ESA Laws in North Dakota
As you may already know, emotional support animals do not enjoy the same legal protections that service animals do. Specifically, although service animals are allowed to accompany their owners to virtually any public place, emotional support animals are only admitted at the discretion of the venue’s owner or manager. If you would like to bring your ESA to a shop, restaurant, hotel, or workplace that is not explicitly pet-friendly, your best option is to explain the situation to the person in charge and offer to show them your ESA letter. They may choose to accommodate you and your ESA, although there is no guarantee of this, even if you have a valid letter from a licensed therapist.
This also applies to commercial airlines (in accordance with the Air Carrier Access Act). For air travel, make sure to contact the airline as soon as you can, as they consider ESA requests on a case-by-case basis. If your ESA is refused special permissions, you may still be able to book them onto the flight as an ordinary pet, subject to the airline’s pet fees and policies.
If this all sounds somewhat discouraging, there’s good news when it comes to ESAs and housing – including rental properties. Thanks to the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), housing providers cannot discriminate against individuals who live with assistance animals (e.g., service animals or emotional support animals). As a tenant, as long as you can provide your landlord with a legitimate ESA letter, they must make reasonable accommodations for you to reside in the property with your emotional support animal. Your housing provider must also excuse your assistance animal from any breed or weight restrictions, and you shouldn’t have to pay any additional pet fees or deposits for your ESA.
Keep in mind that in North Dakota, being dishonest about ESA or service animal documentation for housing purposes can result in a fine of up to $1,000, as well as eviction from the property. To ensure that you are following the rules and have the correct paperwork in place, it’s a good idea to work with a trusted ESA letter provider like Pettable.