If you got an ESA letter for your pet after you moved in, you may be entitled to a refund. Many landlords require a pet deposit if you move in with an animal to cover potential damage to the property. Some may also charge an ongoing monthly pet fee. Emotional support animals, however, have special housing rights and are completely exempt from any pet fees and deposits.
If you go through the ESA process and receive the ESA letter, you are entitled to a refund of the pet deposit since your animal is no longer a pet but a legally recognized assistance animal.
Did you know? A landlord must refund your pet deposit if your pet becomes an emotional support animal.
https://esadoctors.com/esa-fees-refunded/
You are also no longer subject to any pet fees or rent, but you would not get a refund for fees paid during the time your animal was just a normal pet.
To verify you have a genuine emotional support animal, your landlord is entitled to see an ESA letter. An ESA letter is a signed recommendation letter from a licensed therapist, doctor, or counselor. It is the only way to prove that you have a true emotional support animal under federal and state law.
Some landlords also charge an application fee for considering your pet. ESAs are exempt from application fees. Your housing provider cannot charge a fee to process your ESA letter.
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.
We Gabe a pet deposit of $500.00 in 2020. And have paid $20.00 per month to date as of feb. 2024. We didn’t learn we could apply until 1-4-2023 although my daughter has had our dog this whole time for emotional support. Same doctor will verify since 2018. Are we entitled to all out pet fees returned? Including deposit? We have all documentation. Landlord took 14 months to finally remove pet rent. Had to go through many services because they would not comply.
From the time your landlord accepts your ESA letter, they should stop charging any pet fees. You would also be entitled to a refund of any pet deposit. You would not however get a refund of any monthly pet fees paid until that point.
I paid a pet fee of $150 to my landlord when I first moved into my apartment. Since then I was approved for ESA can my pet fee be refunded? My landlord says no refund.
If the pet fee was paid while the animal was still a normal pet, it is likely not refundable. However, any pet deposits that were paid should be refundable.
Hello, my pet was approved back in 2014 I didn’t know that I could have my deposit refunded since my pet passed just recently I requested my deposit to be refunded they said no it says with the apt till its vacated this seems very wrong I no longer have the pet sadly
If you provided your landlord with an ESA letter that they approved, they should have returned your deposit.
Hello, my dog was recently approved as an ESA. My landlord updated my rent to remove the monthly pet fee, however they will not refund me the pet deposit until I move out. They said “Any deposit, like pet deposit and the unit deposit stay with the unit. At the time of move out you will receive the deposits base of the condition of your unit at the time.”
I understand keeping my rent deposit until I move out but shouldn’t they be required to give me my pet deposit back now since my dog is a legally recognized assistance animal? Is there a specific law or clause that would help enforce this?
Landlords cannot charge deposits when it comes to emotional support animals. If you previously paid a pet deposit and the landlord has approved your pet as an ESA, you should be able to get the refund back. You can find what HUD has to say about deposits here: https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf
What if my landlord made my doctor sign specific forms, then never processed them, and is now asking me for a letter two months after i moved in even though I submitted the ESA forms before i moved in? Should I file a complaint to HUD?
Landlords are not allowed to request tenant’s complete specific forms, and they are also expected to process a tenant’s ESA request promptly, within 10 days. This is a very odd situation where you complied with your landlord’s request but are still being denied. Nevertheless, you still need a valid ESA letter: https://esadoctors.com/how-to-get-emotional-support-animal-letters/
What if I paid a nonrefundable pet fee? What does the law say about asking for that back if I later register my dog as an ESA?
If the fee was paid while your animal was not an ESA then it is likely not refundable. However you would not be subject to a fee once you qualify for an ESA. You should also be aware that registering your dog does not qualify it as an ESA. Please see this article for more details: https://esadoctors.com/register-dog-emotional-support-animal/