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ESA Letter For Landlords

An emotional support animal letter, also known as an ESA letter, is essentially a document that qualifies individuals to be placed in a supported situation by an emotional support animal, in situations where animals may not be allowed, for example in rental housing.

Guy Holding Therapy Animal

Get A Legitimate ESA Letter For Your Landlord

The letter should be issued by either a licensed therapist, licensed psychologist, registered mental health practitioner, or doctor. A licensed therapist would be required to have gone through training specific to emotional support animal placement.

For instance, this may involve working with individuals who have been in prison, suffered from abuse, dementia, depression, anxiety, or other disorders. If you have an emotional support animal that needs to accompany you in your place of employment, it is imperative that you ensure that the animal is well-trained, in addition to being emotionally supportive.

Some residential housing, for example, specifically states that they do not allow pets inside certain buildings. For landlords of these types of housing situations, the idea of an emotional support animal is important.

It lets the landlord know that their tenant will be provided with emotional support if needed, and the animal will be well-trained to assist the tenant in times of distress, as well as providing companionship during times that you are alone. If you own a commercial or residential property, make sure that your lease explicitly states that no pets are permitted inside the building, in order to maintain this status.

Live At Home Supported By Your Fur Friend

The Fair Housing Act covers both residential and commercial properties. Residential landlords need to take note of this when making their decision. While the Fair Housing Act does cover animals, it does state that landlords must inform any potential tenant that they do not allow pets inside the property, unless the tenant submits a waiver permitting them to keep an animal.

In order for a tenant to convince a landlord that it would be beneficial for them to keep an animal, they would have to provide proof that they have a legitimate reason for doing so. For example, a tenant who has a dog that attacks other people on a regular basis would need to convince a landlord that it is safe to allow the dog to remain in the home.

Black Dog Watching Up

Many landlords prefer to allow dogs, however, there are still some landlords who choose not to allow pets, for a variety of reasons. For example, many landlords do not want to hire an animal-rights attorney to argue a tenant’s case, because the potential expense is too high. For this reason, they would opt to just refuse to allow pets altogether.

There are also situations where a landlord may decide to allow pets, but they do so on a temporary or regular basis. For example, a landlord may permit a tenant to keep a pet for one week as part of a trial period. The rule of thumb is that the longer the tenant has lived in the rental property, the more likely they will want to keep a pet. This is true whether or not the tenant pays pet rent on a weekly basis or monthly basis.

Gray Cat

If a landlord decides to permanently exclude a tenant from having a pet, there are a number of ways to go about challenging the landlord’s decision.

Apply For An ESA Letter Today!

An emotional support animal letter for landlords can help you explain why you want to keep a pet in your home. You can also show the landlord how you feel about their decision, and what you plan to do if they move out of the unit.

The better you make the landlord understand your reasons for wanting a pet, the better you will do in your negotiations with the housing provider. A landlord may not want to admit that they were wrong, but presenting your argument in a professional manner can make them change their mind.