HUD Emotional Support Animal Policy: What Changed
Updated May 29, 2026, Originally published Aug 22, 2025
The HUD emotional support animal policy just went through its biggest change in over 20 years. If you own rental property in San Antonio or you're a tenant with an ESA, this directly affects you.
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What the HUD ESA Policy Change Actually Says
On May 22, 2026, HUD Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor signed an enforcement guidance memo that took effect immediately. The memo permanently canceled HUD's two previous guidance documents on emotional support animals, the 2013 and 2020 notices, and replaced them with a new standard.
Under the new standard, HUD will only pursue fair housing complaints involving animals that have been individually trained to perform tasks directly related to a person's disability. This is the same definition the Americans with Disabilities Act uses for service animals.
In plain terms: if your animal is not trained to do specific disability-related work, HUD will no longer take your fair housing complaint.
You can read the full memo through the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, which published a PDF of the signed document.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal vs. a Service Animal?
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the conversation, so it helps to get the definitions straight before going further.
Service Animal: A service animal is individually trained to perform a specific task tied to a person's disability. Classic examples include a guide dog for someone who is blind, a seizure alert dog, or a psychiatric service dog trained to interrupt a panic attack through a defined behavior.
Emotional Support Animal: An emotional support animal provides comfort and therapeutic benefit through its presence. It does not need special training to qualify. A dog that helps its owner manage anxiety or depression just by being there is the most common example.
Under the old HUD guidance, both types were protected under the Fair Housing Act and landlords generally had to accommodate them. Under the new policy, only trained service animals receive federal enforcement protection.
Why HUD Made This Change
HUD's memo points to two main problems with the old framework.
First, an entire industry grew up around converting pets into ESAs through online letter mills. Property managers across the country started getting ESA letters purchased from websites that would issue documentation after a short questionnaire and a fee, with no real clinical evaluation. The memo specifically calls this out as a problem that pulled HUD staff away from legitimate disability cases.
"HUD's prior guidance on emotional support animals led to immense confusion, appeared to impose obligations on housing providers in violation of federal law, and facilitated fraudulent ESA claims that diverted our dedicated staff away from helping disabled Americans in need." - Craig Trainor, HUD Assistant Secretary
Second, HUD noted that over 20 percent of its fair housing complaints involved untrained ESAs. The agency wants to redirect its enforcement resources toward cases involving trained assistance animals, particularly for veterans.
This issue also connects directly to how property managers screen applicants today. Hendricks Property Management uses PetScreening to review and document animal accommodation requests, which helps keep the process consistent and defensible.
What This Means for San Antonio Landlords
If you manage rental property in San Antonio, this policy shift changes the risk calculation around ESA requests.
Before May 2026, denying an ESA request or charging pet fees for an ESA exposed you to a real risk of a HUD fair housing complaint. That deterrent has been significantly reduced. HUD has said it will close ESA complaints involving untrained animals without finding a violation.
That does not mean ESA requests have gone away or that you can ignore them. Here is what property owners should know:
The Fair Housing Act itself has not changed. Congress did not act. Only HUD's enforcement posture shifted. Courts can still hear private lawsuits.
Texas state law is separate. State and local fair housing laws are not affected by this memo.
Document every ESA request carefully. Using a professional screening service keeps your decisions consistent and creates a clear paper trail.
Consult a property management attorney before making policy changes. The legal picture is still evolving.
For more on how Hendricks handles tenant screening and applicant reviews, visit our tenant screening service page or check our rental policies and procedures.
What This Means for Tenants With an ESA
If you are a tenant in San Antonio with an emotional support animal, your situation has changed in a meaningful way, but you are not without options.
The most important practical change is that filing a complaint with HUD is no longer a useful path if your ESA is untrained. HUD has said those cases will be closed. That removes the pressure that previously helped keep landlords from denying ESA requests outright.
What has not changed:
The Fair Housing Act still says landlords must make reasonable accommodations for disabled people.
Your right to sue in court is explicitly preserved by the memo. You have two years from a discriminatory act to file in federal or state court.
State and local fair housing laws are not affected. Texas has its own fair housing protections that operate independently.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is unaffected. Tenants in public housing or HUD-assisted housing may have stronger grounds through that route.
If you have questions about your rights as a renter in San Antonio, visit our renters resources page or review the top tenant FAQs.
Can Landlords Now Charge Pet Fees for ESAs?
This is where things get complicated, and the honest answer is: it depends.
