ESA animal requirements

[Sandra Regnell]

Am I allowed to charge a deposit for an ESA animal? I allow small dogs and do not charge pet rent but had an applicant mention her ESA animal and am wondering how I handle that in a compliant manner.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Sandra Regnell:

You cannot charge a pet deposit, pet rent, or anything else for an ESA or service animal. Period.

This link will take you to the HUD rules, which includes a nice Q&A to walk through determining whether an animal meets the qualifications. I recommend you print, study, highlight, and learn this because the use of ESA exceptions is increasing dramatically as more renters learn how easy it is to cheat: https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfil...