A Texas Landlord's Guide to Emotional Support Animal and Service Animal Requests
Accommodation requests now reach nearly every Texas leasing office. Here is what owners and managers may charge, what they may ask, how quickly to answer and when a denial can hold up.
Not after you approve it. Pet rent, pet deposits and pet fees come off for an approved assistance animal, while rent, the standard security deposit, fees every resident pays and real damage still apply. Whether an untrained ESA must be approved is less settled after May 2026.
Eight Answers Texas Owners Ask For First
Once approved, an assistance animal is not handled as a pet. Since HUD's May 2026 change, animals trained for disability-related tasks carry the clearest claim, and untrained emotional support animals call for a careful individual review.
- Pet rent for an approved ESA? No
- Monthly pet rent stops applying once the accommodation is approved.
- Pet deposit or one-time pet fee? No
- Neither applies to an assistance animal, whether refundable or not.
- Charges for damage the animal causes? Yes
- Handle it like any tenant-caused damage, through the regular deposit and lease.
- Breed, size or weight limits? Not as a rule
- They give way for approved assistance animals; only an individualized look at a specific animal's actual behavior holds up.
- A cap on the number of animals? No fixed cap
- Evaluate each requested animal and the documentation supporting it.
- Only accept your own form or a notarized letter? No
- You may offer a form, but reliable documentation in another format still counts.
- Require registration, a certificate or an ID? No
- Those products do not show a disability-related need.
- Check the clinician's license? Yes
- A public license lookup with the relevant Texas board is a reasonable step.
What Comes Off the Ledger and What Stays
Update the resident ledger and animal addendum the same day the approval goes out.
Remove for an approved assistance animal
- Monthly pet rent
- Refundable pet deposit
- Non-refundable pet fee
- Animal-specific administrative or screening fee
- Breed or weight surcharge
Keep, as with any resident
- Base rent and utilities under the lease
- The standard security deposit every resident pays
- Community or amenity fees charged to all residents
- Repair costs for damage beyond normal wear
- Late fees and other charges unrelated to the animal
If pet charges kept posting after approval, credit or refund them promptly. Charges collected before any request was made raise fact-specific questions worth reviewing with counsel.
Reviewing Documentation Without Overreaching
When a disability or the need for the animal is not obvious, you may ask for reliable documentation. The limits on what comes next matter just as much.
You may
- Ask for documentation of a disability-related need when it is not observable
- Confirm the provider holds an active license
- Record the animal's species, name and local vaccination status
- Apply the same conduct rules that cover every resident
You may not
- Ask for a diagnosis, medical records or severity details
- Insist on your own form, notarization or a sworn statement
- Require certification, registration, an ID card or a vest
- Charge a fee to process the request
Handle with care
- Certificates sold online after a short quiz, which carry no legal weight on their own
- Letters from clinicians with no apparent authorization to treat Texas residents
- Requests for unique animals, which need more specific support
- Remote evaluations, which can be fully legitimate when a licensed provider does real clinical work
Residents looking at this from the other side of the desk can read Texas ESA letter requirements.
Screening Portals and Where Responsibility Stays
Many Texas communities route animal paperwork through an online screening service. That can work well, provided the path for assistance animals follows fair housing limits.
No fee for assistance animal requests
Even where pet owners pay a screening charge, a resident requesting an accommodation should not.
Questions that stay within bounds
Portal forms should skip diagnosis and severity questions for assistance animal requests.
Other routes still count
A resident who emails reliable documentation instead of uploading it has still made a valid request.
The owner owns the decision
A vendor can collect paperwork, but responsibility for the outcome and its timing stays with the housing provider.
A Response Timeline Leasing Teams Can Follow
Courts and fair housing agencies have treated unreasonable delay as a denial. Many compliance teams measure their target in days, not weeks.
When an Owner May Say No
For trained assistance animals, lawful denials are narrow and rest on facts about a specific animal or property. HUD's 2026 change leaves owners more room with untrained ESAs.
Direct threat
Objective evidence that this animal threatens others' safety, and no reasonable step reduces the risk.