Under the old HUD guidance, landlords generally could not charge pet fees for assistance animals, including ESAs. The court case HUD attached to its new memo, Henderson v. Five Properties LLC, found that refusing to waive a pet fee was not automatically a Fair Housing Act violation, even for someone with a documented ESA.
By including that case in the memo, HUD is signaling it agrees with the outcome. In practical terms, landlords who charge pet fees for untrained ESAs face much less risk of federal enforcement action than before.
Whether charging those fees is appropriate in your specific situation still depends on the facts. Your state's law, the nature of the disability, the documentation provided, and whether the fee creates a real housing barrier all factor in.
Hendricks Property Management handles pet and animal fees through a consistent review process. See our applicant FAQs for more details on how applications are evaluated.
What Animals Can and Cannot Be an ESA Under the New Rules
Under the ADA definition that HUD is now using, a qualifying assistance animal must be individually trained to perform a task directly related to the person's disability.
One notable difference from the ADA: HUD says the animal does not have to be a dog. Any species can qualify under the Fair Housing Act as long as it meets the training requirement.
| Animals That Likely Qualify |
|---|
| A dog trained to alert someone with PTSD and interrupt dissociation through a specific behavior |
| A dog trained to detect an oncoming seizure |
| A dog trained to retrieve medication or guide someone with low vision |
| Any individually trained animal performing a specific disability-related task, regardless of species |
| Animals That Likely Do Not Qualify Under the New Standard |
| A dog that provides comfort and companionship but has no task-specific training |
| Cats, birds, rabbits, or other animals kept solely for emotional support without task training |
| Animals obtained through an online ESA letter service with no real clinical evaluation |
This is a significant change from how ESA requests were handled before May 2026, when the species and training level of the animal mattered far less.
Animals That Likely Qualify
A dog trained to alert someone with PTSD and interrupt dissociation through a specific behavior
A dog trained to detect an oncoming seizure
A dog trained to retrieve medication or guide someone with low vision
Any individually trained animal performing a specific disability-related task, regardless of species
Animals That Likely Do Not Qualify Under the New Standard
A dog that provides comfort and companionship but has no task-specific training
Cats, birds, rabbits, or other animals kept solely for emotional support without task training
Animals obtained through an online ESA letter service with no real clinical evaluation
This is a significant change from how ESA requests were handled before May 2026, when the species and training level of the animal mattered far less.
Do Residential Property Managers Actually Verify ESA Letters?
Yes, and the new HUD policy has made the verification process more important than ever.
Under the old framework, property managers were limited in how much they could question an ESA letter. Asking too many follow-up questions risked a fair housing complaint. Now that HUD has pulled back from ESA enforcement, landlords have more room to evaluate the reliability of the documentation provided.
Here is what property managers are allowed to do and what to watch for:
Ask whether the letter came from a treating provider. A letter from a licensed therapist who actually knows the tenant carries real weight. A boilerplate letter purchased from a website does not.
Check for generic language. Letters from online ESA mills often use identical phrasing across thousands of documents.
Use a professional animal screening platform. Services like PetScreening help property managers document requests consistently and flag questionable submissions.
Ask about the disability-related need if it is not obvious. You cannot ask for a diagnosis, but you can ask how the animal assists with the disability.
For properties managed by Hendricks, animal accommodation requests go through PetScreening as part of the standard 2025 best tenant screening process.
Texas Law and What Still Protects Tenants
It is important to understand that HUD's enforcement memo only affects federal fair housing enforcement. Texas has its own fair housing law that operates independently.
The Texas Fair Housing Act mirrors the federal law in many ways and is enforced by the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division. Tenants who believe they have been discriminated against based on a disability can file a complaint with that agency regardless of what HUD does.
Additionally, the Fair Housing Act's private right of action is still fully intact. Tenants have two years from a discriminatory act to file a lawsuit in federal or state court. Courts are not bound by HUD's enforcement posture.
For San Antonio-specific housing topics, read our San Antonio rental market report and our guide on the eviction process in San Antonio. For insight on how Texas laws affect landlords, see our post on new squatter laws in Texas 2025.
How Hendricks Property Management Handles ESA Requests
At Hendricks Property Management, we handle ESA and animal accommodation requests through a documented, consistent process that protects both property owners and tenants.
Every animal accommodation request is reviewed through PetScreening, which allows us to evaluate documentation, flag concerns, and keep a clear record of each decision. This protects our owners from liability and gives applicants a fair, structured review.
We do not deny accommodation requests without cause, and we do not approve them without documentation. The goal is to follow the law accurately, stay current with policy changes like this one, and make decisions that hold up to scrutiny.
