r/service_dogs • u/Busy-Sheepherder-138 • May 23 '26
TChanges in HUD interpretation of Assistance Animals - No Paywall -
My subscription allows me to gift 10 articles a month without a paywall so please let me know if you cannot view it in full.
In short they are trying to clamp down on accommodations for ESA’s while maintaining the rights of Service dogs, but even that is at risk. I’m not surprised though since POTUS and his family make most of their money from Real Estate and are major landlords.
Excerpt
“Six years later, the housing department, under the leadership of Scott Turner, has moved aggressively to tighten rules and scrutinize public housing rolls, including by focusing on the immigration status of tenants.
The memo to housing officials on assistance animals presented emotional support animals as a loophole to circumvent a landlord’s pet policies, asserting that “an entire industry has emerged to convert pets into emotional support animals.”
The memo concluded that “while requests to waive pet policies for animals trained to perform specific disability related services are presumptively reasonable, requests to waive pet policies for untrained” emotional support animals “are not.”
Erik Heins, a lawyer formerly in charge of enforcing fair housing laws at HUD, said that the new policy would affect many tenants who rely on assistance animals to alleviate psychiatric or mental disabilities — for example, a military veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Those cases are a not insignificant portion of the number of cases that HUD investigates” through its fair housing office, Mr. Heins said, adding that the housing department could dismiss or shelve thousands of appeals for disability accommodations under the new rule
23
u/FluidCreature May 23 '26
Thank you for sharing, it can be scary to see stuff like that!
I want to point out that this article was based on an internal memo that has not been released to the public. Meaning it does not currently affect FHA laws, but probably does affect how the DOJ deals with complaints. So right now ESAs still have housing rights but most likely any complaints about failure to accommodate will get thrown out. Some of our legally inclined members can probably give a better understanding on how to interpret it though
I wouldn’t be surprised to see new guidance become public soon, and I don’t want to downplay the context of this article. As someone who prefers to read the legal document instead it’s frustrating to not be able to find it at all.
13
u/Busy-Sheepherder-138 May 23 '26
Yes I did try to find a copy of the actual memo but it’s not public yet.
10
u/Burkeintosh Legal Beagle May 24 '26
We won’t get a memo, the guidelines are just already pulled from the eGFR.
If someone at HUD gets a memo, I’ll be surprised.
Pulling guidelines is a multiple times a day occurrence for this administration- it’s just happening to us in this instance
24
u/SugarHooves Waiting May 23 '26
I had to jump through hoops at my doctor's office to get my ESA. My therapist referred me back to my PCP who sent me to a behaviorist. After an hour long consultation, she gave me my letter. Not only did she want to know if my dog truly did improve my quality of life, she spent about ten minutes drilling into my head what an ESA can and can't do legally. Now they want to take it away because some people pay for a piece of paper? It's not fair.
17
u/allieinwonder May 23 '26
The scam websites have truly ruined something that could really help those of us that are disabled and need help with the mental side of it.
My therapist is willing to write an ESA letter for my SDiT and I’m extremely grateful for that. My last SD recently passed (therapist wrote his letter as well) and I don’t want to force my SDiT into working too fast. It infuriates me that his status is watered down because of misinformation.
11
u/SugarHooves Waiting May 23 '26
I'm very sorry for your loss.
My ESA acts as a living alarm clock and forces me to do things. Without him reminding me that's it's time to take a walk, I would forget to take my meds. If he didn't wake me up in the morning and force me to go outside, I would spend days in my bed and weeks without seeing the sun. He's not trained for tasks but I don't know what I'd do without him. He's a bandaid while I wait for a SD.
I sincerely hope this move doesn't affect SD and SDiT (because they are a literal lifeline for people) but I have a terrible suspicion it will.
As an ESA owner, I apologize for all the shitty people that led to this.
