Pets in College Dorms
Universities have the obligation to admit emotional support animals into school housing and dorms. The housing board must allow emotional support animals access to provide therapy for people through affection and companionship as a form of reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974. Although many schools have relaxed policies on pet bans in recent years, many remain adamant about allowing students to bring pets on campus.
How Can I Get an ESA Letter from ESA Doctors?
Support animals can be dogs, cats, birds, etc. and do not require certification nor special training – unlike service animals that are trained to perform specific tasks to assist persons with disabilities – to be accommodated in student housing. Owners of emotional support animals, however, have to show that handling their particular disability is significantly helped by having an animal around.
Disability has been broadly defined as a mental or physical impairment that limits one or more of a person’s major activities. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the laws regarding accommodation of emotional support animals are applicable to a range of both private and public housing including dwellings associated with places of education.
HUD Ruling on Emotional Support Animals in Student Housing
The HUD notice to allow emotional support animals in student housing was issued a week after a federal judge ruled that the Fair Housing Act covers all student housing. The HUD had earlier filed a lawsuit against the University of Nebraska on behalf of one of its students, Brittany Hamilton. Hamilton had requested the university’s permission to keep her Miniature Pinscher with her in an apartment owned by the school because the dog helps her cope with her depression and anxiety.
According to the HUD notice: “the housing provider may ask persons who are seeking a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal that provides emotional support to provide documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, social worker, or other mental health professional that the animal provides emotional support that alleviates one or more of the identified symptoms or effects of an existing disability.”
Housing providers can refuse to accommodate animals that pose a direct threat to the safety and health of others or if the animal is destructive of property. These refusals should be based on objective evidence about the actual conduct of the specific animal, not on the animal’s size, weight or breed. Exclusion of ESA’s cannot be made based on fear or mere speculation on the part of the housing providers.
To see if you qualify for an ESA letter:
I have a emotional support leopard gecko he helps me with my anxiety and stress, because he lives so long (20+ years) she will come to college with me!
What if my college doesn’t require a letter, but a form that needs to be filled out from a specialist?
It would be up to the licensed mental health professional’s discretion with respect to whether they are able to complete the form your college is requesting.
Do these rules apply for boarding schools (high schools) in Australia?
Is this only applicable in the USA or is it the UK too?? Because I have guinea pigs and the university is a little distant to this idea. I just want to know if i can use this website as a relevant source of proof that i am allowed them
Very helpful, thank you.
My daughter is getting an ESA (cat) for autism and co-morbid anxiety and depression. She has permission from her University dorm, but her room is tiny (really tiny). Can cats live in a tiny dorm room?
I just received my ESA Letter from United States Support Animals. My college has to honor this correct? It cannot deny me the right of having my cat in the dorm?
As long as you have a legitimate ESA letter from a licensed health professional, your college must provide reasonable accommodations for you and your ESA.
i love my support animal (dog) shes my bestfreind i should be alowed to bring her to collage
I know of a college student who has a Great Dane in a tiny dorm room. This is animal cruelty!
Believe it or not, Great Danes do great in small apartments!
My son goes to private college in Missouri. He was not allowed to bring his ESA with him. His therapist sent a letter to school, we sent shot records and his certified papers from the ESA and they still refused. He’s not a mean dog at all. They didn’t even ask his breed. What can I do?
You can contact your University Housing Department and request a formal letter denying your ESA. You can then file a complaint with the HUD if they insist on denying your emotional support animal.
why are dogs banned from campus any way???