Why Do Some Landlords Still Reject ESA Letters Even When They’re Legit?

teresamcneel
teresamcneel Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener
edited January 2 in Housing and independent living

I’m posting this because I’m genuinely curious if others have faced the same confusion and resistance I did. I have an emotional support animal that helps me manage anxiety on a daily basis, and I had an ESA letter from a licensed therapist. Despite that, my landlord still challenged it and tried to pressure me about keeping my dog.

After a lot of stress and second guessing myself, I had my ESA letter reviewed and verified online [link removed by moderator]. They helped ensure everything was legally compliant and explained my rights under the Fair Housing Act, including how landlords are supposed to handle reasonable accommodation requests. Once I resubmitted the documentation properly and showed that I understood the law, my landlord backed off.

What surprised me most was how many landlords either don’t understand ESA laws or hope tenants won’t question them. It made me realize this probably isn’t an isolated issue.

So I wanted to ask others here:
Have you ever had a landlord question or reject a valid ESA letter, and how did you handle it?

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Comments

  • rubin16
    rubin16 Scope Member Posts: 1,423 Championing

    Could the reason why it was rejected have nothing to do with it being an ESA letter, more so emotional support animals arn't "legally" recognised in this country within any laws unlike other countries such as the US.

    While private registries exist like the ESA Registry UK, there is no where in law that states currently that service providers are legally bound to allow ESA's.

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,683 Championing

    The landlord probably just doesn't want a dog in the property at all. They can cause a lot of damage and it is a big risk for landlords. Chances are they just wanted to try all options available before having to give in and accept that the law isn't on their side in this case.

  • rubin16
    rubin16 Scope Member Posts: 1,423 Championing

    Re-reading this, just wanted to ask. Are you from the UK or US?

    I'm asking becuase this is a UK disability charity.

  • jefforwell
    jefforwell Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener

    Some landlords still reject legitimate ESA letters mainly due to misunderstanding the Fair Housing Act, skepticism about fake online letters, or past bad experiences with tenants and animals. Others may not know that ESAs aren’t considered pets and must be treated as a reasonable accommodation. In some cases, the property may be legally exempt from FHA rules, but often the issue is confusion or lack of awareness rather than the letter being invalid.

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