pets & housing

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides physical and/or emotional support to help with the symptoms of a disability.

Both ESAs and service animals are assistance animals. Service animals are dogs or miniature horses who have training to do a specific task to assist someone with their disability.¹

An ESA can be any species, and does not need any special training to provide comfort and emotional support.

Yes, in California! An ESA is not a pet, they are considered an assistance animal.²

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, housing providers cannot refuse a request from someone with a disability for reasonable accommodation to have an assistance animal.

Pet fees, pet deposits, or pet rent do not apply, as an ESA is not a pet, but an assistance animal.

The only exception would be if the housing provider could demonstrate that allowing an ESA would create an undue financial or administrative burden on them.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a disability is a physical or mental impairment that limits a major life activity. Also, having a history of a disability, or an having an impairment that is perceived by others as a disability, is also considered a disability.

An ESA can provide comfort to people with mental health disabilities including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

An ESA can help provide comfort to people with a physical disability as well, which could include cancer, diabetes, autism spectrum disorder, mobility disabilities, hearing loss or low vision, intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury, or other disabling conditions.

You can ask your housing provider for “reasonable accommodation” to allow your ESA, but they may ask for documentation.

If so, you’ll need to provide a letter asking for “reasonable accommodation” that:
1) verifies that you have a disability (it does not need to disclose the specific disability!); and
2) says an ESA would alleviate symptoms of your disability.

In California, this letter can be written by “any reliable third party who is in a position to know about the individual’s disability or the disability-related need for the ESA, such as a health care provider, therapist, social worker, non-medical service provider, member of a peer support group, parent, child, or other relative.”³

Self-certification: If you already receive disability benefits, this verifies that you have a disability, and you can write your own letter stating this and that an ESA would alleviate symptoms of your disability.

Online services: Services that charge a fee to “register” or “certify” an animal as an ESA are unnecessary, and your ESA does not need a certification card or special vest. Services that conducts an “individualized assessment” by a licensed healthcare provider can provide you an ESA letter.

If you receive any disability benefits, you may self-certify that you both have a disability, and that your ESA helps manage the symptoms of your disability.

If you do not currently receive disability benefits, in California, any “reliable third party” with knowledge of your disability and the role that your ESA plays in managing the symptoms of your disability can write this letter. This includes social workers, health care workers, and peer support group members.

If you do not receive disability benefits and do not have a relationship with a “reliable third party,” such as a health care provider, who has knowledge of your disability or who is willing/able to provide a letter, there are several telehealth options online for certification. Be cautious when working with someone online, an ESA does not need a tag nor to be certified – you are looking for someone to objectively attest that you (1) have a disability, and (2) the symptoms of your disability are helped by your ESA.

The letter does not need to disclose your disability.

While any type of animal can be an ESA, state, county, and city laws about animals still apply.

An ESA can be any species that is legal to keep in your city/county, so an ESA could be a cat, dog, rabbit, rat, guinea pig, parakeet, or other animal.

As ferrets, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, gerbils, monkeys, monk parakeets, and non-releasable native wildlife are not allowed to be kept in California other than by an educational institution, these animals could not be an ESA in California.⁴

City/county laws often have a maximum number of dogs/cats per dwelling unit.

For example, in Contra Costa County, there is a maximum of 3 dogs and 5 cats.
In the city of Richmond, in addition to the above rule, there is a maximum of 5 household animals in a one or two unit building, and a maximum of 3 animals in a multi-unit building.

As an ESA must still comply with state and local animal laws. Depending on the local laws, they may need to be vaccinated, licensed, spayed/neutered, and/or microchipped to be an ESA.

California requires all dogs over 4 months to be vaccinated for rabies.⁵ Cats are not required by the state to be vaccinated for rabies, but it may be required by your city or county.

In Oakland, dogs must be licensed, and must have their rabies vaccine in order to be licensed. Dogs must also be microchipped and have the number registered with Oakland Animal Services.

In Contra Costa County, dogs must be licensed, but the fee is waived for people with disabilities, such as in the case of an ESA.

If your landlords is charging a “pet deposit,” it is considered part of your security deposit.

In most cases, in California, the maximum you can be charged for a security deposit is one month of rent, that includes any move-in fees or “pet deposit.” For some smaller landlords, the limit may be up to two-times monthly rent.⁶