The main legal rights for emotional support animals are housing-related. Find out how to disclose your ESA to your landlord or HOA, housing rights, and more here.
Learn about bringing your ESA or service dog to your college campus.
Practical tips and advice for dealing with your HOA when you have an ESA or service dog.
Guides for renters who want to live with their pet, ESA or service dog.
Emotional support animals (ESA) are pets that provide comfort to owners with mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, and other disorders diagnosed by...
When you have an emotional support animal (ESA) and the right documentation, you are protected by certain rights under federal law when it comes to...
The law protects owners of emotional support animals (ESAs). Housing providers must accommodate ESA owners, even if they have a policy or lease that prohibits...
No, homeowners associations (HOAs) cannot legally require you to register either service dogs or emotional support animals (ESAs). Federal housing rules clearly state that you don’t need to register either type of support animal. If you have a service dog, your HOA can ask [...]
Both you and your emotional support animal (ESA) have the right to be in your building’s common areas, even if there is a no-pet policy, as long as you have an ESA letter. According to HUD, landlords have to “reasonably accommodate” ESA owners, and that means allowing them to hav [...]
You and your emotional support animal (ESA) have federal housing rights to live in a dorm room together. However, ESA rights can be taken away if your ESA creates situations that cause other students to be unable to study or sleep or if your ESA attacks them (even if they provoke [...]
College can be a difficult time for many young adults. Adjusting to a new social environment, meeting the expectations of professors, and keeping up a grade-point average can take its toll on students. For many students, college may also be the first time away from their home sup [...]
Yes, under federal and state rules, landlords have to reasonably accommodate tenants that need an ESA to support their mental health. Even if they have a building policy that prohibits all pets.
Fair housing rules generally apply to most public and private landlords. That includes rental apartments, co-ops and HOAs. A few smaller landlords are exempt: owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units and single-family homes sold or rented by the owner without the use of an agent.
Landlords are entitled to see only one document to confirm a tenant’s animal is an ESA. That document is an ESA letter signed by a licensed healthcare professional. Landlords cannot ask for other documents like IDs, licenses or certificates.