Your home has more room than your lease lets on.
The law is genuinely on your side here. The Fair Housing Act gives people with a documented need the right to live with their emotional support animal, and it limits what a landlord can charge or refuse. Here is how that protection works.
See if you qualify
What the law protects
Four protections worth knowing by heart.
No pet fees or deposits
An approved ESA is not a pet in the eyes of the law. Landlords generally cannot charge pet rent, pet deposits, or per-animal fees for it.
No breed or size bans
Blanket breed and weight restrictions usually do not apply to a documented emotional support animal, as long as the specific animal is not a direct threat.
Even in no-pet buildings
A no-pets policy does not override your right to request a reasonable accommodation. The building must consider it in good faith.
Privacy of your records
Your landlord can ask for the letter, but is not entitled to your full medical history or your specific diagnosis.
Landlord rules
What a landlord can and cannot do.
They can
- Ask for a letter from a licensed professional
- Deny if the specific animal poses a real, documented safety threat
- Deny if the accommodation creates a genuine, provable hardship
They cannot
- ✕Charge pet fees, deposits, or extra rent for the animal
- ✕Demand your diagnosis or full medical file
- ✕Require a specific certification, ID card, or registration
- ✕Apply breed, weight, or quantity limits as a blanket rule
Putting it to work
How to give your letter to a landlord.
You do not need a lawyer or a confrontation. A simple, written request does the job.
- 1Get your signed letter from a clinician licensed in your state.
- 2Submit it to your landlord or property manager with a short, polite accommodation request in writing.
- 3Keep a dated copy of everything you send, by email if you can.
- 4Allow a reasonable time for a response. Most accommodations are granted quickly.
What if your request is denied?
A flat refusal of a valid accommodation request is rare, and often not lawful. If it happens, you can ask for the reason in writing, point them to the Fair Housing Act, and if needed, file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. And because your HavenPaw letter is written by a genuinely licensed clinician, it holds up to scrutiny.
If your valid letter is rejected for a reason tied to the letter itself, our approved or your money back, no questions asked. means you are never out of pocket.
Start with confidence