ESA housing accommodation request: a message template
Adapt a plain-language ESA housing request and follow-up message, with prompts for the rule, accommodation, recipient and supporting information.
Use the template to start a specific conversation
Use this sample letter to a landlord for an emotional support animal to organize your own request and identify the response you need. A useful message tells the housing provider what decision you are requesting and how to follow up. It should be adapted to your circumstances. Do not send an example unchanged if it does not describe your situation.
This is a communication aid, not a legal opinion, clinical document or form issued by a government agency. The applicable law, property and facts still require their own assessment. HUD's former assistance-animal guidance has been withdrawn, so avoid appending old legal language without checking its current status.
Example first request
Hello [appropriate recipient],
I am requesting a disability-related accommodation concerning [identify the relevant animal policy or rule] at [property or unit]. The change I am requesting is [describe the actual accommodation].
Please confirm who will review the request and the appropriate process for providing relevant supporting information. If you need clarification about the accommodation requested, please let me know which point needs explanation.
Please confirm receipt and the next step in the review.
Thank you,
[your name]
[appropriate contact information]
Replace every bracketed prompt before sending. Include only information that is accurate and relevant. This website does not send the message or collect the completed form.
Add context only where it helps
If you already have a written rule or request from the property, refer to its date or section. If there is an administrative deadline, identify it accurately. Avoid stating that a provider has guaranteed the outcome or that payment for a letter automatically resolves the matter.
You may need to provide supporting information through a separate channel. Ask how to do so appropriately rather than attaching your entire medical history to a first email. Clinical documentation should come from its actual issuer.
Example follow-up after no clear response
I am following up on my accommodation request sent on [date]. Please confirm whether it reached the correct reviewer and whether any specific information is outstanding.
If the request has been decided, please provide the response and stated reason so I can understand the next step.
Thank you,
[your name]
Choose a follow-up time that fits the actual circumstances. This guide does not invent a universal response deadline. Keep any separate legal deadline visible while awaiting a reply.
Keep your request distinct from clinical evidence
A sample letter to a landlord for an emotional support animal can help organize the policy change you are requesting, the recipient and your preferred response method. Treat an ESA letter to a landlord template as a starting structure for your own message. It should not contain an invented clinician signature, diagnosis or assessment. If supporting information is needed, keep that professionally authored document separate and ask how to submit it through the appropriate channel.
Keep a record that another person can understand
Save the sent message, attachments, confirmation and response together. If you spoke by telephone, make a dated note of who participated and what next action was discussed. Do not alter a received message to make the record stronger.
If the matter becomes a dispute, an organized file can help a qualified adviser understand the sequence. HUD's reporting page provides an official starting point for a possible housing-discrimination concern, but an inquiry does not guarantee a finding or pause another process.
Sources and verification
Each source carries its recorded check date. Provider statements are identified as such.
- HUD withdrawal of FHEO guidance — checked 2026-09-08
- HUD: Report housing discrimination — checked 2026-09-08
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