HUD’s May 2026 ESA Memo: What Changed for Emotional Support Animals in Housing

ESA in a 'No Pets' Building: What HUD Actually Requires (2026)

Short version: On May 22, 2026, HUD withdrew its 2020 assistance-animal guidance and now says it will only find housing violations for animals that are individually trained to help with a disability. The Fair Housing Act itself did not change, and state laws and private lawsuits still apply. Emotional support animals aren’t banned, but tenants with ESAs have less federal backup than before.

What HUD changed

HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued new enforcement guidance on animal accommodation requests. It:

  • Withdraws HUD’s 2020 assistance-animal guidance (FHEO-2020-01) and its 2013 ESA memo.
  • Says HUD will find a violation only when the animal is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, the same idea the ADA uses for service animals.
  • Asks HUD’s regional offices to review open ESA complaints case by case under the new standard.

What did not change

  • The law itself. The Fair Housing Act still requires reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. The memo changes how HUD enforces it, not the statute.
  • Private lawsuits. The memo says it doesn’t affect anyone’s right to go to court.
  • State and local laws. Many states have their own fair housing laws, and some protect assistance animals without any training requirement.
  • Trained service dogs. Animals trained to perform tasks, including psychiatric service dogs, remain fully covered.

Before and now

Before May 2026: HUD treated emotional support animals as assistance animals. With a letter from a licensed mental health professional, a tenant could ask a landlord to waive a no-pet rule and pet fees, and HUD would enforce it.

Now: HUD won’t pursue complaints about untrained emotional support animals. Some landlords may push back on ESA requests they would have accepted before.

What you can do

  1. Still ask. Send your landlord a written reasonable accommodation request with your ESA letter. Many landlords still approve them, and the Fair Housing Act hasn’t changed.
  2. Check your state’s law. Your state or city fair housing agency may still protect ESAs even where HUD won’t act.
  3. Consider task training. If your dog already helps you, training it to perform specific tasks for your disability (for example deep pressure therapy, anxiety interruption or medication retrieval) can make it a psychiatric service dog, which HUD still protects. Our online training courses walk you through it step by step.
  4. Keep good records. Keep copies of your letter, your request and the landlord’s reply.

This article is general information, not legal advice. If a landlord denies your request, a local fair housing organization or attorney can tell you what applies where you live.

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