If you own rental property in San Antonio and want to work with a management team that stays on top of changes like the new HUD ESA policy, learn about our property management services or explore our owner guarantees.
You can also review our owner resources and FAQ or check out our resident benefits package to see how we support tenants through the leasing process.
FAQs About the HUD ESA Policy Change
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HUD is no longer pursuing fair housing complaints on behalf of tenants with untrained emotional support animals. The Fair Housing Act itself has not changed, and tenants can still file private lawsuits. But federal enforcement through HUD is no longer available for ESAs that are not individually trained to perform a disability-related task.
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Under the new policy, HUD will only protect assistance animals that have been individually trained to do specific disability-related work. Untrained emotional support animals no longer receive federal fair housing enforcement protection, though state law and private court action are still available options.
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As of May 22, 2026, HUD now applies the ADA's trained service animal standard to fair housing complaints. An animal must be individually trained to perform tasks directly related to the owner's disability. Simply providing comfort or companionship does not qualify under the new standard.
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Not automatically. The Fair Housing Act still requires landlords to consider reasonable accommodation requests. However, with HUD stepping back from ESA enforcement, tenants whose ESAs are untrained have less federal protection. If your landlord denies your request or threatens eviction, contact a Texas fair housing organization or attorney before taking any action.
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Yes. Property managers are allowed to ask whether a letter came from a treating licensed healthcare provider and to question documentation that appears to come from an online ESA letter service. Using a professional screening platform helps property managers review these requests consistently and document their decisions.
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Under the new HUD standard, any animal that has not been individually trained to perform a specific disability-related task will not qualify for federal fair housing protection. This includes dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and any other species kept solely for emotional comfort without task-specific training. The old standard, which recognized untrained animals simply for their emotional support role, has been removed.
Originally published Aug 22, 2025
Texas Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws Facing Change
Imagine this: You find your dream home in San Antonio, Texas. It’s quiet, pet-friendly except the landlord says no pets allowed. You hand them an emotional support animal letter expecting smooth sailing. Instead, you’re hit with a pet deposit and extra monthly fees.
You’re not alone. Across the state, Texas emotional support animal housing laws are becoming a legal flashpoint in rental housing. Landlords and tenants alike are unsure what’s truly required, what’s negotiable, and where courts are drawing the line.
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History of Emotional Support Animal Laws
The story of ESA protections doesn’t begin with pets — it begins with civil rights law.
1968: Fair Housing Act (FHA)
Passed as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the FHA banned housing discrimination on race, religion, sex, and national origin — but not yet disability.1988: FHA Amendments
Congress expanded the FHA to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. This opened the door for “reasonable accommodations” in housing — including the use of assistance animals. (HUD.gov)1990: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA recognized service animals, granting them public access rights. Emotional support animals were specifically excluded, meaning they are protected under FHA housing rules but not ADA public access laws.2000s: ESA Recognition in Housing and Travel
HUD began issuing guidance confirming that emotional support animals qualify as assistance animals in housing. Airlines also permitted ESAs onboard, sparking a wave of registrations.2010s: ESA Misuse Concerns
As more people sought ESA letters online, criticism grew that some tenants (and travelers) abused the system. The New Yorker and The Cut reported on questionable ESA claims that blurred the line between legitimate need and convenience.2020: HUD Clarifies Guidance
HUD released a notice affirming landlords cannot charge fees for ESAs, but landlords retained the right to request documentation.2025: Henderson v. Five Properties
A federal ruling challenged HUD’s “automatic waiver” stance, requiring tenants to prove fee waivers are necessary, not assumed. (More below.)
Overview
Tenants: Legal Protections Under Texas ESA Laws
Federal and state fair housing laws protect people with disabilities who rely on emotional support animals. These laws apply regardless of pet policies, breed restrictions, or building type.
What tenants get:
No pet deposits or pet rent
Exempt from pet rules and breed/weight restrictions
Can request accommodations for any animal that helps manage a disability (even cats, rabbits, or birds—not just dogs)
What Tenants Must Provide:
A valid ESA letter written by a licensed mental health provider (LMHP)
A connection between the disability and the need for the ESA (must be outlined in the letter)
This protection comes from the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Texas Fair Housing Act, which make it illegal to refuse housing based on disability-related needs—including keeping an emotional support animal.
Landlords: Rights and Limits
While Texas landlords must comply with Texas emotional support animal housing laws, they still have rights:
Can require documentation from a licensed professional
Can deny ESAs that pose safety risks, are destructive, or cause an undue financial burden
Can charge for damages caused by the animal (but not upfront deposits)
Until recently, landlords assumed ESA-related fees were always waived. That changed on August 20, 2025.
