Meet Rocco and Catawba
After a divorce, “Rocco” moves into a new apartment. The divorce was hard on him emotionally and financially. He now lives in income-based housing, misses his children, and sees them less often than he used to. Through all of this, Rocco has had his dog, Catawba.
At first, Catawba was simply the family dog. But after the separation, Rocco begins struggling with serious depression and anxiety. His doctor explains that Catawba helps Rocco maintain a daily routine, sleep, leave the house, and manage panic symptoms. Rocco then finds an apartment with a “no pets” rule and asks the landlord for permission to keep Catawba as a reasonable accommodation.
So, is Catawba an emotional support animal?
Catawba is not automatically an emotional support animal just because Rocco loves him, owned him before the divorce, or feels lonely after the separation. But Catawba may qualify as an emotional support animal if Rocco has a disability and Catawba helps with a disability-related need. The timing matters less than the connection. An animal can begin as a pet and later become part of a disability accommodation if the tenant develops, recognizes, or documents a disability-related need.
For years, HUD guidance treated emotional support animals as assistance animals in housing. Under that approach, landlords generally had to consider requests to waive pet rules, pet fees, breed restrictions, or “no pets” policies when the tenant had reliable documentation of a disability and a disability-related need. Tenants were usually advised to make the request in writing and provide documentation from a medical provider when the disability or need was not obvious.
What Changed?
On May 22, 2026, HUD issued new Enforcement Guidance: Assessing Requests for the Use of an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act. HUD’s Fair Housing office now says it will generally find reasonable cause only in animal-accommodation cases involving animals trained to perform disability-related work or tasks. HUD also permanently rescinded its 2020 assistance-animal guidance.
That is a major practical change. HUD is now borrowing from the ADA service-animal concept of an animal trained to perform specific disability-related tasks. Under that standard, comfort, companionship, and emotional support alone do not count as “work or tasks.” HUD says requests involving trained animals are presumptively reasonable, but requests involving untrained emotional support animals are not.
In practical terms, this means a tenant with an untrained emotional support animal may now have a harder time getting help from HUD if a landlord denies the request.
What Did Not Change?
The Fair Housing Act itself did not change. Congress did not amend the statute. The Fair Housing Act still says that discrimination includes refusing “to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services” when the accommodation may be necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. See 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B).
HUD’s memo is an enforcement policy, not a new law passed by Congress. HUD’s own memo says tenants may still file a private lawsuit in federal or state court within two years of the alleged discriminatory housing practice, and that the guidance does not affect private rights of action.
The memo also does not decide every claim under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which may apply to public housing authorities and federally assisted housing providers. HUD’s memo says it does not address how HUD will process Section 504 or ADA complaints.
Pennsylvania law also matters. Pennsylvania’s Assistance and Service Animal Integrity Act defines an “assistance animal” as an animal, other than a service animal, that qualifies as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act, Section 504, or local law. The statute specifically includes an emotional support animal when the animal qualifies as a reasonable accommodation. The same law allows a landlord to request documentation if the disability or disability-related need is not readily apparent. That documentation must be written, reliable, based on direct knowledge, and must describe the disability-related need for the animal.
State and local law may also matter. Some Pennsylvania counties and municipalities have local fair housing ordinances or human relations commissions that may provide another place to raise a housing discrimination issue. Because this area is changing quickly, tenants should get advice about federal, state, and local options before assuming a denial is final.
A Note About Pet Fees and Fee Waivers
Many tenants do not just need permission to keep the animal. They also need a waiver of pet rent, pet deposits, or animal fees. That issue may become more contested under HUD’s new policy.
Under the Fair Housing Act, a tenant generally has to show that the requested accommodation is reasonable and necessary to give the tenant an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the housing. In the Third Circuit, “necessary” is a meaningful requirement. The court has explained that the accommodation must be essential to achieve equal housing opportunity, measured against any alternatives that were offered. See Vorchheimer v. Philadelphian Owners Association.
That does not mean a landlord may automatically charge every tenant with an assistance animal a pet fee. It does mean the tenant should be ready to explain why the fee waiver is part of the needed accommodation. For example, if the fee treats the assistance animal as an ordinary pet, makes the housing unaffordable, or effectively prevents the tenant from keeping the animal needed because of a disability, the tenant should say that clearly in the written request.
A recent out-of-circuit federal district court case, Henderson v. Five Properties, LLC, held that a landlord did not have to automatically waive a generally applicable animal fee for an emotional support animal where the tenant did not prove the waiver was necessary and reasonable under the facts of that case. Henderson is not a Third Circuit case and does not control Pennsylvania courts, but HUD cited it in the new guidance. That means fee waiver requests may now require more careful documentation and fact-specific advocacy.
Applying the Law to Rocco and Catawba
If Catawba is not trained to perform a specific disability-related task, HUD may no longer be a strong enforcement path for Rocco. A HUD complaint about an untrained emotional support animal is now much less likely to result in a finding against the landlord.
But that does not mean Rocco has no rights.
The Third Circuit has recognized emotional support animal cases under the Fair Housing Act, while also noting that a housing provider may contest whether the requested accommodation is reasonable. See Revock v. Cowpet Bay West Condominium Association.
Rocco should still make the request in writing. He should explain that he has a disability and that Catawba helps him use and enjoy his housing. If the disability or disability-related need is not obvious, Rocco should provide reliable documentation from a treating doctor, therapist, or other professional with direct knowledge of his condition and his need for the animal.
The strongest facts for Rocco would include a reliable treating-provider letter, a clear connection between Catawba and Rocco’s symptoms, no history of damage or danger, and a request limited to what is needed for Rocco to remain safely housed. The weaker facts would include a generic online ESA certificate, no real treatment relationship, no explanation of disability-related need, or an animal that creates serious safety, noise, sanitation, or damage problems.
Bottom Line for Tenants
A beloved pet is not automatically an emotional support animal. An emotional support animal is an animal that helps a person with a disability have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing.
Under HUD’s new policy, untrained emotional support animals face a much harder path in federal fair housing enforcement. But tenants may still have arguments under the Fair Housing Act, Section 504, Pennsylvania law, local law, and private court actions.
Tenants should not assume they have no rights. Landlords should not assume every emotional support animal request can now be denied. These cases are fact-specific.
If you need an emotional support animal to use and enjoy your housing, put the request in writing, keep copies, get reliable medical documentation when needed, and seek legal advice before moving out, giving up the animal, or agreeing to unaffordable pet fees.
If you live in North Penn Legal Services’ service area and need help with an emotional support animal, service animal, reasonable accommodation, or other housing issue, contact North Penn Legal Services. NPLS may be able to provide advice, information, or representation depending on your situation and eligibility.
