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What Is An Emotional Support Animal Letter For Housing?

An emotional support animal letter for housing is a prescription signed by a licensed mental healthcare professional (LMHP). This letter indicates that the patient is suffering from a mental health issue and needs emotional support, companionship, and the love of his/her pet for treatment.

A landlord has the authority to deny your pet if you don’t have any evidence of your disability. Your landlord will not approve your ESA if you don’t have any recommendation or letter that proves your pet is a part of your treatment. But, with a legitimate ESA letter for housing, you can convince your landlord that you need your ESA for healing therapy.

Do you know what does a legitimate emotional support letter look like? Well, a valid ESA prescription letter should have the below-mentioned information:

• A patient’s name
• Written verification of a doctor that states the patient has a specific mental or emotional disability and needs an ESA for therapy.
• Detailed information regarding laws and regulation that defines the patient qualifies for an ESA.
• Why does the patient need a pet for emotional support?
• Information of Pet that the patient wants to designate as an Emotional Support Animal, i.e., Name, Breed, if the patient has one. (In case the patient does not have a pet before applying for an ESA letter, he/she can ask for an update the information later)
• Name of the licensed mental health professional (LMHP).
• Signature of LMHP.
• Practice name
• The contact number of LMHP.
• LMHP’s medical license number
• Issued date of medical license
• Issue and expiration date Of ESA Letter.
• Name of the state where the physician is licensed.

You may have questions like why is this information required on an ESA letter? The simple answer is that every piece of information is vital to validate your emotional support animal. A physician’s detailed information can help the landlord verify whether your ESA letter is valid or not. The landlord may call the doctor’s number to ensure that you need an emotional support animal for treatment. The detailed information about the patient’s disability helps the landlord better understand how an emotional support animal is essential for treatment. And the issue and expiry dates help the landlord know when the letter was issued and when it will expire.

If a USA resident is diagnosed with one of the following emotional or mental disabilities and he/she has a recommendation signed by a professional for ESA treatment or emotive support therapy. In that case, the person can apply for an ESA letter for housing, which means he/she can designate one or more pets as emotional support animals for treatment purposes. The following health conditions are considered as qualifying health conditions for an ESA letter:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Panic Attacks
• ADHD- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder
• Substance-related disorder (alcohol, drugs)
• OCD- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Phobias
• PTSD-Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Acute Stress Disorder
• Eating Disorders
• Learning Disorders
• Personality Disorders
• Bipolar Disorder
• Sexual disorder
• Developmental coordination disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Autism and More.

Along with the qualifying health conditions mentioned earlier, many mental health issues are considered qualifying for an ESA letter for housing. The best way to find out whether you qualify for an emotional support animal or not is to contact a licensed mental healthcare professional (LMHP). And explain your symptoms to the professional. The LMHP will evaluate your disability to determine whether you can get better with an ESA or not.

And suppose you have a qualifying health condition that can be cured with the help of an emotional support animal. In that case, the LMHP will prescribe you an ESA letter for housing. Keep in mind that an emotional support dog letter or ESA letter for a dog and a controlled medication prescription is similar and should be issued by the professional. You can not write this letter by yourself. Also, you don’t need any other ESA letter requirements rather than a qualifying condition, contact information, and where you reside.

Most people suffering from mental disabilities like depression, anxiety, or phobia have trouble staying with their ESAs due to the landlord’s pet policies or additional charges imposed on tenants for their pets. In that case, the Fair Housing Act protects their rights to equal accommodation and prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants basis on their disabilities.

But, keep in mind that the tenant will need an emotional support animal letter written by a licensed medical or mental health professional to get the protection of FHA. Also, only a licensed professional can write and issue an ESA letter for housing. Here is a list of licensed mental health professionals that have the authority to sign and issue ESA letters for housing:

• A Licensed Behavioral Therapist
• A Licensed Addiction Therapist
• A Licensed Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist
• A licensed psychiatrist
• A licensed psychologist
• A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
• A licensed Professional Counselor
• A licensed doctor qualified to conduct mental health assessments
• A Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Make sure that you have financial stability. So, you will be able to spend money on your ESAs’ care, such as feeding, grooming, and providing veterinarian care to them. Also, ensure that you have appropriate accommodation, and the number of your ESAs should be reasonable. For example, if you live in a 2-room apartment but have more than five dogs, it can cause you and your ESAs trouble. Also, it can lead your landlord to more repair expenses, which no one wants.

However, the landlord can not ask you for a pet fee or deposit. Still, if your ESA causes property damage, you will be liable for the repair charges. For example, suppose your pet destroyed furniture by biting or scratching it. Or your pet broke any decoration piece in the house. In that case, your landlord has the right to ask you to pay for repair charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can A Landowner Refuse My Emotional Support Animal?

No. If you have a legitimate ESA letter, the landlord can not forbid your emotional support animal based on their type, breed, weight or size. However, some exemptions in the Federal Housing Act allow the landlord to restrict your emotional support animal. They are:

✪ If You Have A Fake ESA Letter

Your landlord has the right to deny your emotional support animal if you submit a fake ESA letter for housing. So make sure that you have a valid ESA letter for housing that a licensed professional such as a therapist or counselor wrote on official letterhead.

✪ Due To Health Issues

If one of the property residents has any allergic reactions to your pet. In that case, the landlord can reject your emotional support animal even if you have a legitimate ESA letter. As you know, many health issues such as respiratory problems or allergies can be triggered by animal fur. And your pet can cause a risk to their health, so the landlord can deny your pet to save them from hassle.

✪ Due To Safety Reasons

Your landlord can restrict your emotional support animal if it causes any damage to property or harms neighbors. For example, if your dog bites or cat scratches one of your neighbors, it can cause you and others distress. Or, if your dog barks all day, it can cause a nuisance to nearby people that no one likes. In that case, your landlord can evict you and your pet by giving a 10-day notice which will be troublesome for you.

✪ Due To Accommodation Inability

Suppose you have a Cane Corso dog that loves to stay in a spacious place, but your landlord has one room to accommodate you. It means you and your dog have to live in that room, and it may affect your and your pet’s lifestyle. It also may lead to more nuisance and high maintenance due to less space. In that case, the landlord can deny your furry friend because the landlord is unable to accommodate you both.

✪ Due To Damage Caused By Your ESA

Some dog breeds, such as rottweiler, have aggressive behavior, and they can cause damage to the property. The landlord can not deny your pet based on size or breed or ask you for any pet deposit. But what if your pet causes any damage to the landlord’s property. In that case, your landlord has the right to charge you repair expenses and ask you to evict the house with a 10-day notice.

Can A Landlord Deny Multiple ESAs?

Your landlord can not reject your multiple ESAs if you have a valid ESA letter. The physician should have mentioned all of your emotional support animals in this letter. Still, there are a few possibilities when your landlord can deny your emotional support animals.

To better understand, let’s take an example. Suppose you live in a college housing campus with your five cats. Or what if you have a tiny one-room apartment, but you have more than six barking dogs. These situations may lead you to troubles, such as questioning your housing opportunity or an excessive financial burden to the property owner that no one is willing to have.