Yes, you can get your pet deposit back once your pet becomes an emotional support animal, and you will no longer have to pay any monthly pet fees. That’s because, under HUD’s housing rules, ESAs are completely exempt from pet fees, pet deposits, and pet application fees.
Read on to learn how to qualify for an ESA and ask your landlord to return your pet deposit.
Did you know? A landlord must refund your pet deposit if your pet becomes an emotional support animal.
https://esadoctors.com/esa-fees-refunded/
How to Ask for Your Pet Deposit Back
Before asking for your pet deposit back, you’ll first need to show your landlord that you have an ESA letter. That is how you legally prove that your pet is now an emotional support animal.
After you share your ESA letter, the next step is to ask your landlord for your pet deposit and a waiver of monthly fees (if you’re paying them). Note that if you previously paid any monthly pet fees, those are not refundable for the time that your pet was not an official emotional support animal. If there was a period of time when you paid pet fees while your pet was qualified as an ESA, then you can request a refund of those fees in addition to your pet deposit.
You can make these requests in a couple of ways. The first is to send a cover letter like the one below with your ESA letter:
You can also make the request verbally. Here are some suggestions for what to say:
“Hi, I wanted to talk to you about my pet deposit. I recently qualified for an emotional support animal through my therapist, and I have my ESA letter here with me. Since ESAs are considered assistance animals under housing law, I’d like to request a refund of my pet deposit.”
If they ask questions, you could explain:
“I understand this might be a new situation. The Fair Housing Act classifies emotional support animals differently from pets – they’re considered assistance animals, kind of like service dogs. This means they’re exempt from pet deposits and fees. I’m happy to provide you with copies of all my documentation.”
If they seem hesitant:
“I know this might take some time to process. Would you like to review the documentation and HUD’s rules first and then let me know what your process is for handling the refund?“
Keep the tone friendly but confident. You have a right to this refund, but approaching the situation collaboratively often gets better results than being confrontational. Be clear about your request while remaining professional and giving them time to process the information.
Having an ESA is not only beneficial for your mental health, but it can also save you money 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/