Emotional support animals have become quite popular in previous years. As many people started experiencing anxiety and stress while staying inside the house during the Covid pandemic, there was an increase in the number of people requiring an ESA for their treatment. With this increase, changes in emotional support animal laws were also needed. So, new guidelines with respect to emotional support animals in housing were issued on January 28th, 2020 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
All About Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws
According to the Fair Housing Act federal law, landlords cannot deny housing to people with disabilities as they should also have equal prospects to get a house. Some disabled people have mental health conditions that require an emotional support animal for their treatment. The landlords should provide housing to the disabled person with an ESA if the disabled person can provide a recommendation from a licensed health professional also known as an ESA letter. The disabled person could not be charged any additional cost for keeping an ESA.
It is important to know the latest guidelines regarding ESA housing. The rules that are in effect from the year 2013 have been changed. Whether you are a landlord, an ESA owner or you are going to be one, awareness of the laws is essential. Below are the major points to be noted according to the new emotional support animal law for housing:
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Previous Rights
It has been confirmed by the department of housing and urban development that the previous rights for ESA owners will remain the same. Previous guidelines include no breed or weight restrictions related to the ESA and no additional fee or deposit for ESA separately.
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Timely Response
Earlier it was unclear about the time in which a landlord must reply to the tenant. But the new guidelines state that the landlord has to respond within 10 days after getting the documentation regarding the tenant’s request. It helps the ESA owners to know how much time they need to wait for the housing provider’s response.
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No Additional Forms
Tenants used to face a problem where the landlord would ask for additional forms to be filled out by the concerned health professional. In some cases, tenants were also asked to include sworn statements. According to the latest laws, landlords cannot ask for any additional forms or statements other than an ESA letter from a state-licensed health professional.
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No Inquiry About Health Condition
Landlords also used to ask about the tenant’s mental health condition or wanted to know the reason for a specific ESA. It has been made clear by HUD that tenants can’t be asked anything about their condition. Tenants do not need to go through any additional medical examination asked by the landlord.
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ESA Request
There were no specified instructions for submitting an ESA request by the tenant to the landlord. New guidelines state that a request can be made orally or in writing. It is not necessary for a tenant to submit the request by himself. The request can be submitted on behalf of the tenant too. There is no need for any specific words too in the request.
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Request Before or After
Before the new laws, residents were confused if they could make a request if they already have an ESA. The new laws remove this confusion by allowing the residents to submit an ESA request even if they already have an ESA. But requesting to keep an ESA before acquiring the house is always recommended as requesting after would leave a bad impression.
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Types of Animals as ESA
The clarification regarding the type of animals has also been made in the new changes to ESA housing laws. Usually, dogs and cats are considered best companions. But some people find other animals like rabbits, hamsters, and small birds to be their ESA. All these animals have been approved by HUD for ESA. Not only these animals but any unique animal can be an ESA animal. The person just needs to provide strong proof to their mental health professional that they need a specific animal only as ESA.
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Good Faith Communication
Tenant requests were being rejected without giving any reasons or proper communication before these changes were made. Now it has been specified that a landlord cannot reject a tenant’s request without engaging in a good-faith dialogue. The housing provider should try their best to accommodate the disabled person somehow by setting up some guidelines to keep the ESA in a secure way that would not threaten others.
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HOAs and Co-Ops
Difficult HOAs and Co-Ops laws were becoming a challenge for ESA owners as there was a belief that the same fair housing rules applied to HOAs and Co-Ops. HUD has clarified the situation by defining that a reasonable accommodation for an ESA can have a reasonable compromise to these rules.
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ESA Responsibility
The updated guidelines have also focused on the tenant’s responsibility towards their ESA. The tenants are totally liable for the health and well-being of their ESA. All the actions done by the ESA are also directly related to the tenant. HUD states that the tenants themself or someone else on their behalf can make sure of it.
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ESA Registration and License
There has been a wrong belief that registration of an ESA and license of an ESA are legal and helpful. HUD has made it clear that there is no such thing as ESA registration or ESA license. They do not carry any legal value. Websites that sell registrations or licenses are not legitimate ESA service providers.
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Online ESA Services
Online ESA services were not considered legitimate by some people. But now HUD has confirmed that remote ESA-related services including online services can be delivered by genuine state-licensed health professionals. This would help the people who are not able to see a therapist physically by getting them an emotional support animal letter for housing online.