Serious damage
Evidence this animal would cause substantial damage to others' property that cannot be reduced.
Undue burden
A significant financial or administrative burden, or a fundamental change to the housing operation.
Exempt housing
For example, an owner-occupied building with four or fewer units, or some single-family homes rented by owners without a broker.
The tenant-facing breakdown lives on when Texas landlords can deny an ESA.
Conduct Rules That Cover Every Animal
Approval changes the charges, not the expectations.
Control
Leashed or carried in shared areas
Waste
Picked up promptly, everywhere
Noise
Held to community quiet standards
Damage
Charged at actual repair cost
Local law
Vaccination and licensing still required
What to Say at the Leasing Desk
Phrases that keep things smooth
"We'll review your request and reply in writing."
"You don't need to tell us your diagnosis."
"Once this is approved, pet rent and pet fees come off your account."
"The same leash and cleanup rules apply to every animal here."
Phrases that invite complaints
"Is it a real service animal or just a pet?"
"What condition do you have?"
"We don't allow pit bulls, even for ESAs."
"Register the animal online first, then we'll talk."
Texas Rules That Sit Beside Fair Housing Law
Photo: alfred twu, CC0
Texas Fair Housing Act
Tracks the federal statute and is enforced by the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division; how it will treat untrained ESA complaints after HUD's 2026 change is not yet clear.
Security deposit rules
The standard deposit still follows Texas refund and itemization rules, including deductions for damage by any animal.
Misrepresentation
Penalizes passing off an animal as a service animal in public places; it does not let landlords demand certification.
Animal addenda
Many Texas communities use association lease packages with an animal addendum; record approvals without pet charges.
Recordkeeping That Protects Owners and Residents
- Keep accommodation documents in a separate file from the general tenant record.
- Limit access to the staff who actually decide requests.
- Log three dates: request received, any follow-up question, and decision sent.
- Save the written approval and the signed animal addendum together.
- Note incidents factually, with dates, if an animal later causes problems.
- Refresh fair housing training whenever the leasing team or portal changes.
Where Residents Can Get a Legitimate Evaluation
When a resident asks where to start, point them to a real clinical process. Live pricing from checkout; the Free Screening comes first and costs nothing.
Landlord Questions About Texas Assistance Animals
Can I charge pet rent for an emotional support animal in Texas?
Not once you approve it. After an emotional support animal is approved as a reasonable accommodation, pet rent, pet deposits and pet fees should not be charged for it, although rent, the standard security deposit and charges for actual damage still apply. HUD said in May 2026 that waiving pet rules for untrained ESAs is not presumptively reasonable, so review each request on its facts and document the decision.
Can I charge a pet deposit for a service animal?
No. Texas Human Resources Code Section 121.003 bars extra deposits for service animals in housing, and trained service animals remain protected under fair housing law. You can still deduct the cost of damage the animal causes from the regular security deposit under normal Texas deposit rules.
Can I require tenants to use a pet screening service for an ESA?
You can use a service to collect information, but an assistance animal request should not carry a fee, and a resident who provides reliable documentation another way should not be denied only for skipping the portal.
How many emotional support animals can a tenant have?
There is no fixed number. Each requested animal is evaluated individually, based on documentation of a disability-related need for that animal and on lawful exceptions such as a direct threat or an undue burden.
Can a Texas landlord verify an ESA letter?
Yes, within limits. Confirming that the provider holds an active license through the state board's public lookup is reasonable. Asking for a diagnosis, treatment records or details about severity is not.
Can I evict a tenant whose ESA causes damage or disturbances?
An approved animal does not excuse lease violations. Address actual incidents the way you would for any resident, document them, give required notices and follow Texas eviction procedures.
More for Texas Housing Providers and Residents
General information for Texas housing providers, not legal advice. HUD guidance, agency practice and case law change, and exemptions depend on specific facts; consult a Texas attorney before denying a request or taking action against a resident.
Send Residents to a Screening You Can Verify
Documentation from a Texas-licensed clinician makes your review faster. Residents can start with the Free Screening, and every letter lists license details you can confirm.
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