Emotional Support Animal Reasonable Accommodation Request

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUEST

CURRENT-LAW NOTICE

The Fair Housing Act uses a functional standard: covered housing providers may not refuse a reasonable accommodation in a rule, policy, practice, or service when the accommodation may be necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204.

This file does not promise that an untrained emotional-support animal must be approved. HUD withdrew FHEO Notices 2013-01 and 2020-01 effective September 17, 2025. HUD's May 22, 2026 enforcement memorandum states that FHEO will find reasonable cause and recommend charges on an animal-related Fair Housing Act complaint only when the animal is individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to the complainant's disability. The memorandum says untrained emotional-support-animal requests are not presumptively reasonable in HUD's administrative enforcement.

The memorandum does not amend the text of the Fair Housing Act or 24 C.F.R. § 100.204, does not address HUD processing under Section 504 or the ADA, and does not eliminate private court actions or rights under state or local law. The correct result therefore requires a case-specific coverage, necessity, reasonableness, training, program, and jurisdiction review.

Neither § 3604(f)(3)(B) nor § 100.204 creates a federal animal registry, certificate, identification card, or mandatory request form. Do not purchase or sell a purported federal certification through this packet.

PART 1 — REQUESTER AND HOUSING

Request status:

☐ New request

☐ Supplement to an earlier request dated [__/__/____]

☐ Response to a request for more information

☐ Request for reconsideration after a decision dated [__/__/____]

PART 2 — ANIMAL AND REQUESTED POLICY CHANGE

Requested change may include:

☐ Exception to a no-animal or pet policy

☐ Exception to a species, breed, size, weight, number, location, or common-area rule

☐ Change to an animal-related fee, deposit, rent, insurance, or other charge

☐ Additional time or a different process to provide reliable information

☐ Other: [________________________________]

Do not label a fee waiver, breed exception, or other condition automatically required. State the exact requested change so necessity and reasonableness can be evaluated on the facts and current controlling law.

PART 3 — TRAINED TASK OR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Select the description that is accurate.

A. Individually Trained Disability-Related Animal

☐ The animal has been individually trained to perform work or tasks.

General description of trained work or tasks, without disclosing a diagnosis:

[____________________________________________________________]

How the trained work or tasks relate to a disability-related limitation:

[____________________________________________________________]

Training source:

☐ Owner / handler training

☐ Professional training

☐ Combination

☐ Other: [________________________________]

This packet does not require a purchased certification, registration, identification card, or professional trainer credential.

B. Untrained Emotional-Support Animal

☐ The animal is not individually trained to perform disability-related work or tasks; the request is based on emotional support, well-being, comfort, companionship, or therapeutic benefit from the animal's presence.

General description of the disability-related benefit, without disclosing a diagnosis:

[____________________________________________________________]

The requester understands that HUD's current FHEO enforcement memorandum does not treat this request as presumptively reasonable and generally will not support a reasonable-cause finding based only on an untrained emotional-support animal. Counsel should evaluate private federal claims, other federal program law, and state or local protections before reliance.

C. Classification Unclear

☐ Additional facts or legal review are needed before classifying the request.

Questions to resolve: [________________________________]

PART 4 — DISABILITY-RELATED NEED

I request the accommodation because:

☐ I am a person with a disability under the law that applies to this housing.

☐ A person residing or intending to reside with me is a person with a disability.

☐ A person associated with me is a person with a disability.

Without naming a diagnosis, describe the functional limitation relevant to use or enjoyment of the dwelling:

[____________________________________________________________]

Explain why the requested policy change may be necessary for an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling:

[____________________________________________________________]

Alternatives already tried, offered, or considered:

[____________________________________________________________]

Why those alternatives do or do not meet the disability-related need:

[____________________________________________________________]

PART 5 — OPTIONAL RELIABLE-INFORMATION FORM

Complete this part only when information is reasonably needed and the requester chooses to use it. It is not a federal certificate, prescription, registry document, or mandatory form. State or program law may set different rules.

Professional / reliable source: [________________________________]

Role, license, or relevant relationship: [________________________________]

State and license number, if applicable: [________________________________]

Contact information: [________________________________]

Based on information reasonably available to me:

☐ The requester has a disability under the law identified by counsel or the housing provider.