🐶 🐶 Free Resource 🐶 🐶
Download our ESA Resource Fact Sheet to get access to Texas Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws that has been put in place by the presiding agencies.
Key Feature Comparison
| Feature | Tenants with ESAs | Landlords |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | Must provide an ESA letter from LMHP | Can verify authenticity, but not demand diagnosis |
| Fees | Cannot be charged pet rent or deposits | Can deny waiver if it's an undue burden |
| Animal Type | Any domesticated animal | Can evaluate on a case-by-case basis |
| Breed/Size Rules | Not applicable | Can deny based on behavior, not breed |
| Behavioral Issues | Not protected if animal is aggressive | Can deny if ESA causes substantial disruption |
| Public Access Rights | Limited to housing only | N/A |
| ESA Registries | No legal registry required | Can reject third-party certificates without proper medical basis |
Landmark Court Case: Emotional Support Animal Fee Waivers Under Fire
In Henderson v. Five Properties LLC (2025), Judge Sarah Vance ruled that landlords are not automatically required to waive pet fees for tenants with ESAs.
Why it matters:
HUD guidance suggested fee waivers must always be granted.
The court rejected this, citing the end of Chevron deference (where courts deferred to agency interpretations).
Now, ESA fee waivers must be proven necessary, not assumed.
Judge Vance’s Ruling
Federal Judge Sarah Vance sided with the landlord. She ruled that simply having an ESA is not enough to automatically eliminate all fees. The tenant must prove that the fee waiver is:
Necessary to effectively accommodate their disability, and
Reasonable in the context of the housing provider’s operations.
In her written opinion, Judge Vance rejected the long-standing assumption that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires landlords to always waive fees for ESAs. She pointed out that HUD guidance, including its 2020 Notice and earlier joint statements with the Department of Justice, does not carry the weight of law—especially now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ended the legal doctrine known as Chevron deference, which used to give agencies like HUD broad authority to interpret laws.
This means courts no longer have to defer to agency interpretations if they’re not convincing on their own. In this case, Judge Vance found HUD’s arguments “unpersuasive” and lacking real legal support.
Why This Matters for Landlords in Texas
Though the case took place in Louisiana, it sets a legal precedent that landlords Texas emotional support housing laws could change by pointing to this case if they’re challenged on fee waivers for ESAs. The ruling emphasizes that ESA-related accommodations must be evaluated case by case, not granted automatically.
Judge Vance even laid out a framework for how landlords can assess whether a fee waiver is required:
Is the waiver essential to the tenant’s ability to use and enjoy the home?
How large is the fee compared to the overall housing cost?
How common are these fees for other tenants?
How important are these fees to the landlord’s income?
Has the tenant provided any proof that the fee is a financial barrier?
In Henderson’s case, the tenant failed to present any financial documentation or explain how paying the $400 fee would prevent her from accessing housing. Without that proof, the court found no reason to override the landlord’s standard policies.
Key Takeaway for Tenants
If you're requesting an ESA and asking your landlord to waive an animal fee, you may now need more than just a letter from a therapist. Under this ruling, you may need to show why the waiver is necessary, not just that you qualify for an ESA.
Documentation like:
Proof of income or financial hardship
A statement from your mental health provider explaining how the fee waiver impacts your treatment
Evidence that the fee would interfere with your ability to remain housed
could make or break your request.
Strategic Insight for Landlords
This decision gives landlords more legal clarity. You are still required to accommodate tenants with disabilities under the FHA and adhere to Texas emotional support animal housing laws. But when it comes to fee waivers, you can:
Ask for documentation showing that the waiver is necessary
Consider your financial capacity and fee structures
Deny the waiver if there’s no evidence it’s essential
However, this does not mean you can deny ESAs outright or ignore valid requests. You must still engage in the “interactive process” and evaluate each situation individually.
What Counts as an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal is not a pet. It’s an animal that helps relieve symptoms of a mental or emotional disability. Common qualifying conditions include:
Anxiety
Depression
PTSD
Panic disorders
Social phobias
You don’t need training or certification, but you do need a formal ESA letter that:
Is signed and dated by a licensed therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist
States your mental health diagnosis qualifies as a disability
Explains how the ESA helps with your symptoms
There is no official U.S. registry for ESAs. Sites that offer "ESA ID cards" or "emotional support animal registration" are often misleading and not legally recognized.
Service Animals vs. Emotional Support Animals
This is one of the most common points of confusion, and the laws are very different.