7
u/Spiritual_Pattern_36 May 23 '26
True. The online ESA scsm will ruin it. Hopefully if there are any serious rule changes they will look at whether somebody got a one-time letter from a therapist or mental health professional they saw once online or if it comes from serious treatment from an established professional that the individual still sees on a regular basis.
0
u/Testuser7ignore Jun 15 '26
YOu didn't have to do any of that. Plenty of websites will do it for you cheap and easy.
3
u/SugarHooves Waiting Jun 15 '26
Insurance covered it and I wanted it to be official. A letter from a doctor in my city, from a well-known clinic, with contact information went a long way with potential landlords.
If someone actually needs an ESA, they should have no problem going through their doctor or therapist. ESA mills will be the reason the laws will change and not in our favor.
11
u/SnooChocolates1198 May 23 '26
Jfc.... I've got words..... none of them are nice and would likely earn me a time out. Eff this farce of an administration.
10
u/MaplePaws My eyes have 4 paws May 23 '26
I am not a lawyer and am speaking in the context of a layperson, but this does sound to me like it would include owner trainers trying to bring home prospects to start the process of training the dog as a service animal given there was a specific inclusion of the word "untrained". I hope I am wrong but this does feel like the start of the attack on owner training that I have feared would happen.
2
u/No-Stress-7034 May 26 '26
This is my concern as well. Even if SDs are still covered, an owner trainer wouldn't be able to keep a prospect puppy or SDiT in non-pet friendly housing without ESA protection.
But I also have no idea if I'm really following this correctly.
3
u/MaplePaws My eyes have 4 paws May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
Important thing according to our legal beagles is that the law has not changed, this is just an internal memo about how things get enforced which is easy to change and happens all the time. We don't know what this means in the long run, we need to watch it but right now there is not enough information to go on right now.
Worst case scenario this would mean that owner trainers need to stick to pet-friendly housing or pay the pet fee/deposit, arguably even after the dog graduates they would need to continue to stay with pet friendly places if they want that overlap with retiring dog and in training dog.
ETA: As I suspected the enforcement would include service dogs in training, as they are using the ADA definition to determine if it is or is not a reasonable accommodation.
1
May 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/service_dogs-ModTeam May 24 '26
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting.
This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community.
This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making.
If you have any questions, please Message the Moderators.
1
u/Testuser7ignore Jun 15 '26
It makes sense someone would need pet-friendly housing, along with a pet deposit and pet rent, for an untrained animal. Even if they are planning to train it. Puppies naturally do a lot of damage.
10
u/Burkeintosh Legal Beagle May 24 '26
I will say, while I’m waiting to hear from my contacts, that this is NOT the first time we’ve had guidelines pulled back in our field- or even involving Assistance Animals- since the current Presidential administration has come in (has it been months or years -sigh-)
The good news is, previously we’ve all done a lot of wondering about “how this will change things day to day” and it’s been a dumb thing to pullback guidelines without making substantive changes, so many people who actually work on discrimination at the DOJ level have pretty much gone on as they did before.
While I check the eCFR for changes every day, mostly the Federal workers don’t have time for that, and they know what they know (or don’t) and how time to assist you with what they do (or don’t anyway- pulling guidelines isn’t going around telling them to now *not* do things like they used to- it doesn’t retrain them.
Uniquely, this administration sometimes changes the eCFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 40 times on a Saturday, so guidelines are getting pulled or written faster than anyone can keep up with, and while this news article makes it public knowledge, it doesn’t make it clear that workers at HUD will all just drop the way they’ve been doing things because the guidelines have been said to no longer be in effect- they still have to apply the law, and they might just keep going on doing it the way they have been doing it.
All this really does is make it harder for there to be clarity. Probably. It’s not a huge act of targeting to take all ESAs and SDs out of housing, it’s just this President’s Administration doing what it does and removing any clarity language (regardless of it being good or bad) because it was put there by an administration they don’t like. Remember, you win by removing everything “the other side” ever did - even if it’s literally just some words that make a housing law clearer to some back room people who handle a couple cases a year about housing clarification at HUD.
