ESA Housing Letter
If you’re looking to preside with your emotional support animal, you must have the right documentation or you can be denied housing.
Verified ESA owners (owners who have an ESA Housing letter written by a Licensed Mental Health Professional) are allowed by law to live with their ESA free of charge, thanks to the Fair Housing Act.
The Fair Housing Act, commonly known as FHA, requires apartments and housing communities that ordinarily restrict pets to make “reasonable accommodation” for assistance animals.
In order to be protected by FHA law, the ESA owner must have a diagnosed disability and provide documentation, such as your ESA housing letter, to the property owner or housing representative.
With your letter, a landlord has no right to require you to pay extra for your ESA or deny you housing even if it has a no pets allowed-policy. They also cannot question the disability or require the animal to wear identification as an Emotional Support Animal.
They can, however, charge and/or evict you if the animal damages the property or harms others. So again, make sure your pet is trained to behave and respect its surrounding environment.
ESA Travel Letter
Thanks to the Air Carrier Access Act, you can fly hassle-free with your animal — and without charge — so long as you qualify and have obtained an emotional support animal travel letter from a licensed mental health professional.
Your ESA travel letter will need to be written by a licensed mental health professional in your state and will explain that your animal is a part of your treatment plan and needs to accompany you to provide relief from your symptoms.