Many people have more than one emotional support animal (ESA) at home for various reasons. It may be that they need multiple ESAs to cope with their mental or emotional health condition. Or, it could be a household where more than one person has their own emotional support animal.
Whatever the case may be, you are allowed to have more than one ESA in your home as long as you meet the U.S. Department of Housing’s document requirements. If you have multiple ESAs covered by the appropriate documents, they are exempt from policies that limit the number of pets you can have in one household.
The reason for that is because emotional support animals are not considered pets—they are considered assistance animals. Therefore, landlords and other housing providers are not allowed to charge fees and deposits for ESAs, even if there is more than one.
Whether your ESA is a dog, cat, or one that sports feathers or scales, we’ll explain what you will need to do if you are trying to qualify for more than one ESA in your household. If you are ready to see if you qualify for an emotional support animal, complete the questionnaire in the link below and connect with a licensed mental health professional.
Why Do Some People Need More than One ESA?
There are many good reasons that someone might need more than one emotional support animal. It is not unusual, and in fact, HUD’s guidelines recognize that some people will need more than one ESA to deal with their mental or emotional disability.
For example, someone may have two emotional support animals that serve different purposes. A person may have a cat that provides a calming influence for their anxiety and a dog that provides them with a reason to get out when they feel depressed. It may also be that their adopted animals were bonded and couldn’t be separated, and both serve to alleviate symptoms of the owner’s health issues.
It is also common for households to have more than one emotional support animal if multiple people have more than one ESA. For example, there may be a home with a husband and wife with different emotional support animals. Or a home may have roommates that have their own ESA.
Whatever the reason may be, there is certainly no shame in needing more than one emotional support animal. And, as we’ll discuss in the next section, your right to have multiple ESAs is protected as long as you have the required documentation.
What Documents Do I Need if I Have More Than One ESA?
To qualify for multiple emotional support animals, you need an ESA letter covering each of your animals. Under federal Fair Housing guidelines, the only way to legally qualify for an emotional support animal is to have an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional.
An ESA letter is a signed document from a mental health professional that recommends an emotional support animal for your mental or emotional disability. The list of conditions qualifying for an ESA letter includes anxiety, PTSD, autism, and depression.
If you have more than one ESA, the letter must reference each ESAs. If you are a household where more than one person has an ESA, each member of the household must have their own ESA letter covering their specific emotional support animal.
If you need a licensed healthcare professional that can qualify you for an ESA letter, ESA Doctors can help. ESA Doctors can pair you with a licensed professional who is knowledgeable about emotional support animals and ESA letters. These licensed professionals are also familiar with situations where more than one ESA is needed. Click here to see why ESA Doctors is your best source for ESA support online.
Is There a Limit to How Many ESAs I Can Have?
You are allowed to have multiple ESAs in a household as long as each one is covered by a valid ESA letter. However, there are situations where you might have too many ESAs. After all, landlords and housing providers must reasonably accommodate emotional support animals under Fair Housing rules, meaning there are some limits.
Emotional support animals can only be small domesticated pets typically kept in the home like dogs, cats, small birds, gerbils, rabbits, turtles, fish, etc. Certain “exotic” animals may not be allowed.
In addition, no matter what type of ESA you have, you must be able to safely and humanely accommodate them in your home. For example, if you have several large ESAs in a very confined space, that may not be considered reasonable. If your ESAs are wild animals, that would also certainly be an issue. Your ESA situation cannot threaten the safety or health of other tenants in the building.
If you have a genuine need for more than one ESA and can comfortably accommodate them in your home, there’s no reason to feel ashamed. Countless people require the use of more than one ESA to deal with their mental health needs, and Fair Housing guidelines protect multiple ESA owners just as they do with individuals with only one ESA.
Just make sure you have the proper documentation to present to your housing provider to not run afoul of their policies limiting the number of normal pets. You can trust ESA Doctors to match you with a real-life professional that is licensed and capable of writing ESA letters.
Complete the questionnaire below to qualify for an ESA:
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I just went through this with my apartment complex. Its ridiculous. I have two ESA. They are both dogs, 11 yrs old and 3 yrs old. I’ve had them both since they were each 6 weeks old.
The older dog alerts me when I have high blood sugars, when I’m having panic attacks and when I fall down and cant get up he lays on the floor next to me until I can. When I’ve had panic attacks where ice passed out, I wake up to him licking my face. He is going blind and has arthritis very bad, so that’s was why I got my younger dog when she was a pup.
She has now picked up on all of his cues. She is more in tune with me. I was pregnant last year, she wouldn’t let anyone near me. Not even the babies dad. When we were at the dog park, she wouldn’t let me stand up, and she would jump up at me, forcing me to sit down again. She knows before I do, when a panic attack is coming on. She will lean into me and paw at me.