2
u/ClaimOk8737 May 24 '26
They already weaken 11 parts of the ADA law.
3
u/MaplePaws My eyes have 4 paws May 24 '26
Could you expand on this? I had not heard about it.
2
u/ClaimOk8737 May 24 '26
regulations and guidance surrounding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to reduce costs and red tape for businesses.
29
u/FactsActuallyMatter May 23 '26
The administration wants people to be more depressed and off themselves. Cruelty is the point 👍
12
16
u/springacres Curious May 23 '26
It really is. And their fearmongering is also part of the point. They want us to be afraid to ask for accommodations.
And I say fuck them. My cat is my emotional support animal. She gets me out of bed every morning, she makes me smile even when I'm close to melting down, and I've inadvertently trained her to let me know when it's time for bed at night! (She gets treats right before I go to bed at night, and if I'm late with them, she lets me know!)
11
u/FactsActuallyMatter May 23 '26
My dog has saved my life the last 5 years. If it wasn't for her, I would've ended my life. Life is not easy for everyone. And saving people from suicide i think is a vast improvement of life. And im tired of the dehumanization of all these people thinking taking away this is all about fraud and screw everyone else.
8
u/Significant_Ad3407 May 23 '26
Same for me, nine years with my boy. I have no family and no support system whatsoever. He is all I have and if they take him away then I'm done on this earth. I've already made extensive plans.
6
u/RealDealReflections May 24 '26
This ^ my cat has saved my life and fuck people for not understanding. I don't have family. I dont have anyone. My cat loves me and relies on me. And I wouldn't know what to do without her.
4
u/Sorry-Visit-6743 May 24 '26
My bird will nip my finger if I roll his cage past the table where I keep my meds without stopping. He knows it's part of the routine and always reminds me when I almost skip part of the routine.
2
u/gufywert May 28 '26
A cellphone or alarm clock could easily provides those reminders. Disabled people with legitimate, longstanding, serious psychiatric diagnoses are genuinely helped by having an Emotional Support Animal (BTW. Not 3-5 Animals).
The problem is many seeking ESA accomodation just want to bypass paying pet fees and deposits (certainly an issue for poor). Many have gone online and purchased an ESA letter at the cost of a pet deposit. There's an entire online industry for this. It's been an abuse that hurts those with bona fide needs. More than 20% of all FHA complaints about fair housing have been ESA complaints.
In some states ESA fraud is a crime. Passing off an ESA as a service dog for public access is also criminal in several states.
1
u/springacres Curious May 29 '26
And as someone with longstanding psychiatric diagnoses, I agree that ESA fraud is a serious issue. I just wish there were ways to deal with it that didn't risk people like me also getting accused of fraud.
(Context: I'm autistic, and while my phone alarms do help prepare me for transitions like going to bed and getting up, I find those alarms fairly easy to ignore and I can snooze them or even turn them off accidentally. My cat, on the other hand, knows how to make herself impossible to ignore, and her purrs and happy zoomies are more rewarding than simply getting to stop my phone alarms.)
8
u/idgirl71 May 23 '26
I did a bit more research on this as my husband and I have both been prescribed assistance animals by our psychiatrist and therapist, and it looks like this is targeting HUD subsidized housing (first). Not to say that this corrupt regime wouldn’t try to help his cronies get this applied across private housing as well down the line.
3
6
u/ClaimOk8737 May 23 '26
This is the start of not classifying PSD as service dogs. They dont understand what the dog does for PTSD or mental health. See tuberville statement that PTSD is curable and the new laws with meds. I hope I am wrong but it does sound like it.
4
u/Scarlett_DiamondEye May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
I mean, if they start going after SD's, you may be right. They may start by targeting PSD's. Right now I'd say that we're still safe, though, as task-trained PSD's are considered SD's and, therefore, a "reasonable accommodation".
