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Emotional support animals and landlords
What your landlord can ask
- Whether you have a disability (if it isn't obvious) and whether you have a disability-related need for the animal.
- For reliable documentation of both — in practice, a letter from a health professional who knows you.
- To verify the letter is genuine, by contacting the professional.
What your landlord can't do
- Ask for your diagnosis or medical records.
- Charge a pet deposit or pet rent for an assistance animal (you remain liable for damage).
- Apply breed or weight limits as such; only the specific animal's behaviour counts.
- Require "registration" or a certificate — none exists.
- Delay unreasonably. Silence is treated as denial under HUD guidance.
When a landlord can refuse
If the specific animal poses a direct threat to others or would cause substantial physical damage that can't be reduced by another accommodation; if the building is genuinely exempt (e.g., some owner-occupied small buildings in the US); or if the request is unreasonable. In Canada, the test is undue hardship.
How to request
- Get the clinician's letter.
- Send a written accommodation request (template in the kit) with the letter attached.
- Keep copies and note dates.
- If refused or ignored, file with HUD or your state fair-housing agency (US), or your provincial human rights commission (Canada). Many of these complaints resolve quickly because the law is clear.
Canada specifics
Your province's human rights code covers housing. A no-pets clause can't be applied to an animal you rely on for a disability, and the landlord must accommodate to the point of undue hardship. Ontario, BC, Alberta and New Brunswick commissions all publish guidance; see rights by location.