support animal letter. This is the only legal document that you must provide your landlord with. You do not need to disclose medical records or further certification for your ESA. Unlike a service animal or service dog, your emotional support animal does not need any special training to perform tasks – it merely must provide emotional support through its presence. Your landlord does have the right to verify the legitimacy of your emotional support animal letter.

Do you have to tell your landlord about your ESA?

It is highly recommended that you tell your landlord about your emotional support animal. It is always best for tenants to be transparent and honest when moving into a new apartment, which includes conversations regarding your ESA. Having a friendly and well-mannered conversation with your landlord about your emotional support animal will increase your chances of having a positive relationship with your landlord down the line. 

Even if you prolong telling your landlord about your ESA until after you sign the lease, you risk the chance that your landlord will feel misled by you, which may harm your long-term professional relationship with your housing provider. Some people fear that by telling their landlord about their emotional support animal, the landlord may reject their housing application. Keep in mind, your landlord is obligated to abide by rules under the Fair Housing Act. Additionally, most landlords are happy to follow these federal laws and also understand the importance of emotional support animals. 

When you are ready to inform your landlord about your emotional support pet, you can let them know verbally or in writing (which includes via email). You should also provide your landlord with your ESA Letter for Housing — this is a legal document that your landlord has the right to request and must be written by a licensed mental health professional.

Go Deeper

Can a Landlord Deny an ESA?

Under the FHA, the landlord of a rental property cannot deny ESA owners or emotional support animals housing, as your ESA is considered a medical tool, not a pet.

Lastly, while landlords are required to allow you to live with your emotional support pet under the Fair Housing Act, there are still certain exceptions that give them the right to reject your emotional support animal. Some of the most common reasons that a landlord will reject your support animal are listed below:

• An illegitimate ESA Letter for Housing (if this letter is intentionally or unintentionally invalid, your landlord has the right to reject your support animal). 
• If your emotional support animal is dangerous or disruptive (eg. If your emotional support dog is a constant barker or a biter)
• If your support pet has any potential health risks to the other tenants in the building (eg. If any of your neighbors are deathly allergic to your emotional support dog)
• If your landlord causes any financial strain on your landlord (eg. Your support animal consistently causes damage to your apartment unit)
• If your support pet is too large for the accommodation (eg. If your assistance animal is a llama and you want to live in a studio apartment).

Can your landlord charge extra for your ESA?

Under the Fair Housing Act, housing providers cannot charge their tenants pet fees, deposits, or surcharges for owning an emotional support animal. For FHA rules, a support pet is not considered an unauthorized pet, which means that a building’s general policies regarding pets do not apply to emotional support animals. This means emotional support animals are exempt from no-pet policies, pet deposits, and any pet-related bans regarding certain breeds, weight, and within reason, size. 

That being said, landlords may charge tenants fees for damage an assistance animal causes if it is the landlord’s general practice to charge for damage caused by tenants. Being exempt from pet fees and deposits does not absolve emotional support animal owners from the responsibility for the actions of their support animal. This is one of the reasons why it is also highly encouraged for support pet owners to train their pets to at least be well-mannered, calm, and collected. A landlord is also allowed to deduct damage fees caused by a support pet from the tenant’s standard security deposit.

How to qualify for an ESA

If your emotional support animal can alleviate one or more of the symptoms or effects caused by your mental disability, then you will most likely qualify for a support animal. Some of these expected symptom alleviations may lead to:

• Fewer panic attacks or anxious feelings
• Better quality of sleep
• Increased ability to spend time around other people
• Lower stress levels and blood pressure
  

Individuals suffering from those symptoms may have one or more of the following mental health disorders:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• OCD
• PTSD
• Severe grief
• Bipolar Disorder
• Certain Phobias 
  

Even if you don’t have one of the listed mental disabilities or any of the symptoms listed above, that does not mean that you don’t qualify for an emotional support animal. Licensed mental health professionals will always recommend emotional support animals on a case-by-case basis.

Differences Between ESAs and Service Animals

ESAs and service animals might have similar purposes, but there are some significant differences between the two that might determine which option is best for your needs. While most domesticated animals qualify as an ESA, official service animals are limited to dogs, and in some cases, miniature horses. On top of that, service dogs have more federal legal protections than ESAs, which let your assistance animal accompany you in more situations outside of your home. Two things that set a service dog apart from an ESA are:

Service Dog Training

To qualify as a service dog, your canine companion needs to be fully trained in both general behavior and specific tasks related to your mental health disorder. This can include tasks such as performing deep pressure therapy (DPT), fetching medications, and intervening in self-destructive behavior. ESAs are merely therapy animals that provide general emotional comfort and companionship.

Service Dog Laws

When you have an official physical or psychiatric service dog (PSD), you and your canine companion are protected by several federal laws that prohibit discrimination against disabled individuals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows you to bring your service dog along with you in most everyday public situations and accommodations, including restaurants, shopping centers, medical facilities, and more. Also, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) lets you bring your service dog with you in-cabin on most domestic flights.

