HUD’s new guidance narrows how the agency will handle emotional support animal complaints under the Fair Housing Act, but NAR says housing providers should be careful before changing policies. Courts, state agencies and local fair housing laws may still treat the issue differently.
Washington — Housing providers have new federal guidance on emotional support animals, but the change does not necessarily end the legal questions around them.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new guidance May 22 on how it will enforce emotional support animal complaints under the Fair Housing Act, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Fair Housing Act has barred housing discrimination against people with disabilities since 1988. As part of that protection, housing providers, property managers, homeowners associations and others may be required to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, such as changing or waiving a rule so the person can fully use and enjoy their home.
For years, including in HUD guidance issued in 2020, the agency said emotional support animals needed by people with nonphysical disabilities could be covered by the law’s reasonable-accommodation protections. That often meant housing providers were expected to consider requests to waive no-pet rules for animals that were not specially trained but provided comfort or therapeutic benefit.
HUD’s new guidance rescinds the 2020 statement. The agency now says it will no longer accept complaints from people whose emotional support animals are not individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to the person’s disability, NAR said.
The shift means HUD will use the Americans with Disabilities Act definition of a service animal when reviewing reasonable-accommodation complaints under the Fair Housing Act. Under that definition, a service animal must be individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
Still, NAR cautioned that the issue is not closed. Private litigants and state agencies may still bring cases, and courts are not bound by HUD’s new enforcement position. Many states and local governments also have their own fair housing laws.
For housing providers, the practical takeaway is caution. Before changing policies or practices involving emotional support animals, NAR said providers should consult an attorney or state fair housing agency.
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