Service and support animals in your home: what the law says

If an animal helps you live with a disability, finding a place to rent can be hard, especially in buildings that do not allow pets. The rules are not the same for a service dog as for an emotional support animal, and HUD also changed its guidance in 2025. This guide explains what the law says today, what happens in public housing and what certificates sold online are worth. For other changes you can ask for because of a disability, read Reasonable accommodations for disabilities.¹

All you can be asked about your service animal in a government program

2 questions⁵

The date HUD withdrew its assistance animal guidance

September 17, 2025¹

The time to sue in court over housing discrimination

2 years¹

Service animal and emotional support animal: not the same thing

The service animal. Under the ADA, it is a dog individually trained to do work or a task for your disability, whether physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other. The task must relate to the disability: guiding a blind person, alerting a deaf person to a sound, pulling a wheelchair or helping during a seizure, for example.⁴

The emotional support animal. Under the ADA, it is not a service animal. Providing emotional support, comfort or companionship does not count as a task.⁴ The Justice Department explains with an example: if a dog is trained to sense an anxiety attack coming and does something to prevent it, it can be a service animal; if it just calms you by being there, it is not.⁶

The two kinds of animal, side by side

Trained dog

Service animal (ADA)

• A dog trained for a task related to your disability
• No certificate needed
• In government programs, only two questions
• No surcharge, but you pay for damage if everyone does

Not a service animal under the ADA

Emotional support animal

• Helps you through companionship, with no trained task
• The question is decided under the Fair Housing Act
• HUD withdrew its guidance on these requests in 2025
• Get legal advice if you are turned down

Before you move, check what kind of animal you have and which law applies to that home.

What changed in HUD’s guidance

For years, many people and landlords relied on two HUD documents: notice FHEO 2020-01, on requests to have an animal as a reasonable accommodation, and notice FHEO 2013-01, on service and assistance animals. HUD withdrew them, effective September 17, 2025, and says they should no longer be relied on as authoritative.¹

That does not erase the law. HUD also said that anything that does not comply with the text of the Fair Housing Act is still subject to its enforcement.¹ And HUD’s regulation still says that refusing a necessary reasonable accommodation is unlawful, with the example of a no-pets building that must accept a blind applicant with a seeing eye dog.²

In public housing and HUD buildings

Pet rules do not apply. HUD’s regulations say the pet rules of public housingpublic housingPublic housing is a program of rental homes for low-income families, older adults and people with disabilities. HUD funds local public housing agencies (PHAs), which manage the homes and charge rents those families can afford. It comes in all sizes and types, from scattered single-family houses to high-rise apartments. The PHA decides whether you qualify based on your annual gross income, whether you are elderly, have a disability or are a family, and your U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status. To apply, you contact your local PHA. In general, you can stay as long as you comply with the lease.See the full definitionClose and of projects for the elderly or persons with disabilities do not apply to animals that assist, support or provide service to persons with disabilities. The public housing authoritypublic housing agency (PHA)A public housing agency (PHA) is a state, county, municipal or other governmental entity or public body authorized to operate public housing or rental assistance programs. These are the agencies that locally administer the Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) and public housing with HUD funds: they open and manage the waiting lists, review eligibility and income, inspect units and pay the owner its share of the rent. Each county usually has one or several; your page shows the ones serving your area with their phone numbers.See the full definitionClose or the project owner cannot apply those rules to an animal that is necessary as a reasonable accommodation, whether it lives there or just visits you.³

The ADA applies too. The Justice Department says the ADA covers housing programs run by state and local governments, such as public housing authorities.⁶ In those programs, with a service animal:⁵

• Only two questions: whether the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task it is trained to perform. They cannot ask about your disability.
• No documents: they cannot require proof of certification, training or licensing as a service animal.
• No surcharge: they cannot charge you an extra fee, even if they charge people with pets. They can charge you for damage if they normally charge everyone for damage.
• Under control: the dog must be on a harness or leash, unless your disability or the task prevents it. You can be asked to remove it if it is out of control and you do not control it, or if it is not housebroken.

If your building is for seniors, the Section 202 senior housing guide explains that program.

Certificates, registrations and local rules

Online, there are people and companies selling service animal “certificates” or “registrations.” The Justice Department says it does not recognize them as proof that a dog is a service animal, and that the ADA does not require the animal to be certified.⁶ You do not need to pay for one to have your rights under the ADA. If someone promises that a certificate “forces” the landlord to accept your animal, be wary: what counts is what your animal does and what the law says.

What you do have to follow are the local rules for all dogs: vaccinations, license and registration in your city or county. The ADA does not exempt you from those rules. Nor does it restrict service animal breeds.⁶

Example with real numbers

A tenant with a service dog in public housing

An example in words, not a real case, of how the rules apply.

The building

Has pet rules and charges a pet fee

Her dog

Is trained to alert her before a seizure

What she is asked

Whether the dog is required because of a disability and what task it does

The pet fee

She cannot be charged it; damage, yes, if everyone pays for damage

What she keeps

The dog's license and vaccinations, and a copy of her written request

The rules come from HUD and the ADA.³⁵ Check your tenant rights in your state.

Run it with your numbersTenant rights by state

How to ask to live with your animal

1. 1. Identify what kind of animal you have

   Before you look for housing

   A dog trained for a task is a service animal under the ADA; emotional support is not.⁴

2. 2. Check which law applies to that home

   Before you sign

   The ADA covers government housing programs; the Fair Housing Act, almost all housing.⁶

3. 3. Make the request in writing

   When you apply

   Explain that the animal is needed because of a disability, without medical details nobody asked for.²

4. 4. Keep the license and vaccinations current

   Always

   Local dog rules apply to service dogs too.⁶

5. 5. Keep every answer

   Throughout

   If you are turned down, you have two years to sue in court.¹

If this is you

Your dog is trained for a task

In a government program you can be asked only two questions and cannot be charged a surcharge.⁵

You live in a HUD building for seniors

Pet rules do not apply to an animal that is a reasonable accommodation.³

You have an emotional support animal

It is not a service animal under the ADA, and HUD withdrew its guidance; get legal advice.⁴¹

Someone online offers you a certificate

The Justice Department does not recognize it as proof; you do not need it under the ADA.⁶

The landlord does not answer you in Spanish

Ask for everything in writing and find free legal aid in your language through LSC.⁷

Before you sign the lease

Many problems can be avoided before you move in. These steps help you get everything clear from the start:

• Read the pet rules in your leaseleaseA lease, or rental agreement, is the contract in which the owner or landlord gives you the right to live in and use a property for a set period of time in exchange for payment, usually rent. While the lease lasts you have possession, but the landlord still owns the property. The lease says how much you pay and when, who handles maintenance and how the agreement can end. Your rights as a tenant are usually spelled out in the lease and in your state and local laws. Before complaining to the landlord, it helps to read the lease and make sure you are also following the rules you agreed to.See the full definitionClose and the building’s rules. If your animal is a reasonable accommodation, ask in writing that those rules not apply to it. HUD’s regulation says reasonable accommodations include common areas, such as hallways, yards or the laundry room.²
• Ask about fees. If you are asked for a pet deposit or fee, ask in writing whether it applies to your animal. In a government program, the ADA does not allow a surcharge for a service animal.⁵ The security deposits guide explains what you can be charged when you move out.
• Take photos at move-in. If you are charged for damage when you leave, dated photos show how the home was.
• Keep everything in one place: your request, the answers, and the dog’s license and vaccinations.

The guide Your lease explained covers other clauses worth checking before you sign.

Costly mistakes

• Mistake: Paying for an online certificate or registration.

  Instead: The ADA does not require one and the Justice Department does not recognize it as proof.⁶

• Mistake: Still citing HUD's FHEO 2020-01 guidance.

  Instead: HUD withdrew it effective September 17, 2025.¹

• Mistake: Giving your full diagnosis when asked about your service dog.

  Instead: In a government program they can only ask whether it is needed for a disability and what task it does.⁵

• Mistake: Letting the dog's license or vaccinations lapse.

  Instead: Local dog rules apply to service animals too.⁶

• Mistake: Waiting too long to act if you are turned down.

  Instead: The law gives you two years to sue in court; get help early.¹

If you are turned down: where to get help

Keep a copy of your request, every answer and the building’s rules. You can file a complaint with HUD; the guide on housing discrimination explains how. And whatever HUD decides, the Fair Housing Act lets you sue in federal or state court within two years.¹

Free legal aidlegal aidLegal aid is the free civil legal help that nonprofit organizations and their lawyers provide to low-income people in civil, not criminal, matters. In housing, that includes representing families facing eviction or foreclosure, alongside matters such as custody, child support, protection from domestic violence and access to benefits. In the United States, the Legal Services Corporation, created by Congress, funds a nationwide network of these organizations; its finder points you to the one in your area. Each sets its own income limits.See the full definitionClose can review your case. The Legal Services Corporation funds civil legal aid for people with low incomes; on its site you search for an office by your address, and LawHelp.org has free information and forms.⁷ The free legal aid guide explains how to find it. For your tenant rights in your state, use the tenant rights by state tool.

What to do this week

1. Write down the tasks your animal does and whether it is trained for them.⁴
2. Check whether your housing is public, HUD-assisted or private.³
3. Bring your dog’s license and vaccinations up to date.⁶
4. If you are going to ask for the accommodation, do it in writing and keep a copy.²
5. If you have an emotional support animal, get legal advice before you move.¹