Introduction

The most recent guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) concerning assistance animals were published in January 2020. For more detailed information than this page provides, see the full text of the guidelines. The guidelines cover two types of assistance animals:

  • Service animals, dogs that are trained to provide specific assistance, the most common example being a seeing-eye dog for a vision-impaired individual.
  • Support animals, which can be trained or untrained and that do work, perform tasks, provide assistance, and/or provide therapeutic emotional support for individuals with disabilities. Animals referred to as “emotional support animals” or ESAs are in this category.

Under the law, neither service animals nor support animals are deemed to be “pets” – therefore, they are not subject to landlord policies that prohibit pets, or that require pet deposits or fees if pets are allowed.

Because questions about support animals – particularly emotional support animals – are the most common, the following information primarily focuses on support animals. Service animals are more briefly discussed in the next-to-last section on this page.

Note: References on this page to “landlords” include property managers who manage rental properties on behalf of the owners.

General service and support animal rules

A landlord cannot require:

  • Details about the tenant’s diagnosis or the severity of a disability.
  • Medical records.
  • A medical examination arranged by the landlord.

If an animal would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other people or would likely cause substantial physical damage, the landlord can refuse a service or support animal unless the tenant can eliminate or reduce the threat to an acceptable level through actions to maintain or control the animal, such as keeping the animal in a secure enclosure.

Pet rules do not apply to service animals and support animals. Therefore, a landlord may not limit the breed or size of a dog, but may place limits if the animal’s conduct poses a direct threat or requires a fundamental alteration of the rental unit.

A landlord may not charge a fee for processing a request for a support animal.

A landlord may not charge a deposit, fee or surcharge for an assistance animal. The landlord may, however, hold the tenant liable for property damage an assistance animal causes if the landlord holds all tenants – including those without animals – liable for property damage.

Applicable federal laws

There are three federal laws that include provisions relating to assistance animals:

  1. Fair Housing Act (FHA), which applies to virtually all types of housing.
  2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), which covers housing providers that receive federal financial assistance through HUD. This includes properties occupied by Section 8 tenants.
  3. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which in the housing context applies to public housing agencies, public universities and colleges that provide housing, and public accommodations including rental offices.

The text of these laws can be found through an online search. The materials on this page reflect the essence of the laws.

Missouri law – criminal penalty for misrepresenting animals

Sec. 209.204 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, effective August 28, 2020, makes it a misdemeanor criminal offense to misrepresent an animal as a service dog or support animal (the statute refers to support animals as “assistance animals.”) Misrepresentation includes:

  • Knowingly creating documents that falsely represent that a dog is a service dog or that an animal is a support animal.
  • Knowingly providing to another person documents falsely stating that an animal is a support animal.

A first offense under the statute is a Class C misdemeanor, allowing penalties of a fine up to $750 and imprisonment for up to 15 days.

A second offense under the statute is a Class B misdemeanor, allowing penalties of a fine up to $1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months.

For more details, review the copy of the statute linked in the first paragraph of this section.

Making a request for a support animal

A tenant with a disability who wants to be allowed to have a support animal can make the request to the landlord or property manager either orally or in writing. It is best to make the request in writing in case of later disputes, and the tenant should retain a copy of the request. A landlord is not required to allow a support animal if no request is made.

“Disability” is defined under the FHA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Whether the request is written or oral, the tenant should use the terms “support animal” and “reasonable accommodation” in making the request. Example: “I request a reasonable accommodation for my disability to allow me to keep an emotional support animal in my apartment.” The request should go on to identify the animal. Also, if the nature of the tenant’s disability will not be readily apparent to the landlord, the tenant should be prepared to provide documentation of the disability-related need for the animal as part of the request.

While some disabilities are not readily apparent, others are. Observable impairments include blindness or low vision, deafness or being hard of hearing, mobility limitations, and other types of impairments with visible symptoms or effects, such as intellectual impairments (including some types of autism) and neurological impairments (e.g., stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or brain damage), mental illness, or other diseases that affect major life activities or bodily functions. Documentation of disability should not be necessary if the tenant has such a readily observable disability.

If the tenant has a disability that is not readily observable by the landlord, the tenant should be prepared to submit documentation from a health care professional (for example, a physician, optometrist, ophthalmologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner or nurse) who has personally examined the tenant (either in person or via video over the internet) that the tenant has a disability and needs a support animal for a reason (or reasons) related to the disability. A landlord is not legally entitled to inquire about the nature of the disability, but the tenant can voluntarily disclose the disability if the tenant wishes.

The documentation, usually in the form of a letter, should not specify the exact nature of the tenant’s disability, but instead include statements to the following effect:

I hereby certify that, in my professional opinion, within a reasonable degree of professional certainty based on in-person or telehealth examination, [tenant’s name] is “disabled” as defined in the federal Fair Housing Act or Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act.