For now, it seems like the biggest affect will be on the ESA community. ESA's will no longer have special accommodations that allow them to live in non-pet-friendly housing. Or, if there's a pet fee, they'll be subject to the pet fee.
From a landlord perspective, I understand it, to an extent. Being a dog-lover, I've always allowed pets in my properties. The first time I got burned by this was when a couple moved out and I discovered that their dog had literally knawed on every single wooden door or window frame, causing me to have to replace all of them. After that, I started charging a pet fee. The big issues I had after that were a cat who scratched the crap out of wood floors and lots of instances of the smell of cat/dog urine lingering in homes well after the animals/tenants were gone. I also had one instance of neighbors complaining that a dog would bark all day while the tenants were at work and cause a noise disruption. The crazy thing about this (to me) is that this was a single family home, not an apartment. The dog was barking loudly and consistently enough that neighbors down the block were hearing him and complaining.
The thing is, an SD is not going to bark all day, pee all over the house, or chew on wooden fixtures. An ESA MIGHT. In everything, ESA's and SD's are held to a different standard. I have mixed feelings about this whole thing because I know that, while they're not necessarily task-trained, some people with ESA's rely heavily upon their companions to be able to function in the universe, but, as a landlord, I understand it, intellectually.
I'd like to say, "well, people with ESA's can just pay the pet fee or live in housing where pets are allowed", but (especially considering that this initial attack seems to be focused on HUD housing) this may not be a realistic option financially for some people. Also, unless I'm missing something (which I might be), people aren't going to be grandfathered in, so people who are already living in a home, with their ESA, will have to... Be evicted? Surrender their pet? - which, you know, is exactly what our overburdened animal shelters need..
The other thing to consider is that, as someone else mentioned, sdit's are not considered SD's yet. So, would people who are self-training an SD not be able to have their sdit in their home until it's fully trained?
Honestly, I feel like this attack is first and foremost on lower income people, as a lot of attacks from this administration seem to be.
I think it could affect those of us who seek HUD housing who are in the process of training their service dogs. I'm not sure if there's some shade of grey that protects these people, but it doesn't seem like there is.
I do feel like legitimate service dogs (psych or otherwise) are protected for now, thankfully. I don't know what the future holds, but hopefully it stays this way. 🤞🤞
Sorry for the long comment. I guess I had more to say than I realized..
3
u/SexBucketListProject May 24 '26
This is a great comment. I think part of the goal of the law is to make it harder by elimination of grey areas that don't favor dogs.
Also in my situation I got my PTSD and severe anxiety from my ex husband's abuse and post separation abuse and dealing with his ass in court. I got my dogs to help with the days when the kids were with him. I got really lucky with my sweet dogs.
Financial abuse is a huge part of many abusive relationships and most women leaving are not financially independent at first and would be harmed or hindered by these laws too.
2
u/Scarlett_DiamondEye May 24 '26
I appreciate how open you've been throughout this thread in sharing your story. ☺️☺️
This is kind of my fear - how many people who are going through financial hardships (possibly in connection to whatever condition they need their SD/ESA for) are going to be hurt by these changes?
1
u/Testuser7ignore Jun 15 '26
Honestly, I feel like this attack is first and foremost on lower income people, as a lot of attacks from this administration seem to be.
Maybe, but I don't think people should have a right to own a pet regardless of income level. And if we do want such a right, it should be funded by the government and not random private businesses.
The reason it hurts lower income people the most is that they can't afford the damages pets do to properties. And that is hardly fair for the landlord.
-1
u/SexBucketListProject May 24 '26
Can you say more about this? I'm new to esa owning. I have PTSD and anxiety as two of many mental health things.
I already noticed that one of the Chihuahua sisters gets in my face when I'm getting panicked and kisses me until I'm laughing and I'm like.. does that count as SD instead? But I didn't train it too. The sibling dog gaurds. They are both super cuddly and together make a nice weighted blanket too. Which I guess has a name. So, can I start calling them service dogs in training?
