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A woman seated in her yard, hugging her service dog.

Assistance Animals

An assistance animal is NOT a pet. Assistance animals could be a trained service animal, or they could be other animals that do work, perform tasks, assist, and/or provide therapeutic emotional support for individuals with disabilities.

Aside from trained service dogs, assistance animals such as emotional support animals (ESAs) do not need to be trained, certified or licensed by any entity or program. Any animal prescribed by a medical or mental health professional to assist a person with a disability can be an assistance animal. Assistance animals can significantly enhance a person’s ability to live independently. 

Assistance Animal: An animal which works, provides assistance, performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability.

Assistance and tasks can include but are not limited to:
  • Guidance for people with visual impairment
  • Signaling for those with hearing impairment
  • Reminding the handler to take medication
  • Interrupting harmful behaviors
  • Predicting and warning for oncoming seizures
  • Helping with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias
  • Comforting and calming the handler during a panic attack
Reasonable accommodation requests for an assistance animal may include, but are not limited to:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an assistance animal require certification?

It is not necessary for an assistance animal to be individually trained or certified to qualify, nor is there any agency with the authority to issue a certification

How should a tenant request a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal?

A tenant should make a reasonable accommodation request. This request can be done orally, or in writing, but it should be in writing for documentation purposes. 

An example letter is provided in the final page of this Fact Sheet. The housing provider is expected to provide a timely response to the request.

May a housing provider ask for proof of disability or the need for an assistance animal?

In cases where the disability is readily apparent or known and the need for the assistance animal is also apparent, this isn’t necessary. However, in cases where the disability is not obvious or the need for the assistance animal is not apparent, the housing provider may request additional information.

What information may the housing provider request?

In order to evaluate a request for reasonable accommodation, a housing provider may request information that is necessary to:

What materials can I provide to the housing provider if requested?

Some materials that may be provided include but are not limited to:

  • Proof of Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Proof of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits
  • A letter from a doctor or medical professional verifying the disability and the need for the assistance animal
  • A letter from a non-medical service agency verifying the connection between the disability and assistance animal.

Materials should demonstrate how the assistance animal performs tasks which benefit the person with a disability or how the assistance animal alleviates one or more symptoms of a disability. See our Fair Housing for Medical and Mental Health Professionals: Writing Support Letters (PDF) booklet for more information.
 

How is a request for an assistance animal evaluated?

A housing provider will evaluate the following:

  • Does the person seeking to use and live with the animal have a disability?
  • Does the person making the request have a disability-related need for an assistance animal?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, the housing provider must modify or provide an exception to a “no pets” rule or policy to permit the tenant with the disability to live with and use their assistance animal in all areas of the premises where people are usually allowed to go.

Can a housing provider charge for an assistance animal?

A housing provider cannot require a tenant with a disability to pay a deposit, fee, or surcharge in exchange for having the assistance animal. Pet fees do not apply because an assistance animal is not a “pet,” but exists in order to serve an individual’s disability.

Can my request for an assistance animal be denied and, if so, when?

A request for an accommodation allowing an assistance animal may only be denied if one of the following is true:

  • The specific assistance animal in question poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation
  • The specific assistance animal in question would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation.

A housing provider may not reference previous experience with other assistance animals in the past when considering the above statements. Additionally, any determination that the assistance animal would indeed cause the harms above would need to be based on objective evidence and not speculation.

Does an assistance animal have to be a dog?

Unlike the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) which defines a service animal as only a dog, the Fair Housing Act allows assistance animals to be animals other than dogs. Therefore, it is admissible to have a cat, a ferret, or other species as an assistance animal.

Can an assistance animal be held to breed, size, or weight restrictions?

An assistance animal for a tenant with a disability cannot be held to a housing provider’s usual restrictions on pets. An accommodation must be made for the tenant.

What should I do if I have questions or believe my rights have been violated?

Please call us toll-free at 1-877-979-FAIR to discuss the situation.

Download our Assistance Animals Fact Sheet (PDF)
Fair Housing for Medical and Mental Health Professionals: Writing Support Letters (PDF)
Download HUD’s Assistance Animal Guide

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