Frequently Asked Questions

No. Since emotional support animals are not required any training and are still pets, there is no need to register or certify your pet. The only proof or document you need is an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional such as a therapist, psychiatrist, or physician for the pet’s owner.

Yes, all these have the authority to write emotional support animal letters. Under the federal rules and guidelines from the U.S. Department of Housing, a valid ESA letter must come from a licensed healthcare professional or mental health professional. If you get your ESA letter from an unlicensed doctor, you might as well flush it down the drain because landlords will not recognize the letter as valid.

There are not one or two. There are a hundred benefits to having ESA. From providing companionship to alleviating the symptoms of illnesses like depression, stress, or PTSD. They are ready to help you in any condition.

Governor Gavin Newsom approved California’s new AB 468 ESA law. This bill was drafted in response to an increase in the fraudulent selling and subsequent misrepresentation of emotional support dogs as service dogs. California’s new emotional support animal law punishes anyone attempting to pass their ESA as a service dog, but real ESA owners never had that problem.

May or may not be. Most airlines deny emotional support animals, but there are a couple of airlines that allow ESA. You need to check with the airlines before booking the tickets.

An individual suffering from anxiety, depression, or any illnesses listed below is considered the qualifier for owning an ESA. An ESA facilitates in endowing with the comfort to help relieve a symptom or effect of a person’s mental illness. An ESA owner must have a written recommendation in the form of an ESA Letter.

Qualifying Conditions

1. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
2. Learning Disorder
3. Autism
4. General Anxiety Disorder
5. Gender Identity
6. Bipolar
7. Cognitive disorders
8. Depression
9. Severe anxiety
10. Tic Disorder
11. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

ESAs provide comfort to their owners by bestowing a constant, soothing presence. Though they give comfort to individuals, it becomes necessary to provide the same comfort to them by endowing them with essential accessories.

1. Pet Tracker: Fixing a pet tracker to your ESAs collar ensures that he’ll never get too far from you.
2. Tennis Ball Launcher: An exercised dog is a happy dog, and a handy tennis ball will help provide the best form of exercise to the ESA.
3. Collar: Choose a collar that will make your ESA dog comfortable and easy to move around.
4. Toys and Treats: As ESA loves spending most of their time playing and a healthy treat would be enough to regain the exhausted energy.
5. Bedding: A comfortable sleeping area and a cushioned pillow and mattress are enough to provide the comfort and relaxing feel to an ESA. Though they still prefer to sleep with the owner on their bedding.

Emotional Support Animals are allowed at many places where normal pets are not allowed. There are ESA friendly hotels, parks, restaurants, stores, hotels, and flights. An ESA is allowed to travel along with the passenger with some documentation and an ESA Letter. Also, ESAs are allowed in societies or residential areas with no pets restriction.

Emotional support animals are typically dogs and cats but may include other animals. Any type or category of animal can be an Emotional Support Animal. All domesticated animals may meet the criteria as an ESA like cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, rats, ferrets, etc. They can be any age, including young puppies and kittens, too!

Laws governing ESAs are:

1. Housing Laws: As per the housing law, the landowner cannot refuse accommodation to occupant with Emotional Support Animals. They are also not allowed to expel tenants once an ESA has been acquired.
2. Employment Laws – Employers are not permitted to distinguish aligned with applicants or employees with ESA. In a situation where animals are not allowed inside the workspace, the employer must ensure to affix an exemption to the rule to accommodate the ESA in Houston of a competent employee.
3. Travel Laws: Traveling with an ESA in Houston is possible under the ACAA. It just calls for little paperwork along with some documentation. Apart from this documentation, an essential document that must be submitted in advance is an Emotional Support Animal Letter.

The law allows you to have more than one emotional support animal, but the request must be reasonable. It is acceptable if a person who has been diagnosed with an actual condition to have more than one Emotional Support Animal. If an individual is claiming the requirement for multiple emotional support animals, they would require separate documentation supporting this need from his or her physician or medical professional.

