Benefits Of Getting An Attorney Letter For Your Emotional Support Animal Team

1. The Attorney Letter is excellent documentation, in addition to your vest, that you have an emotional support animal and are covered under the laws.

2.  Under the Fair Housing Act:

A landlord or homeowner’s association must provide reasonable accommodation by waiving a no-pet rule or a pet deposit for an Emotional Support Animal.

• Housing providers are not permitted to impose breed, weight, and size limitations on ESAs.

• Housing providers are not allowed to charge fees or deposits in connection with ESAs.

• Housing providers are not allowed to request detailed information regarding a tenant’s condition or medical history.

• Housing providers can deny an ESA if accommodating the ESA would impose an “undue financial burden” on the landlord or if the landlord determines that the ESA poses a threat to the health or safety of others.

Almost all housing providers are subject to federal Fair Housing rules regarding emotional support animals. ESAs are assistance animals that help tenants who are suffering from a mental or emotional disability. That means a building’s normal policies regarding pets do not apply to an emotional support animal. Housing providers must accommodate ESAs even if the building normally prohibits pets. Fair Housing rules were designed so housing providers could not unfairly discriminate against emotional support animal owners.

There are some limited circumstances where a landlord can legitimately deny an ESA, such as if they have determined the ESA is a safety or health risk to others. In addition, 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 are also exempt from ESA rules.

Although getting an attorney letter for a service dog is not required by law and is optional, many emotional support dog handlers find having an official letter convenient when facing the landlord, The letter can help communicate the dog’s purpose and avoid intrusive questions by members of the public. We would like to affirm that we abide by the regulations in regard to service and companion animals. These require a licensed mental health professional to verify that the handler's diagnosis has not changed and that an Emotional Support Animal or a Service Animal is still needed as part of their treatment. We hereby declare that this letter is valid for one year from the date of issue.