No. Landlords cannot charge ESA owners pet rent. Under federal and state housing rules, landlords are not allowed to charge any of the following to process a tenant’s ESA request:
- pet fee,
- pet deposit
- application fee
Landlords are not allowed to charge pet fees rent or deposits for an ESA, regardless of their usual handling of regular pets.
https://esadoctors.com/esa-fees-refunded/
Even if the building requires all pet owners in the building to pay monthly pet rent, ESA owners are exempt. However, landlords do not have to accept the word of their tenants that their pet is an ESA. Landlords are entitled to see an ESA letter from the tenant as proof before waiving pet fees and deposits.
Having an ESA is not only beneficial for your mental health, but it can also save you some serious cash by eliminating pet fees and deposits.
Hi, I live in Arkansas and I am currently working to get my animals certified as ESAs. A housing company is trying to tell us that even as ESAs we still have to pay pet rent and pay the pet fee. I know ESA laws are changed slightly in Arkansas, however, I did not believe it changed their protections it just changed how to obtain and what needs to be stated when obtaining an ESA. Are ESAs still protected under the Fair Housing Act?
Yes, ESAs are absolutely still protected by law in Arkansas! As you point out, a few things have changed however regarding the process to get an ESA letter. We recently wrote about the new law in Arkansas here: https://esadoctors.com/arkansas-emotional-support-animal-laws/
If you need an ESA letter for Arkansas, we can help you get a fully compliant ESA letter by starting here.
I live in Orlando Florida and I’m getting an emotional support dog for my disability and my landlord is trying to charge me a $500 nonrefundable deposit and increase my rent by $50 a month. I even mentioned that it’s for my disability but their response was that because they never had a dog in the unit before. Mind you there’s plenty of dogs in the neighborhood. So if I end up getting the dog anyways, what consequences could I possibly face? Or they wouldn’t be able to do nothing at all?
If you have submitted a valid ESA letter to your landlord and your landlord has acknowledged that you have an emotional support animal, they cannot charge you any pet deposits or pet rent. You might be entitled to a refund of these fees, please see this link for more info: https://esadoctors.com/esa-fees-refunded/
Can my landlord charge a $300 cleaning fee for an ESA?
**apartment does not allow pets.
Landlords can charge cleaning fees if there was an out of the ordinary mess caused by the emotional support animal.
Hi. I live in Massachusetts and I recently obtained the ESA Housing Letter. I’ve already informed my landlord about my pet. The current lease is under my husband’s name, and I’m not listed as a tenant. They suggested that we go through the registration process again to add my name to the lease, which comes with a $300 fee. Is there any possibility of waiving off this registration fee?
If the fee is directly related to the ESA, it cannot be charged. However, if it is purely a fee relating to your application to be part of the lease, then it may be allowed.
Question… a lady I know is 73,lives in low income housing in Illinois, has a letter from her physician that she needs her dog bc of emotional problems & depression. The hud housing office is saying the dog needs to go through tests n training n be registered but I read in Illinois the Dr. Letter is all that’s needed.
Emotional support dogs do not require specialized training, nor do they need to pass any tests or be registered. You qualify for an ESA by getting an ESA letter from your therapist or doctor.
Hi I moved into an apartment that has a no pets policy. Recently due to mental health issues I have requested to have a emotional support animal. My landlord is saying I can’t have one and if I get one I have to pay $100 extra a month and have to pay $200 pet deposit. I don’t believe that’s legal?
If you have a valid emotional support animal your landlord cannot charge any fees or deposits under Fair Housing rules.
My sons landlord is demanding money for his ESA. He said he doesn’t care that they have an official document and is asking for the original paperwork even though he as copies of all documents is that legal?
If the tenant has a valid emotional support animal, they are fully exempt from pet fees and deposits.
My new landlord had the Pet deposit of $350 on the lease until I gave him the ESA documents. He changed it to an exit cleaning fee of $350. I don’t see where it addresses this anywhere. Shameful, but legal?
Tenants are responsible for damage caused by their ESA. If your landlord is charging a cleaning fee, they should point out to you where that was agreed to in advance, or point to the specific damage that necessitated the cleaning fee.