Based on my professional opinion that the person is disabled as so defined, it is my further professional opinion, based on a reasonable degree of professional certainty, that [tenant’s name] requires an assistance animal in order to [state the relationship or connection between the disability and the need for the animal]. The assistance animal required by [tenant’s name] is: __________.

Note: For more details about acceptable documentation from a health care provider, see the section titled Guidance on Documenting an Individual’s Need for Assistance Animals in Housing in the HUD guidelines.

Caution: Some websites sell certificates supporting the disability-related need for a support animal to anyone to answers certain questions and pays a fee. The HUD guidelines state that such certificates generally are not sufficient to reliably establish that a person qualifies for a support animal, and therefore most landlords will reject them.

Landlord evaluation of support animal request

The HUD guidelines provide a step-by-step analysis that landlords should follow in deciding whether to allow a support animal:

Step 1. Does the tenant has an observable disability, or does the landlord already have information that the tenant has a disability? If yes, go to Step 3. If no, go to Step 2.

Step 2. Has the tenant provided documentation or other information that reasonably supports that the tenant has a disability? If yes, go to Step 3. If no, the landlord can refuse to allow the support animal, but must give the tenant a reasonable opportunity to provide the documentation or information; if sufficient information is later provided, go to Step 3. Sufficient information may include:

  • A determination of disability from a federal, state or local government agency.
  • Receipt of disability benefits or services
  • Eligibility for housing assistance received because of disability
  • Information confirming disability from a health care professional – for example, a physician, optometrist, ophthalmologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner or nurse.

Step 3. Has the tenant provided information that reasonably supports that the animal does work, performs tasks, provides assistance, and/or provides therapeutic emotional support related to the tenant’s disability? If yes, go to Step 4. If no, the landlord can refuse to allow the support animal, but must give the tenant a reasonable opportunity to provide the information; if sufficient information is later provided, go to Step 4.

Step 4. Is the animal commonly kept in households? If yes, the animal should be allowed unless exceptions mentioned below exist. If no, the landlord can deny approval of the animal.

  • Animals commonly kept in households. If the animal is a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes, the animal should be allowed.
  • Uncommon animals. Reptiles (other than turtles), barnyard animals, monkeys, kangaroos and other non-domesticated animals are not considered common household animals and can be denied by the landlord except in unusual situations.
  • Unusual situations. If a tenant is requesting to keep a unique type of animal not commonly kept in households, the tenant has a substantial burden to demonstrate a disability-related therapeutic need for the animal and should submit documentation from a health care professional confirming the need for the animal.

Service animals

Under the ADA, “service animal” means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals are not service animals. The work or tasks performed by the dog must be directly related to the individual’s disability.

ADA guidelines provide this step-by-step analysis for a landlord to follow to determine if an particular dog is a service animal:

Step 1. Is the animal a dog? If yes, proceed to Step 2. If no, the animal is not a service animal, but may be a support animal that should be analyzed as described in the “Landlord evaluation of support animal request” section above.

Step 2. Is it readily apparent that the dog is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a tenant with a disability? If yes, further inquiry is inappropriate because the animal is a service animal. If no, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3. The landlord may ask these two questions: (1) Is the animal required because of a disability? (2) What work or task has the animal been trained to perform? The landlord may not ask about the nature or extent of the disability and cannot ask for documentation.

  • If the answer to question (1) is yes and the work or task is identified in response to question (2), the landlord must allow the service animal subject to this exception: If it is clear that the animal would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other people or would likely cause substantial physical damage, the landlord can refuse a service animal – unless the tenant can eliminate or reduce the threat to an acceptable level through actions to maintain or control the animal, such as keeping the animal in a secure enclosure.
  • If the answer to either question is no or none, the animal does not qualify as a service animal, but might be a support animal that should be analyzed as described in the “Landlord evaluation of support animal request” section above.

Remedy for Violations of Assistance Animal Rules

If a tenant believes that a landlord has denied permission to keep an assistance animal in violation of the guidelines discussed above, or has violated any rules such as charging a pet deposit or requesting more information than allowed, the first step should be to consult with an attorney and ask the attorney to advise the landlord about the law’s requirements.

If involving an attorney is not successful, the tenant can file a complaint with HUD. There are two HUD offices covering different parts of Missouri. For either office, a complaint can be submitted online.

In the western part of Missouri, including Columbia and Boone County, complaints can be submitted to HUD’s Kansas City Regional Office, 400 State Avenue, Room 200, Kansas City, KS 66101-2406, phone 913-551-5462 or 913-551-5469, email KS_Webmanager@hud.gov.

In the eastern part of Missouri, complaints can be submitted to HUD’s St. Louis Field Office, 1222 Spruce Street, Suite 3.203, St. Louis, MO 63103-2836, phone 314-418-5400, email MO_Webmanager@hud.gov.

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