#Fair housing service animal age professional
This documentation must be from a Licensed Mental Health Professional and should state that the animal provides support and alleviates at least one of the identified symptoms or effects of the existing disability.Īn ESA owner can then present his or her Emotional Support Animal Letter to a landlord and request a reasonable accommodation. The first step to being protected as an ESA owner is to have documentation (commonly referred to as an ‘ESA Letter’) verifying their disability and verifying the need for the ESA. ESA owners should be aware of the protections afforded them and be mindful of the best way to ensure their rights are protected. The FHA allows tenants with mental or emotional disabilities to request a reasonable accommodation for their Emotional Support Animals.Ī “reasonable accommodation” is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule or policy that may be necessary for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their home.
These activities can include caring for oneself, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, sleeping, and learning. Under the FHA, a disability is defined as a”physical or mental impairment”, which substantially limits one or more major life activities. If you’re wondering whether you would benefit from an ESA or not, take the free, 5-minute pre-screening to see if you qualify.Īccording to the Fair Housing Act, individuals who are disabled cannot be denied housing based on their diagnosis or requests for reasonable accommodation. Though SAs and ESAs are distinguished and defined separately in the FHA, owners of both distinctions of animal are protected and must be accommodated. The FHA requires property owners to make reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, including those who are accompanied by Emotional Support Animals (ESAs).ĮSAs are often confused with Service Animals (SAs), but they serve a different, yet still protected, function to individuals with mental or emotional disabilities rather than physical disabilities.īecause outsiders may not as easily recognize mental and emotional disabilities, it is important for ESA owners to be mindful that confusion and uncertainty may be present when they begin searching for housing. This also includes an animal that provides emotional support which alleviates one or more symptoms associated with a mental or emotional disability. Fair Housing Act, Section 5 Recognizes an Emotional Support Animal as an Assistive AidsĪn assistance animal is defined as an animal that provides assistance and performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.
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