Landlord guide

Why this page exists

We connect renters with therapists, so our commercial interest points one way. It still serves our tenants for their landlords to understand the rules, because most denials we see come from a manager applying a pet policy to something that isn’t a pet, and those disputes are slow and expensive for everyone.

Nothing here’s legal advice. Fair housing exposure is real, and if you manage at scale you should have counsel review your accommodation procedure.

Eight-step process

1. Recognize the request. A tenant doesn’t have to use the words “reasonable accommodation.” If someone says their animal helps with a medical or mental health condition, that is a request.
2. Don’t apply the pet policy. Stop before the pet addendum. Assistance animals are not pets.
3. Ask whether the disability is obvious or known. If it’s, you may not ask for documentation.
4. If it isn’t obvious, request documentation of the disability-related need. In writing, and only that.
5. Consider whether the animal is commonly kept in households. If it isn’t, you may ask the tenant to substantiate the need for that specific animal.
6. Assess this animal individually. Direct threat and substantial damage are assessments of the animal in front of you, not of a breed or a species.
7. Decide promptly and in writing. Delay is a risk in itself.
8. Document the file. The request, what you asked for, what you received, your reasons, your decision and the dates.

HUD’s Notice FHEO-2020-01 sets out this analysis in full, and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs publishes training material on it. Both are linked in our sources.

What you may ask

Fees, deposits and breed policies

No pet rent, no pet deposit, no pet fee for an approved assistance animal. You retain every ordinary remedy for actual damage, and you can enforce nuisance and control obligations. Your insurer’s breed list doesn’t override the Act; if it creates a genuine problem, that’s a conversation with your carrier and your counsel, not a basis for denial.

Doubtful documentation

You’re entitled to reliable documentation, and HUD’s guidance acknowledges that a letter from a website that sells documentation to anyone completing a questionnaire isn’t by itself sufficient to establish a non-obvious disability or the need for the animal. Practical checks:

• Is the license real and current? Behavioral health licenses are verifiable through the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Physicians are verifiable through the Texas Medical Board.
• Is the therapist licensed in Texas? Out-of-state-only licensure is a legitimate concern.
• Does the letter reflect an evaluation? A letter that never suggests the writer met the tenant is weaker than one that does.
• Does it claim things that are false? References to registration, certification, or public access rights indicate a product rather than a clinical document.

Denying properly

If you deny, do it in writing, state the specific ground, and confine yourself to the permissible ones: direct threat from this animal, substantial physical damage from this animal, undue burden or fundamental alteration, or a failure to provide requested reliable information about the disability-related need. Before you finalize, consider whether an alternative accommodation would resolve your concern, because offering one is often both cheaper and safer than refusing outright.

Records to keep

Date of the request. What you asked for and when. What you received. Who assessed it. The reasoning. The decision and its date. Any alternative offered. Fair housing complaints are decided on files, and a thin file is a bad file.