☐ The requester has a disability-related limitation affecting use or enjoyment of the dwelling.

☐ The requested accommodation may be necessary to address that limitation.

Animal classification described to me:

☐ Individually trained disability-related work or tasks

☐ Untrained emotional support / therapeutic benefit

☐ Classification not within my role to determine

General connection between the limitation and requested accommodation, without diagnosis or unrelated medical history:

[____________________________________________________________]

I am not certifying or registering the animal. I am providing only the information stated above within my professional or factual knowledge.

Signature: ________________________________ Date: [__/__/____]

PART 6 — REQUEST LETTER

To: [HOUSING PROVIDER / MANAGER]

Re: Animal-related reasonable accommodation for [PROPERTY / UNIT]

I request the policy change identified in Part 2 as a reasonable accommodation under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) and any other law identified after jurisdiction and program review. Parts 3 and 4 describe the animal's role and the connection between the requested change and a disability-related limitation.

Please evaluate this request individually under current controlling law. If more information is reasonably needed, please identify the precise issue in writing and allow a reasonable opportunity to respond. Please do not request a diagnosis, unrelated medical history, a purchased certificate, or registry enrollment unless counsel identifies a specific current law that authorizes the request.

I request a written decision stating:

• the accommodation approved;
• any proposed alternative or condition;
• any additional information genuinely needed; or
• the factual and legal basis for a denial.

Safe response method: [________________________________]

Requester signature: ________________________________ Date: [__/__/____]

PART 7 — HOUSING-PROVIDER INTAKE

Do not use assumptions about a species, breed, size, diagnosis, or disability. Section 3604(f)(9) addresses a tenancy that would constitute a direct threat to others or result in substantial physical damage to others' property; document the actual facts and evaluate the requested accommodation and possible alternatives.

PART 8 — CURRENT FEDERAL DECISION GATE

Trained animal

HUD's May 22, 2026 memorandum describes requests to waive pet policies for animals trained to perform specific disability-related services as presumptively reasonable for FHEO enforcement. Confirm the work or tasks, the disability-related connection, coverage, and any case-specific limitation.

Untrained emotional-support animal

HUD's memorandum states that requests involving untrained emotional-support animals are not presumptively reasonable and that FHEO no longer expects providers categorically to extend trained-animal accommodations to untrained ESAs. Do not treat this as an automatic approval or automatic denial: identify any controlling private-action precedent, other federal program requirement, and state or local protection.

Fees, deposits, breed, size, weight, and documentation

The withdrawn 2013 and 2020 notices supplied categorical administrative positions on several of these issues. The May 22, 2026 memorandum does not replace them with new categorical fee, documentation, breed, size, or weight rules; it describes the inquiry as fact-intensive and case-specific. Counsel should identify controlling law before approving, conditioning, or denying on any of these grounds.

PART 9 — DECISION AND COMMUNICATION LOG

Decision:

☐ Approved as requested

☐ Approved with a mutually accepted alternative or condition

☐ More limited information requested

☐ Temporarily approved while review continues

☐ Denied after individualized review

☐ Referred to counsel / program administrator

Decision date: [__/__/____]

Accommodation / condition / alternative:

[____________________________________________________________]

If more information is requested, identify the unresolved element and why the existing information is insufficient:

[____________________________________________________________]

If denied, identify the current authority and case-specific facts:

[____________________________________________________________]

Response delivered by: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]

Follow-up date: [__/__/____]

PART 10 — FINAL CHECKLIST

☐ No commercial registry or certification was required or represented as federal approval

☐ The animal was accurately classified as trained, untrained support, or unresolved

☐ The disability-related need and requested policy change were evaluated separately

☐ HUD's current enforcement posture was not confused with the text of the statute or regulation

☐ Federal program, state, local, and private-action law were checked where relevant

☐ No fixed federal response deadline was invented

☐ No categorical fee, breed, size, weight, species, or documentation result was assumed

☐ Any threat or property-damage finding rests on documented, case-specific facts

☐ The written decision and supporting record are retained securely

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• U.S. Code — 42 U.S.C. § 3604
• eCFR — 24 C.F.R. § 100.204
• HUD — Notice of Withdrawal of FHEO Guidance Documents (September 17, 2025)
• HUD — FHEO Enforcement Guidance: Animal Reasonable Accommodations (May 22, 2026)