Service Animals (Protected under ADA)
Must be trained to perform tasks
Only dogs & miniature horses qualify
Broad public access rights
Examples: guide dogs, seizure alert dogs, PTSD interruption dogs
Examples:
A guide dog for a blind individual
A seizure alert dog
A PTSD dog trained to interrupt panic attacks
Emotional Support Animals (Protected under FHA, not ADA)
No training required
Can be any domesticated animal
Protected only in housing situations
Require a licensed ESA letter
Key difference: Service animals can go with you to Target. ESAs cannot.
Real-Life Scenarios: Tenants and Landlords in Action
College Student in San Antonio
Maria, a college student living off-campus, has a diagnosed anxiety disorder. Her ESA is a rabbit named Biscuit. Her apartment complex has a no-pets policy. Maria provides an ESA letter from her therapist. The landlord accepts it and waives the pet deposit.
Why it worked: ESA letter was valid, and the request was simple—no fee waiver or large animal involved.
Houston Property Manager With 40 Units
Darren manages several small units and allows dogs but charges a $300 non-refundable pet deposit and $25/month pet rent. A tenant submits an ESA letter and requests all pet-related fees to be waived.
Darren references the recent court ruling and asks for documentation showing the waiver is necessary to the tenant's treatment plan.The tenant cannot provide more than the basic ESA letter, so Darren denies the fee waiver—but allows the ESA.
Outcome: Landlord followed the law under the new precedent. Tenant kept the ESA but paid regular fees.
Veteran in Fort Worth
James, a veteran with PTSD, rents a home where the landlord charges $500 per pet. He provides an ESA letter for his Labrador.
The landlord demands pet rent anyway. James files a HUD complaint. The landlord backs down after HUD contacts them.
Lesson: ESA protections override standard pet fees — unless landlords can prove the waiver is not necessary under the new ruling.
Pros and Cons of the Current System
For Tenants
Pros:
Protection from unfair pet policies
Ability to live in more places
No need for expensive training or registry
Cons:
Confusion between ESA and service animal laws
Some landlords still push back
Must prove “necessity” if seeking fee waivers
For Landlords
New legal tools to evaluate questionable requests could results in changes to Texas emotional support animal housing laws
Can deny if the request imposes financial burden
Damages can still be charged
Cons:
Must be careful to avoid discrimination lawsuits
Can't charge deposits or pet rent without strong legal grounds
Legal gray areas still exist in how to “verify” ESA letters
Conclusion and Next Steps
The rules around Texas emotional support animal housing laws are evolving.
Tenants: Don’t rely on bare-bones online ESA letters. Document your need thoroughly, especially if requesting a fee waiver.
Landlords: Don’t dismiss requests outright, but know you can require proof when waivers are requested.
The bottom line: An ESA letter alone may no longer guarantee free accommodations, but it remains a powerful legal tool. Both sides benefit from knowledge, documentation, and respectful negotiation.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
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Do landlords in Texas have to accept ESAs? In most cases, yes. A landlord can only deny an ESA that is a threat to the safety of other residents or likely to cause property damage.
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Texas law generally follows federal guidelines for Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), which protects ESAs in housing but not public spaces. To qualify for ESA protections, a licensed mental health professional must provide a written letter verifying the need for the ESA due to a mental or emotional disability. Landlords must make "reasonable accommodations," waiving pet fees and restrictions, but are allowed to ask for documentation of the disability and the animal's necessity.
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Landlords are more than welcome to verify an ESA letter. The letters should come on the professional letterhead of the mental health professional along with their contact information, phone number, and email address. The letter will also include the therapist's license number.
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In some cases, if your ESA letter is more than one year old, certain housing providers may request that you renew it. It's important to note that some therapists choose to include an expiration date on ESA letters, typically requiring them to be renewed annually.
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Emotional support animals have protection under the FHA, but that doesn't mean they're immune to following rules ,and you can be evicted. Depending on how your dog behaves, your condition, and how your landlord handles their pet policies, it's possible to be evicted with an ESA.
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The Texas Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing for certain populations including people with disabilities. This statute prohibits charging fees or deposits for service animals in housing but notes that the owner is liable for any damages done by the animal outside of normal wear and tear.
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Step 1: Get the denial in writing with their specific reasons.
Step 2: Review your ESA letter and fix any issues.
Step 3: Address any legitimate concerns they might have.
Step 4: Give a clear response explaining your rights.
Step 5: File a complaint with HUD if they're being unreasonable.
Is this too much for you to manage as an individual landlord? We’ve got your back. Give us a shout and we can help.
