Announcements

Assessing a Person's Request to Have an Assistance Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation

February 04, 2020

On January 28, 2020, HUD issued a memo providing guidance on Assessing a Person's Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. This replaces the previous HUD guidance FHEO-2013-01.

The notice explains certain obligations of housing providers with respect to assistance animals and reasonable accommodations for those animals. Persons with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation for service animals and assistance animals under the Fair Housing Act. The notice provides best practices regarding the type and amount of documentation a housing provider may ask for in support of the accommodation request.

HUD is providing this guidance to housing providers to distinguish between a person with a non-obvious disability who has a legitimate need for an assistance animal, and a person without a disability who simply wants to have a pet or avoid the costs and limitations imposed by housing providers' pet policies, such as pet fees or deposits.

The notice also provides guidance on information that an individual seeking a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal may need to provide to a housing provider about his or her disability-related need for the requested accommodation, including supporting information from a health care professional.

The full notice can he found here.