Your Housing Rights Under the Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when such accommodations may be necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Allowing an assistance animal in a building with a no-pets policy is the textbook example of such an accommodation.

What Your Landlord Must Do

• Consider your request in good faith, and respond within a reasonable time. Silence is not a denial, but prolonged silence can itself be treated as one.
• Waive no-pets policies where the accommodation is reasonable.
• Charge no pet fee, pet rent or pet deposit. An assistance animal is not a pet for fee purposes, and a refundable deposit is still a deposit.
• Set aside breed, size and weight restrictions, absent evidence about the specific animal.
• Engage in a dialogue if the request is unclear, rather than issuing a apartment refusal.
• Keep your information confidential and limited to those who need it to decide.

What They Can Ask For

If your disability is not obvious or already known, a provider may ask for reliable documentation of the disability and of the disability-related need for the animal. A letter from a licensed mental-health professional who has personal knowledge of you is exactly that.

What They Can't Ask For

• Your diagnosis, or your medical or therapy records.
• A specific in-house form as the only acceptable documentation.
• Proof of training or certification for the animal — none is required for an ESA.
• A fee for making or processing the request.
• A registration number or ID card, which do not exist in law.
• A meeting with the animal as a precondition, in most circumstances.

When Can They Legally Say No?

Three grounds, all narrow, plus the exemptions below.

1. Direct threat. The specific animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be reduced by another reasonable accommodation. This must rest on that animal's actual conduct or history — not on its breed and not on a neighbour's discomfort.
2. Substantial physical damage. The specific animal would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others.
3. Undue burden or fundamental alteration. The accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative burden, or fundamentally alter the nature of the provider's operations. This is a high bar and rarely applies to a single cat.

Which Properties Are Exempt?

The Act does not reach every dwelling. The main exemptions are owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units; single-family homes rented or sold by the owner without a real estate agent; and certain housing operated by religious organizations or private clubs for their own members. Note that state or local law may cover a property the federal Act does not, so check your state page before assuming you have no protection.

How Do I Make the Request?

Most problems are procedural rather than legal. Send two documents together, in writing, and keep a copy:

1. Your accommodation request — a short letter stating that you are requesting a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act for an assistance animal, identifying the animal, and asking for a written response by a specific date.
2. Your mental-health professional's letter — dated, signed, on letterhead, with license details.

Email creates a timestamp, which is worth more than you would think if the matter escalates. Ask for confirmation of receipt.

What If They Refuse?

1. Get the reason in writing. A provider who will not put a reason in writing has already weakened their position.
2. Answer reasonable verification requests. If they want to confirm your mental-health professional's license, let them — your mental-health professional will not disclose your diagnosis.
3. Send the leasing office the HUD guidance. Many refusals come from staff who have simply never processed one of these.
4. File a complaint. You may complain to HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, generally within one year of the discriminatory act, and to your state or local fair housing agency. Both are free, and neither requires a lawyer.
5. Get local advice if eviction is in play. A tenants' rights organization or legal aid office in your state can act on a timescale a documentation service cannot.