If you want to know about living with an emotional support dog in Texas, you have come to the right place. If you live in Austin, Dallas, Houston, or any other city in Texas, the same rules apply for living with an emotional support dog in an apartment complex.
Ready to qualify for an ESA Letter in Texas?
You can see if you qualify for an ESA Letter by completing the ESA questionnaire in the “Get Started” link below. A licensed mental health professional will assist you directly in the process. If they determine that you qualify for an Emotional Support Animal for Texas, they can write you an ESA Letter on their official letterhead.
Laws about emotional support dogs in Texas apartments
Texas apartments must follow federal rules regarding emotional support animals.
The federal Fair Housing Act and guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Housing protects owners of emotional support animals in Texas.
Under these rules, housing providers are not allowed to discriminate against tenants who need an emotional support animal. Even buildings that prohibit pets must reasonably accommodate tenants who own emotional support animals. ESAs are not considered pets, they are assistance animals for people with mental health issues. Thus, they are generally exempt from pet rules a residential building may enforce.
In addition, ESA owners are exempt from pet fees, pet deposits and size/breed restrictions. Fair Housing laws prohibit Texas landlords from discriminating against tenants solely due to their need for an emotional support animal.
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Qualifying for an Emotional Support Animal in Texas
To qualify for an emotional support animal in Texas, a person must have a mental or emotional health disability and a need for an emotional support animal to assist with that disability. Mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, bi-polar disorder and panic disorders can qualify, as long as they substantially limit one or more major life activities.
An emotional support animal does not need any specialized training. They are dogs, cats, birds, fish and other small, domesticated pets that provide comfort just through their presence. Many people already own a pet that may effectively be serving as their emotional support animal.
You prove you have met the qualifications for an emotional support animal by showing your landlord a signed ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional.
Getting Approval for an Emotional Support Animal
Asking your landlord for permission may sound scary, but fear not! Your landlord is legally required to reasonably accommodate ESAs if you have an ESA letter.
Before moving your emotional support animal into a no-pets building, your housing provider has the right to verify your request. Under HUD guidelines, housing providers have to promptly consider a tenant’s ESA request and ESA letter.
Housing providers can only reject an emotional support animal if they have a valid excuse. For example, they can properly deny an ESA that has demonstrated itself to be dangerous or unsafe around others. An ESA that has caused significant property damage can also be excluded.
Before approaching your landlord about an emotional support animal, it’s important to be prepared. You should have an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional verifying your need for an emotional support animal.
If you need a Texas licensed healthcare professional to evaluate whether you qualify for an ESA letter, we can help. ESA Doctors can connect you to a Texas professional that can help with your ESA needs. Just click on the link below to get started today.
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Is there a website to confirm if their ESA certificate is legit? I work in a Hotel and I got a few noise complain (dog barking in the room ) regarding service animals walking on property and bringing them by the pool area. One guest got her dog with I her floating in our lazy river pool !
ESA registration is not required by law nor is it recognized. An ESA is only valid if the owner has a legitimate ESA letter from a licensed medical professional.
My daughter is 14. She wanted to ende her life. After hospitalization and months of treatment she’s back at school but her anxiety levels keep her on edge. She gets stomach aches, and headaches andwanted to bring a comfort animal at school and they told her that certified or not, there was no way she could bring any animal to school. They won’t even let her bring a stuffed animal!
If I have social anxiety and need an esa for crouded public places, such as stores, could I take my esa dog with me?
Unfortunately, emotional support animals do not have access rights in public places.
Do apartments have to “approve” for you to have an ESA animal? If so is there a time limit in which to do so?
My daughter got all of her paperwork in to the apartment she is currently living in, but they told her her room mate has to approve of her having the animal in the apartment. In addition, they told her the earliest she could have it in the apartment is 3 weeks from now. I am worried about her mental health in the meantime. Is the apartment complex abiding by the law?
The apartment must make reasonable accommodations for your daughter’s ESA.
What if the complex requires an additional letter? What do I do?
You can talk to your therapist about additional documents.