‍Psychiatric Service Dog

A psychiatric service dog, or PSD, helps people who struggle with emotional or mental disabilities. PSDs are different from emotional support pets in that PSDs require special training to perform tasks for their owners who struggle with mental or emotional disabilities. Support animals help their owners by offering comfort and companionship. PSDs perform a variety of tasks. Sometimes they retrieve medication, they perform room checks for people who struggle with PTSD, or they apply pressure with their paws to relieve anxiety.

If you have a dog or plan on getting one you may be able to train them as a psychiatric service dog. PSDs can be self-trained, a certified trainer is not required. If you wish to self-train a PSD, we offer an online PSD training course that will help you accomplish this. The course is self-paced and can be completed on any timeline. For more information, take our online quiz to see if PSD training is right for you.

A service dog and support dog may have their differences, but essentially a landlord must allow these working dogs on their property with the proper documentation.

How to Get an ESA Letter for Housing with Pettable

If you have a canine companion, feline friend, or scaly sidekick that you want to make into your emotional support animal, Pettable is here to get you an official ESA letter. First, take our online ESA assessment, which helps us pair you with the best licensed mental health professional (LMHP) for your needs. After we find the right LMHP (certified in your state), you will complete an online evaluation; after they make your diagnosis, they will write your official ESA letter. Here's how the process works:

1. Free Pre-Screening — To start, you will complete a short, 3-minute assessment on Pettable’s website. The questionnaire will ask you basic questions about your identity and your support pet if you already have one. This assessment will help Pettable match you with a licensed mental health professional in your state that suits your needs.
2. ‍Consult with an LMHP — After you have been matched with a medical professional, you will complete a consultation with a licensed therapist by phone. The mental health professional will ask you all of the questions they need to confirm whether or not a support animal is a necessary course of treatment for an individual's disability. All of the LMHPs in Pettable’s network are experts in emotional support animals and ESA Letters for Housing.‍
3. Receive Your Letter — If your clinician decides to prescribe you an emotional support animal, then you will receive your letter from a licensed professional within 24 hours of your consultation. The letter will then be ready to either print or email to your landlord. If your LMHP does not consider you fit for a support pet, then you will receive a full refund.

Steps to Take to Get a New Emotional Support Animal

If you believe a second emotional support animal can benefit your overall mental and emotional health, there are specific steps to take regarding your landlord and housing development. 

Take a Look at Your Rental Agreement

Read the pet policy section and see if there are any restrictions on the types of pets allowed. While your current emotional support animal may exceed any weight or breed restrictions, you may need your landlord's permission before getting another one.

See If You Need A New ESA Letter

Once you check your pet policy, check with the therapist who issued your current emotional support animal letter to see if your new pet can qualify as an emotional support animal.

Check the FHA Laws

Suppose you want more information about your rights as an emotional support animal owner. In that case, the Fair Housing Act can provide you with a lot of important information about your rights as an ESA owner. You can use this information when you tell your landlord about your new pet if your landlord denies you the need for another emotional support animal.

Can You Have Multiple ESAs in One Apartment?

If you need more than one ESA in your home, your ESA letter should make that no problem — in most cases. If you have multiple assistance animals, your LMHP or therapist can issue you an ESA letter that explains your need for the whole menagerie. However, you should consider how many animals are too many, depending on your living situation. Most housing providers would prefer their properties are not jungles.

Different Mental Health Conditions That ESAs Can Help With

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Sleeping Disorders
• Eating Disorders
• Self-Harming Behaviors
•  ADHD/ADD
• Any diagnosis in the DSM-V that significantly impairs crucial aspects of your health and well-being

Working with a therapist or licensed mental health provider can lead to you being able to get more than one emotional support animal. Be upfront and honest with your therapist or licensed mental health provider, which may lead to more accessibility and less conflict regarding your new addition.

Things to Consider Regarding Emotional Support Animals in Housing Developments

An ESA animal is not considered a pet, according to the FHA. It is usually exempt from the rules inside of pet policies.

If your building limits you to one pet per household, according to the Fair Housing Act, you can still have pets as long as they are legitimate emotional support animals. But be mindful of how many pets you have in buildings that allow no pets.

Keep your ESA letter handy in case you have to show your landlord proof that you are allowed to have your emotional support animals.

Each ESA letter that you have must be verifiable and must be a legit ESA letter that was provided to you by a licensed mental health professional.

Be able to accommodate the pets you have in your home safely. If you have four pets in a tiny studio apartment, your therapist may recommend you get a new area or apartment if you want to add another pet to your family.

Difference Between Support Animals and Service Animals

A service animal is different from a support animal, and it is essential to know the difference. Service animals help with other mental and emotional disabilities yet are also covered under the Fair Housing Act, and you still need an ESA letter from licensed mental health professionals. It would help if you still let your landlord know about your service animal so they can make reasonable accommodations.

Service animals, most commonly dogs, are individually trained to help with physical disabilities. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, landlords cannot place breed and weight restrictions on service animals, and federal law protects service animals, while it does not protect support animals.

