HUD Pulls the Plug on Emotional Support Animal Guidance

Last month Trump Administration housing officials formally stripped emotional support animals of their protected status in housing, a sweeping policy change that will directly affect how housing offices, apartment complexes, landlords will  process accommodation requests from potential tenants.

On May 22, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an enforcement memo permanently rescinding prior guidance on emotional support animals in housing (ESAs), effectively ending nearly two decades of federal protection for those who rely on ESAs.

The memo eliminates the presumption that landlords and housing providers must accommodate untrained ESAs, replaces it with the much stricter ADA standard for trained service animals, and takes effect immediately.

Credit: Lower Bucks Hospital

Although the HUD memo cites a recent court decision which held that refusing to waive a pet deposit for an emotional support animal was not a violation of the Fair Housing Act, other existing legal precedent supports Fair Housing Act liability for refusing to permit ESAs without fees as a reasonable accommodation. Until any final rule is issued by HUD and takes effect, courts will continue relying on prior legal standards and case law. Individuals who allege that a denial of a reasonable accommodation request for an ESA or other untrained assistance animals is a violation of the Fair Housing Act can still file a lawsuit in federal court, according to the Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania. 

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act,  Housing Advocates say,  offers additional protections for any individual “user or because the user is a handler or trainer of support or guide animals”. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) will continue to accept complaints involving the denial of ESAs or untrained support animals. The PHRC has indicated that it plans to issue written guidance on its position regarding assistance animals in the near future.

FHEO Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor signed the memo on May 22, effective immediately. It permanently cancels both of HUD’s prior guidance documents on assistance animals in housing. Together, those documents told housing providers they had to treat ESAs as assistance animals rather than pets, could not charge pet fees, and could only request limited documentation.

If an individual with a disability-related need is denied permission to have an ESA (or other animal that is not trained to do work or perform a task) as a reasonable accommodation in housing, filing a complaint with HUD will no longer be a viable enforcement option. Now, consumers will need to file this type of complaint in federal court or may choose to file a complaint under state law, either with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or in commonwealth court, housing advocates say.

The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania has worked since 1956 to eliminate housing discrimination through education, advocacy, and enforcement of fair housing laws. HECP’s work serves a population of over 4.65 million in the seven-county Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley regions. As the nation’s oldest fair housing agency, HECP’s successes include eradicating discriminatory practices at over 50,000 units of housing. HECP was represented in this matter by Abara Law Firm.