Hi I’ve registered my pot belly pig per the cities request to have her on my property. For 6 months they have allowed her to be here. She spends her days outside when I sleep. But when I’m awake at night she comes in and we play and snuggle together. I have ptsd and Anxiety disorder. I got her when I was in a wheelchair that was supposed to be permanent. But now they have installed a pain pump to get me out of the wheelchair and I have been out almost 3 1/2 years. I recently moved from a big city to a small city in east Texas. They are now telling me they have had complaints and are now giving me only 10 days which ends tomorrow. I’m in an emotional state where all I do is cry. The doctor that referred me to get the animal is no longer with the psychiatric office that I go too. They are not acknowledging that she told me to get an animal and refuse to give me the emotional support letter because they don’t do that now. What can I do to stop from loosing her? She is registered through a national registry for emotional Supp animals. Any answers will be greatly appreciated.
Registering an animal does not qualify it to be an ESA. Registration sites are not legally recognized by anyone. You must have an ESA letter from a licensed therapist.
When I got my letter saying that I needed my dog my apartment manager here in easy Texas said that my dog was required to be register as an ESA and she would be needing a copy of that certificate saying that my animal is registered.
Your landlord is misinformed. All you need is an ESA letter from a licensed therapist.
Darlene, I’m so sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope it all worked out. Had I read this earlier I should have told you… screw that psychiatric office. Go see as many psychiatrists as it takes to get that ESA letter. The are no rules about that.
Does this also apply to renting homes? You only mentioned apartments?
Homes that are rented using a real estate agent must allow emotional support animals.
My apartment manager in Texas is now asking for a “pet deposit” for all service animals and emotional support animals on the property. I’ve lived here for four years with my two registered ESA’s. I gave her copies of both registration certificates when I first moved in. I thought, by law, that she couldn’t charge pet deposits for service animals or ESA’s. How do I address this?
First, one point of clarification: “registration certificates” do not legally qualify an animal companion as an ESA. Obtaining a recommendation letter from a licensed mental health professional is the only way to qualify an ESA. With regard to fees and deposits, the Department of Housing has been very clear that landlords are not permitted to charge tenants with ESAs: “Conditions and restrictions that housing providers apply to pets may not be applied to assistance animals. For example, while housing providers may require applicants or residents to pay a pet deposit, they may not require applicants and residents to pay a deposit for an assistance animal.”
My apartment accepted the ESA letter but now wants a signature and stamp on their personal forms – how do I go about doing this when the doctor that wrote the ESA letter is no longer in business
Under recent HUD guidance, landlords aren’t permitted to insist on their own forms or notarized documents. Stamps also would probably fall under that category, that’s a very unusual request.
I wonder how i can get a support animal
Complete the questionnaire in the link below to qualify for an ESA.
https://esadoctors.com/esa-questionnaire/
Im moving into a apartment complex with my parents that has a 2 pet policy. We have one dog and two cats, the youngest is mine. Can I bring my cat as a ESA approved pet, even though the policy is a pet policy?
Yes, you can take your ESA if you have a legitimate ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional. The law allows you to have more than one emotional support animal.
How much does it cost?
You can find the pricing plans here: https://esadoctors.com/pricing-plan/
I have two mixed breeds with registered esa numbers. My landlord was aware before we signed the lease. We have their tags and id cards. They saw my dogs barking at a cat and are now calling them aggressive. They are now asking for paperwork 2 weeks after we moved in. We’re more than happy to provide what we have. However because they LOOK like pits the apartment is saying they are restricted. The vet does not say they are pitbull but Labrador mixed. How can I protect my rights
First, you should be aware that ESA registration numbers, tags and IDs are meaningless when it comes to qualifying an ESA. In fact, HUD has specifically warned tenants against using certification or registration sites. The only way to legitimately qualify an animal companion as an ESA is to obtain a recommendation letter from a licensed health care provider. Landlords are entitled to see an ESA letter from your licensed health care provider establishing your need for an ESA. If you have a valid ESA letter, a landlord cannot discriminate against your ESA solely because it is a certain breed.