Telling Your Landlord About Your New Emotional Support Animal

You can tell your landlord about your new pet as long as it has been provided with a legitimate ESA letter. The most important thing to remember is an ESA is not considered a pet.

If you have an ESA letter already, it most likely recommends how many pets you can have. If it does not, speak to the medical professional that provided you with your current ESA and let them know that you are interested in getting a new pet.

Let them know why you are interested in this specific type of emotional support animal and how you can benefit from having it around. The doctor may be able to provide you with a new ESA letter that allows you to have more than one ESA.

Different Types of Service Animals

ESAs can be so crucial to those with disabilities. There are three different types of animals that support people. Service animals, emotional support animals or ESA, and therapy animals.

First, let's look at the differences between each support animal. 

• Service Animals - The Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA) defines a service dog as a guide dog. It is a dog or animal that is trained to assist those with disabilities
• Emotional Support Animals - An emotional support animal (ESA) is a pet that offers people who have mental health disabilities relief. They are not necessarily trained to do so. Emotional support animals do not need specialized training to care for their owners. They are mainly supposed to provide their owners with emotional support.
• Therapy Animals - A therapy animal is trained to interact with people. Not just their owner. They are used to help people feel better.

Can an Apartment Deny an Emotional Support Animal?

Generally speaking, landlords and housing managers cannot deny you and your emotional support animal — that’s the power of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). However, there are some basic guidelines you and your ESA must follow. If your ESA poses a threat to property or other tenants or is otherwise disruptive, your landlord can make an exception and evict you.

What if My Apartment Has Breed Restrictions?

Often if housing providers allow dogs as pets, they may have a list of breeds that they don’t permit, usually based on size or perceived aggressiveness. But if you have a legitimate ESA letter, it generally overrides that restricted list. Still, you will need to keep your ESA under your control at all times and keep them from causing property damage or posing a threat to other tenants.

What Is Considered A Disability

The Americans With Disabilities Act qualifies a person with a disability as someone with a physical or mental impairment. The disability limits what a person can do daily, and they may need assistance with daily routines. An emotional or mental disability can include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Phobias
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• And more

3 Steps to Take Before Moving In With Your ESA

Whether your apartment complex has breed and weight restrictions, a no pets allowed policy, or requires pet deposits or pet fees, there are specific steps you can take before moving in or even meeting with housing providers. Pet owners who qualify for an emotional support animal, have identified symptoms, and have ESA letters from a licensed therapist, may receive different accommodations than other tenants. Still, it can also be on a case-by-case basis.

Take a look at your rental agreement.

Read the pet policy section and see if there are any restrictions on the types of pets allowed.

See If You Need A New ESA Letter

If you are thinking of getting a new ESA, once you check your pet policy, check with the clinician who issued your current ESA letter to see if your new pet can qualify as an ESA.

Check the FHA Laws 

If you want more information on your rights as an ESA owner, the Fair Housing Act can provide you with a lot of important information about the rights of an ESA owner. You can use this information when you tell your landlord about your new pet.

Things To Remember If Your Building Has A Limit On How Many Pets You Can Have

An ESA animal is not considered a pet, according to the FHA. It is usually exempt from the rules inside of pet policies.

If your building limits you to one pet per household, according to the Fair Housing Act, you can still have pets as long as they are legitimate emotional support animals. But be mindful of how many pets you have in buildings that allow no pets.

Keep your ESA letter handy if you have to show your landlord proof that you are allowed to have your emotional support animals.

Each ESA letter that you have must be verifiable and must be a legit ESA letter that was provided to you by a licensed mental health professional.

Be able to accommodate the pets you have in your home safely. If you have four pets in a tiny studio apartment, your therapist may recommend you get a new flat if you want to add another pet to your family.

Frequently Asked Questions About Telling Your Landlord About Your ESA

Do you need an ESA letter for each new pet you get?

Thankfully, it is not necessary to get an ESA letter for each pet you have. If you go to a legitimate therapist, your mental health practitioner can indicate how many ESA animals you need in one letter.

Frequently Asked Questions About Emotional Support Animals

While you may be ready to have more than one emotional support animal, you may still be overwhelmed with frequently asked questions regarding more than one emotional support animal, how to tell your landlord, and if there are any boundaries regarding emotional support animals.

Can I have more than one ESA if I live in income-based housing?

According to the FHA, all housing types are subject to the same rules. As long as you have a legitimate ESA letter that expresses you can have more than one pet, you will be able to have more than one ESA. Remember, the FHA does not consider Emotional Support Animals Pets.

Do I need multiple ESA letters if I have more than one ESA?

You are allowed to have more than one ESA, and your licensed mental health professional may provide you with a recommendation that helps you to have more than one ESA. In that case, you will only need to show your landlord that letter.

Does my landlord have the right to tell me that I do not need an ESA?

Your landlord does not have the right to tell you that you cannot have an ESA. If you are having problems keeping your ESA, check the Fair Housing Act website to see your rights as an ESA owner.‍