Getting an Emotional Support Animal: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you interested in getting an emotional support animal (ESA)? If you have an emotional support animal, the Fair Housing Act ensures that you can have it with you, even in accommodation that does not allow pets.

Technically, an ESA is not a pet or a service animal. It is an animal that provides comfort and companionship for you because you suffer from a mental or emotional disability that substantially affects your ability to perform one or more major life activities. If you want to make sure you’re doing things the right way, here is a step-by-step guide.

Decide Whether You Would Benefit From An Emotional Support Animal

Federal law requires you to get a legitimate ESA letter from a licensed healthcare provider or mental health professional. However, recognizing that you have a condition that could benefit from an ESA is the first step you need to take. There are various conditions for which an ESA can be beneficial, and that include:

Anxiety
Panic attacks
Depression
Phobias
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Attention deficit disorder (ADD)

A licensed professional needs to confirm that you suffer from one of the above conditions. Without a diagnosis, you can still enjoy the benefits of having a pet, but it does not qualify as an ESA, and you can’t have it living with you if having pets is against a landlord’s rules.

Connect with a licensed healthcare or mental health provider

It can be challenging to find the right licensed professional to help you. You may benefit from finding a therapist online. A licensed mental health professional like a psychologist, licensed therapist, or even a licensed clinical social worker can write an ESA recommendation letter for you. It will help to find one with specific knowledge about emotional support animals.

An ESA letter that comes from having an online consultation is just as valid as one written by a therapist you visit in person. The letter should come on the licensed professional’s letterhead and be signed and dated. It should contain contact details and licensing information. The letter must also establish that you have a mental or emotional disability and that having an ESA could help to alleviate your symptoms. You need to get an ESA letter updated every 12 months.

Get the right ESA

You may already have a pet that can serve as your ESA, and all you need to do is get an ESA letter. If you don’t already have a pet, you will need to buy or adopt one with the right attributes and temperament to suit your particular situation.

If you will be living in a small apartment, a small ESA such as a Yorkshire terrier is more appropriate than a large dog, and a hamster will need even less space. If you’re dealing with anxiety or depression, you need an animal that you can bond strongly with so you feel comfort and companionship when you need it most. An ESA should relieve your stress rather than add to it. Any small domesticated animal like a dog, cat, bird, hamster, or even a ferret can serve as your ESA.

ESAs are not like service dogs that receive special training to perform specific tasks. However, you can still give an ESA some basic training to ensure that they behave appropriately. You don’t have to pay fees or deposits in connection with your ESA, but landlords can charge you for any damages or even reject an ESA that’s unruly or liable to cause others harm.

After registering an emotional support animal, you may need to provide additional documentation or request reasonable accommodations for your ESA. Plus, ESAs must be under control and behave appropriately in public.

Use your ESA letter appropriately

If you have an ESA letter for housing, you need to submit it to your landlord and let them know that you are requesting reasonable accommodation for your ESA pursuant to Fair Housing rules. A landlord has approximately ten days to respond to your request, and they must accept it unless there is a very good reason for rejecting it.

A landlord can’t ask for your medical records or more details about your condition as this violates privacy laws.

There are a few limited circumstances in which landlords can deny your request, such as if your ESA is considered a threat to the health and safety of other residents. Once a landlord grants your request, your ESA can live with you, even if the accommodation doesn’t allow pets.

When it comes to airline flights, you can submit an ESA letter, but airlines have the option of accepting or denying emotional support animals.

Passing off your pet as an ESA animal without having a legitimate ESA letter can result in rejection from a landlord and can damage the reputation of legitimate ESA owners. Many people find genuine relief from mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD through the companionship of an ESA.