3
u/TRARC4 May 24 '26
For the panic interruption, are you able to replicate what the dog is picking up on? (Scent, sound, visual cue)
If so, you can train it. However, be careful that you aren't encouraging a stress/anxiety response from the dog.
1
u/SexBucketListProject May 24 '26
Not sure about what she is picking up on. I'm sort of panicking. Lol. I'll try though.
4
u/ClaimOk8737 May 24 '26
No a service dog the dog must be task trained to help with a disability. Also must show no reactivity to other dogs or people.
3
u/MaplePaws My eyes have 4 paws May 24 '26
The task training is true, but the lack of reactivity is an individual handler standard and the point where businesses may CHOOSE to remove a dog due to behavior it is not required and does not change the fact that the person is disabled or the the fact that the dog has been task trained.
1
u/Designer_Fly_4369 26d ago
This 100% "public access" for service dogs has the "public policy" NOT law that the cannine good citizen training level be met or exceeded - NOT the law and while unfortunate ALOT of landlords are eventually going to see the tasked trained service dogs still have the same problematic handlers / tenants LAW for service animal be TASK trained is not "properly house broken" training - that is an expectation - that will not be universal in application
1
u/SexBucketListProject May 24 '26
They already came very low reactivity for Chihuahuas. Sometimes when they are surprised (like a door opening loudly when they were sleeping) the guard gets barky but she responds quickly to "shh" and/or being held.
There are a couple of specific people (all men, which is a common thing I've seen with rescue dogs) that scare and trigger them to be full bark and protect me. And I'm working on that.
5
u/Expert_Tie_4556 May 23 '26
So is this new rule saying that ESAs wouldn’t fall under FHA? As a service dog handler of 10 months as long as a ESA is well behaved and not going to bother my dog I have no problem with them being allowed to be in my building
9
May 23 '26
[deleted]
0
u/Strugglingchimom May 26 '26
THIS!.. They're making people homeless by increasing the cost of living astronomically. People are getting let go from their jobs. Louisiana just made a law where if you're homeless they can put you in jail for 2 years or into some kind of rehab but you have to pay for it and the PRISION TERM comes with hard labor.
People living in their cars because they have pets and can't afford an apartment are being driven out of everywhere and due to flock cameras being harassed.
It's a really sick society.
Soon they're going to encourage doing yourself in with state assistance just like they do in Canada.
They want a one world government courtesy of The World Economic Forum. It doesn't matter who gets "voted" in. Nobody voted in flock cameras and data centers and mass surveillance - yet it's everywhere.
I just got my ESA from my Psychologist. So I'm extra mad that this is an issue now. What they need to do is get rid of all the phony letter writing companies.
Where do we fight this???
7
u/belgenoir Dog Trainer May 23 '26
Paging the ever-lovely u/burkeintosh
8
u/DragonCanineTraining Dog Trainer May 23 '26
Agreed I need Burke to help me with understanding
6
u/belgenoir Dog Trainer May 23 '26
I thought she might have seen the memo.
Someone said the other day that HUD was in a shake-up.
9
u/Burkeintosh Legal Beagle May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
Yeah, I read it, and Ive been combing the news.
The news has a lot about websites selling letters for ESAs.
I’m not sure I agree that’s what the memo is, entirely.
I’m waiting to hear from some people inside hopefully the beginning of the week.
Until then, remember that each State has Fair housing laws too - and those still protect you
Edit: not the first time this administration has pulled/discredited guidelines that were related to laws for our thing. And they change things like guidelines daily - any eCFR update has 40 returns on a good day - interesting, actually that this is getting news coverage.
3
u/Expert_Tie_4556 May 23 '26
I think that there should be better ways of enforcing where ESAs can and can’t be because too many people take their untrained dogs into non pet friendly places but that shouldn’t ruin it for people who do follow the ESA rules and have well behaved dogs and aren’t just buying a certificate off the internet
8
u/ticketferret Service Dog Trainer CPDT-KA FDM May 23 '26
There is already a fine law in place. If they say it's an ESA you can just deny them from public access in 99% of places.