Because of telling my primary care doctor all of this, that each animal does something a little bit different for me, she wrote one letter, stating the need for both animals. My psychologist has even seen how both my dogs help while we have had video appointments this past year, so even she got on board and wrote a letter to the complex manager stating the need for both dogs.
I understand why its needed. Because some people are abusing the system. But some landlords and other places are also being dicks saying you can only have one ESA. My daughter and I were trying to move in together, and were discriminated against by a private landlord for this very reason. Because she has her own ESA, and I have two of my own. The guy tried to argue that we were running a private kennel business. SMDH.. Seriously, like how, when both of my ESA are fixed!?
It sounds like your animals may actually qualify as service animals, not ESAs, due to the tasks they perform in relation to your disabilities.
Hi. My dog also does a task. He squashes me when I have panic attacks to calm me down. But he barks at other dogs so he can’t be a service dog. So I just keep him as an ESA. Is there a different thing people with dogs that perform tasks but aren’t the best behaviorally can do?
One of the criteria for being able to take a service dog in public is that they must be well behaved and under your control. That is a baseline skill that all service dogs must have. It sounds however like your dog is doing a great job at being your emotional support animal and providing you with active comfort during your panic attacks.
I have two dogs that serve as my Emotional Support Animals and I’ve requested for them to live with me, and provided a letter from my therapist for my ESA’s, to my apartment complex. They keep refusing me, even though I have provided more than enough information as to why I need both ESA’s and what they do for me. They say they won’t approve two ESA’s but only one. What else do I have to provide to get both of my ESA’s approved?
Multiple ESAs are allowed, but your ESA documentation has to cover both of them. The therapist should make clear they are specifically recommending two ESAs.
My apartment manager is doing the same thing he is forcing me to pick one of my two ESA approved dogs to keep. Thing is bringing a lot more stress and anxiety than having to care for two perfectly well behaved ESA dogs. What can I do for my manager to let both stay. Also taking into account both dogs have never been separated since they were puppies of six weeks. They can’t been separated without having anxiety about f not being near each other. What can I do?
You are allowed to have more than one ESA as long as each is covered by a recommendation letter from a licensed healthcare professional. One letter can cover a recommendation for multiple ESAs.
I currently have a cat this is registered with my leasing office as an ESA certified animal. However, my depression and anxiety has been getting worse. I find little desire to get out of bed, have a hard time sleeping or waking up, and find little motivation to do the most menial tasks. My panic attacks have also gotten more frequent. Having my cat is still important to me but she’s very minimal care and mostly distant as cats are. She made my anxiety better by not coming home to an empty house everyday and having a reason to get out of bed – to feed her. But I now find myself getting back into bed, wasting away the day and ignoring all responsibilities because I just want to be left alone and wallow. I believe getting a dog would help me get into a routine – they require much more care and attention, I’d have to get out of the house to walk them, go out on hikes to get out their energy, keep them company and play with them. They’d also stick to my side whereas my cat is doing her own thing most of the day and sometimes it does feel like I’m alone. Would my leasing office allow two service animals under these circumstances?
It’s up to your licensed health care professional to determine if another ESA would benefit you. If you have a need for two emotional support animals and have documentation from a licensed professional for both ESAs, then your landlord should accommodate them.
Mikhael, cats do need our attention! They are just more resourceful with independence, then dogs are. Have you tried swinging feathers off a fishing rod toy for your cat? It stimulates hunting
Hi there, I have two ESA animals, I’m planning on getting another.They are treating me for Anxiety, Major depression because I have been very suicidal, panic attacks, Emotional overwhelm, stress problems and separation anxiety am I allowed to have 3 ESA ?
It is up to your licensed mental health professional to determine whether you need 3 ESAs to alleviate symptoms of your illnesses. You must also be able to safely accommodate all of the ESAs in your home. For air travel however you should be aware that airlines are limiting emotional support animals to one per passenger.
Hello I recently moved in to HUD housing for seniors. The pet policy is no more than one animal. However I have 4 cats all of which are emotional support animals. I have a letter from my psychiatrist who has been treating me for major depressive disorder, panic disorder and PTSD for the past twenty years. Site manager refused to even consider my letter and said she will “not break the rules’ for me. I have until April 13 to get “rid” of my cats except one. I have been suicidal since and honestly don’t think I can live without my cats. Please respond asap as time is of the essence. Thank you
HUD allows for more than one emotional support animal. You can either contact an ESA lawyer and/or file a complaint with HUD.