Pennsylvania Assistance-Animal Accommodation Request and Decision Packet
PENNSYLVANIA ASSISTANCE-ANIMAL ACCOMMODATION REQUEST AND DECISION PACKET
PENNSYLVANIA OVERLAY
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act separately protects against housing discrimination because of handicap or disability and requires reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when needed for equal use and enjoyment of housing. Its specific guide- and support-animal clauses concern blindness, deafness, or physical handicap of the user, or a handler or trainer of those animals. An emotional-support-animal request based on another disability should be evaluated under the general reasonable-accommodation rule, not treated as falling within that narrower animal clause. The Commission's fair-housing page lists charging a fee for a support animal as discriminatory, and its December 2025 notice states that emotional-support animals are recognized primarily in housing accommodations.
Evaluate need, reliable support, conditions, and defenses on the particular facts.
REQUEST
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| Tenant / applicant | [________________________________] |
| Housing provider / property | [________________________________] |
| Request date | [__/__/____] |
| Guide, service, or support animal | [________________________________] |
| Requested rule, fee, or condition change | [________________________________] |
Animal role: ☐ Trained guide or service work ☐ Emotional support ☐ Other disability assistance ☐ Unclear
Disability-related limitation, without diagnosis: [________________________________]
Why the accommodation may be necessary: [________________________________]
Reliable supporting information attached, if reasonably needed: [________________________________]
Requester signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____]
PROVIDER REVIEW AND DECISION
☐ Pennsylvania support-animal protection reviewed under current state and federal law
☐ Requested fee or policy exception identified precisely
☐ Disability-related need and animal role evaluated
☐ Only information genuinely needed for the decision requested
☐ Conditions, alternatives, and any individualized defense considered
Decision: ☐ Approve ☐ Alternative ☐ Request limited information ☐ Deny ☐ Counsel review
Reasons and authority: [____________________________________________________________]
SOURCES AND REFERENCES
About this template
- Last updated
- November 4, 2026
- Citations checked
- November 4, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania
- Category
- Landlord & Tenant
Legal authority
- Pennsylvania Human Relations Act § 5(h)(1), 43 P.S. § 955(h)(1)
- Pennsylvania Human Relations Act § 5(h)(3.2), 43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2)
- 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204
Landlord-tenant paperwork governs who can stay in a property, on what terms, and what happens when something goes wrong. Leases, notices to quit, security deposit demands, and habitability complaints all have state and often city-specific requirements for timing, content, and service. Getting the paperwork right is what makes an eviction actually succeed or a security deposit actually come back, because judges regularly dismiss cases over small procedural mistakes.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on November 4, 2026.
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act § 5(h)(3.2), 43 P.S. § 955(h)(3.2) (checked October 25, 2026): "Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation."
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act § 5(h)(1), 43 P.S. § 955(h)(1) (checked October 25, 2026): "use of a guide animal because of the blindness or deafness of the user, use of a support animal because of a physical handicap of the user"
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, housing guidance (checked November 4, 2026): "Charging a fee for a support animal(s)."
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, December 2025 ESA statement (checked November 4, 2026): "emotional support animals are recognized primarily in the context of housing accommodations"
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