One can acquire an ESA letter from a physician. An ESA letter can only come from a licensed healthcare professional, such as a therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, physician’s assistant, or doctor. It may be worth delve into the issue with your doctor whether an ESA is right for you. However, you must be aware that while doctors technically can issue ESA letters, most ESA letters are not from doctors. An ESA Letter must be valid and must be prescribed from a Licensed Mental Health Professional.

Several Licensed therapists offer their services remotely, devoid of the need for visiting the doctor in person. Acquiring an ESA letter from a licensed online therapist is indeed as good as seeing a therapist in person.

An ESA letter is valid for a year only and must be renewed every year.

You can be eligible for an ESA letter before adopting a dog who will be your emotional support animal (ESA). An ESA letter is approval and a recommendation letter from a licensed mental health professional for the handler, not a “certification” for the specific animal.

A valid ESA Letter is comprised of the following details, which are recommended by a Licensed Mental Health Professional only.

An ESA Letter include

1. Mental health professionals letterhead and signature
2. The date of issue
3. Mental health professionals license type, the date the license was issued, license number, and the state that issued the license
4. Authentication that an emotional support animal is an imperative part of your life
5. Description of how the animal will aid the condition
6. ESA Prescription
7. Patient’s name
8. Details about your pet may be included

An animal is considered a Service Animal if the animal is trained and capable enough to perform the tasks individually to benefit an individual with some disability such as physical disability, mental illness, or any other. In contrast, emotional support animals receive no specific training, nor even necessarily, any training at all.

As per the Fair Housing Act, 1988, landlords must rationally accommodate tenants who possess Emotional Support Animals, yet the building has a policy that forbids pets. Though landlords have no issue in endowing with the reasonable accommodation to that anguish from mental illness, it is vital to keep in mind that beneath the particular state of affairs, a landlord has the power of rejecting your ESA. As per the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, a property-owner can refuse your Emotional Support Animal when:

1. The emotional support animal is a menace to the Landlord and other tenants.
2. The emotional support animal is instigating corporeal damage to the landlords’ property.

Accommodation providers are not allowed to allege fees or deposits in association with ESAs. As per the HUD statements, an accommodation provider may not charge any pet fee. These animals are not pets and cannot be subject to pet fees. HUD specifically states the following: Although, accommodation providers can refuse an ESA if accommodating the ESA would inflict an “undue financial burden” on the landowner.

As per HUD, if the policy is to charge tenants for damage to the tenant’s place of abode unit beyond moderate wear and tear, then an accommodation provider may oblige a tenant to cover the costs for repairs due to damage by the tenant’s assistance animal.

If the tenant has paid the pet deposit and later got the written recommendation by the doctor. In such a case, they would be permitted to refund the deposit as their animal companion is no longer considered a pet as per the Fair Housing rules.

A landlord has the power of rejecting your ESA under a few conditions. As per the HUD, a property-owner can refuse your Emotional Support Animal when:

1. The emotional support animal is a menace to the Landlord and other tenants.
2. The emotional support animal is instigating corporeal damage to the landlords’ property.
3. An Accommodation provider can refuse an ESA if accommodating the ESA would inflict an “undue financial burden” on the landowner.

In such a case,

• Contact the HUD and file a complaint.
• Contact a lawyer and have them write a strongly worded letter to your Landlord.
• Contact an ESA advocate that suggest you the right direction.

It is always good to clear your accommodation provider about your ESA and then bring it home. Generally, you must initiate with requesting your Landlord for the accommodation for your ESA and submit your ESA Letter.

Landlords must respond to a tenant’s request promptly. As per the Department of Housing, landlords are not allowed to “unreasonably delay” a tenant’s request for reasonable accommodation.

As per the HOA and Co-ops, accommodation providers can’t deny a tenant’s ESA request only because the ESA is a specific breed. However, they can deny only if the ESA poses a direct threat to others’ safety and health.