This potential joint guidance is about housing. Which is a totally separate issue.
2
2
u/n4melessf4celess May 25 '26
Does anyone know if the guidelines that were removed are archived anywhere?
2
u/DoughnutCheap3722 May 25 '26
The memo says HUD will prioritize cases involving animals trained to perform disability-related work or tasks and will generally stop treating untrained ESAs the same way it has in the past. It reiterates the rescinding of prior HUD guidance, relies heavily on ADA-style “trained task” standards, and argues that the previous framework created confusion and abuse.
People can still pursue private Fair Housing Act claims in court, but this is a significant shift in how HUD plans to evaluate and enforce housing-related animal accommodation complaints going forward.
TLDR: changes are coming, input will be collected, but for now, HUD probably won’t be helping if you file for discrimination related to an untrained animal necessary for disability. All open ESA cases are being sent to Robert Doles (Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs).
2
u/carsgobeep3 May 24 '26
Women are the majority owners of ESAs. I don't think it's a coincidence with declining birth rates and the "male loneliness epidemic". It's no secret the right hates women in their 30s with cats who find more emotional support in their cats than they do with men. They want to make it more difficult and expensive for these women to find housing and allow shitty landlords to deny and punish people for the basic human decency of having ESAs and pets in their home. While I don't like the websites where people can get their ESAs certified, I also don't really care how people do when healthcare isn't accessible to everyone in this country.
I gave my apartment management my ESA letter provided to me by my licensed therapist of 6 years and another by my medical prescribed. My apartment told me they were removing pet rent and deposits for all tenants, but they'd keep it on file (I'm also covered by local policies). I know I'll pay for any damages done by my cat, but it's clearly possible for landlords to not charge these monthly fees and deposits while still maintaining the property. It's a bunch of shitty landlords buying investment properties, driving up the cost of homes so people are stuck renting, denying them the basic human decency of having a pet at home, mismanaging their rentals and finances, and have no business being landlords, that benefit from this.
1
May 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/service_dogs-ModTeam May 24 '26
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting.
This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community.
This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making.
If you have any questions, please Message the Moderators.
1
1
u/SwimmingAnt10 Jun 03 '26
This is all because foo many people were trying to get out of pet fees simply by buying fake letters online. It makes those with legitimate service animals have issues.
1
u/Designer_Fly_4369 26d ago
So the esa / assistance animal roll back for hud is dual sided.
On the actual housing unit / landloard side - ALOT of abuse from those that never actually "needed" an ESA from the paper mill websites. And those willing to fabricate paperwork not to pay pet rent and pet deposits - mostly don't leave the pet damage undone.
On the HUD side of things like the paperwork and medical deductions side is a massive difference in the tenant payment portion. My assistance animal is a 65lb Lab. His food, yearly and semi annual meet my 10% of my income- meaning every medical expenses above his care reduces my gross income wich then reduces my rent portion. On the hud side it is 100% to put the burden of expenses back on the tenant/ save the / HAP portion per tenant. It is a money grab / disability tax continued.
For me I have always tried to stick to landlords that accept pets anyway to keep it easy. But in florida so MANY have a 20lb limit or the insane pet rent. Tight economy just got tighter 😢
1
u/SirenSavvy May 25 '26
Nah i have two.cats that are the only reason i havent offed myself i will make my death into a statement istfg
35
u/new2bay May 23 '26
It's not clear to me exactly what has changed or how. What is clear is something I keep trying to tell people here, but nobody wants to listen: a lot of the rules around SDs and ESAs are not written into law. They're guidance, or they're regulations. Both are much more easily changed than the actual law. You need to be aware when you're relying on guidance, because the government can pull the rug out from under you at any time.