Key Takeaways
- Emotional support animals are not treated like pets. Standard pet fees, deposits, and restrictions may not apply.
- Landlords can request supporting documentation. Documentation may be required when the need for an ESA is not obvious.
- Some ESA requests can be denied. Requests may be denied if the animal poses a threat or creates an undue burden.
If you’ve been fielding questions from tenants about emotional support animals lately, you’re not alone. On May 22, 2026, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued new enforcement guidance that significantly changes how emotional support animals (ESAs) are treated under federal fair housing law. McCaw Property Management has outlined what it means for you as a property owner or landlord in Texas.
What Was the Old Rule?
For over a decade, HUD guidance from 2013 — reinforced in 2020 — required housing providers to treat untrained emotional support animals as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). This meant that if a tenant presented documentation from a licensed mental health professional confirming a disability-related need for an ESA, landlords generally had to allow the animal, waive pet fees, and make exceptions to no-pet policies.
This led to a well-known problem: a cottage industry of online services selling ESA “certification letters” with little to no legitimate medical oversight, making it difficult for landlords to verify legitimate requests.
What Changed on May 22, 2026?
HUD has now rescinded both its 2013 and 2020 ESA guidance. Going forward, HUD will only pursue fair housing enforcement actions against housing providers for denying animals that are individually trained to perform a specific, disability-related task — essentially the same stricter standard the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) already applies to service animals in public accommodations.
In plain terms: untrained emotional support animals no longer have federal protection under HUD enforcement. That online ESA letter from a website? It no longer carries the weight it once did at the federal level.
What This Means for Landlords Practically
For new applicants going forward, you now have more latitude to apply your pet policies consistently. You are not federally required to waive pet fees or make exceptions for an untrained ESA under HUD enforcement.
For existing tenants, this is where you need to be cautious. If you previously accepted a tenant’s ESA as part of their lease agreement, it is not advisable to retroactively restrict that animal or begin charging pet fees. Doing so could expose you to legal liability under the original terms of the lease.
Documentation from online ESA providers — the kind that can be purchased for $99 from a website — no longer carries the same force it did under the prior guidance. You are not required to treat these as automatically satisfying a reasonable accommodation request.
Don’t Forget: Texas State Law Still Applies
This is a federal enforcement policy change, not a change to state law. Texas has its own fair housing protections, and those rules may differ from the new federal posture. Before changing any of your policies or procedures around ESA requests, we strongly recommend consulting a landlord-tenant attorney familiar with Texas law to make sure you remain compliant at both the state and federal level.
The Bottom Line
This is the most significant shift in ESA policy in over a decade, and it happened very recently. The landscape is still evolving, and how this guidance will be applied in practice — including in Texas courts and housing disputes — is still being worked out.
At McCaw Property Management, we’re staying on top of these changes so our clients don’t have to. If you have questions about how this affects your properties or your current tenants, reach out to us directly.
This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance specific to your situation.