FHA Emotional Support Animals
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When it comes to ESAs, don’t ask a doctor for advice about the law
On July 1, 2026 the American Psychological Association published an article about using animals in therapy. You can find it here. I’m a lawyer, not a doctor, so I don’t have anything to say about most of the article, which deals with how animals can be used by psychologists when interacting with patients. I can… Continue reading
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HUD’s radical change of position on ESA’s
On May 23, 2026, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity announced a dramatic change in HUD’s view of accommodation requests for emotional support animals.² Stripped of the usual bureaucratic word swamp the point of the announcement is simple. HUD will not find reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred for any case involving… Continue reading
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Emotional Support Dogs again?
The March 25, 2026 decision from the Connecticut Supreme Court in Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities v Mansions takes a small but significant step toward limiting misuse of the Fair Housing Act as a way to avoid pet deposits or “no pets” rules. For full disclosure purposes, I represented the winning landlord throughout… Continue reading
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Disability Rights under the Trump Administration.
Coming on the heels of my presentation of this title (available at Trump and Disability Rights) HUD and Senator Elizabeth Warren have both made significant announcements about fair housing enforcement. On September 17 HUD announced that it was withdrawing a number of guidance documents, including FHEO 2013-01 and 2020-01 and concerning assistance animals. These guidances… Continue reading
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HUD was wrong about pet deposits – it’s as simple as that.
I’ve written quite a few times in the last decade about the absurdity of HUD’s position that landlords cannot charge a fee or deposit for an assistance or emotional support animal.¹ HUD’s position has never made sense because asking for the waiver of a fee or deposit is just another kind of accommodation claim that… Continue reading