Do You Have to Pay a Pet Deposit for an Emotional Support Animal?

Any individual who may be considering adding an emotional support animal (ESA) to their treatment plan has likely wondered what the cost of an ESA would be and how much they’d be required to pay for their ESA when living with them. Our article is here to give you an overview of what your financial rights are with your ESA, including giving you details on whether or not you need to pay a pet deposit as you live alongside your faithful companion animal.

What Is an Emotional Support Animal?

An emotional support animal is a companion animal that helps individuals with certain qualifying mental health conditions or disabilities. Unlike service animals, emotional support animals are not trained to perform disability-related tasks. Instead, they provide comfort, support, and companionship with their presence in addition to giving their owners a routine and often encouraging more socialization outside of the home (for example, walking a dog may encourage an owner to get outside more).

ESAs have a different set of rights from service animals, with housing rights being the most notable. If you want to add an emotional support animal to your treatment plan, it’s essential that you speak with your therapist or another mental healthcare provider licensed in your state to learn about getting the best ESA letter to take advantage of these rights.

Who Qualifies For an ESA?

Any individual with a qualifying mental health condition or disability may be eligible for an emotional support animal. Whether or not you are approved for an ESA is up to your therapist or other licensed mental health professional, and they may ask you questions about your needs and ability to care for any emotional support animal before you are approved for one.

When you add an emotional support animal to your life, and you have a valid ESA letter, you will be able to use that letter to request housing accommodations. These accommodations are protected by the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), and most state laws have regulations in place to support these federal protections.

Under the FHA and state laws, your emotional support animal is entitled to live alongside you in any suitable and reasonable area of housing. You are not required to adhere to any pet restrictions or breed restrictions, and you will not be required to pay pet rent, pet fees, or additional pet security deposits.

The reasoning behind this right is that individuals with ESAs need their companion animals to cope with their mental health condition or disability and go about their day. Owners with ESAs should not be penalized with fees or other costs due to their need for an ESA; to charge someone in need of an emotional support animal, or a service animal for that matter, could be considered a matter of discrimination.

That being said, owners of ESAs are not exempt from paying for the damages or destruction they cause. If your ESA has caused serious damage to your housing unit or a public space, you will be held liable for these damages. Acting like a responsible ESA owner and ensuring your ESA is well-behaved, non-aggressive, and non-destructive is an essential part of caring for your support animal.

Can My ESA Be Denied?

Your emotional support animal may be denied housing rights, but this only occurs in very specific circumstances. In most cases, if your ESA is a threat to themselves or others, or if they are incredibly aggressive or destructive, a landlord is legally able to deny your accommodations request.

Additionally, if your ESA is an illegal animal or an exotic animal, or if your ESA cannot properly be cared for in your chosen housing (such as a reptile with an extensive tank system or several chickens in an apartment), they may also be legally denied.

Understand Your ESA Rights

Understanding your ESA rights is key to requesting accommodations for you and your support animal and living with your companion without stress.

While you are not required to pay any pet rent, pet fees, or additional pet deposits with an ESA, you may be liable for any damages or destruction your emotional support animal causes to your living space. Always be aware of your ESA’s behavior and keep your legal ESA rights in mind when navigating life with your companion animal.