ESA letters in Austin

Accessory dwellings and the exemption

Austin has spent a decade encouraging accessory dwelling units, garage conversions and duplex construction, and a great deal of the rental stock in Bouldin, Cherrywood, East Austin and Hyde Park is a small building with the owner living in one half of it.

The Fair Housing Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units. If you are renting the back unit of your landlord's property, check that first. It changes the conversation from a right you are asserting to a request you are making, and the wording you should use is different.

Student and purpose-built housing

The West Campus and Riverside markets are dominated by purpose-built student housing with per-bed leases, and those operators run standardised pet policies with pet rent attached to each bedroom. Pet rent does not apply to an approved assistance animal.

Two practical points. Per-bed leases mean your roommates' allergies or objections may be raised, and an operator can consider a genuine conflict but cannot simply prefer your roommate's comfort to your accommodation. And university-owned housing runs a separate disability services process rather than a leasing office one, so ask which you are in.

Competitive markets and the pre-lease request

In a market where units go in days, tenants tell us they are afraid a request will cost them the apartment. Refusing to rent to someone because they requested a reasonable accommodation is itself unlawful discrimination. That is cold comfort when you are trying to secure a place, but it is why documenting the date of your request matters — a request on the record before a rejection is very different from one made after.

Where to complain in Travis County

If a Austin housing provider denies a request you believe was lawful, there are three routes and they are not mutually exclusive.

• The Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission enforces the Texas Fair Housing Act statewide.
• HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity handles complaints under the federal Act. Deadlines apply, so do not sit on it.
• Free legal help. Travis County falls within the service area of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which covers 68 counties across central and southwest Texas. Applications are taken by phone on 888-988-9996, subject to income eligibility.

Before any of that, read how to make the request properly — most denials we see in Austin follow a request that was never put in writing.