Do landlords check ESA letters? Confused after seeing multiple ESA websites

[teresamcneel]

Hi all,


I’m looking for some real advice and experiences here. I’ve been researching emotional support animal (ESA) letters for housing purposes, and I noticed there are a lot of websites offering them—like RealESAletter, CertaPet, Pettable, and others.


It’s honestly kind of overwhelming, and it got me wondering—how do landlords even verify these letters? Do they usually accept them without question, or do they dig deeper to check their legitimacy?


Also, can a landlord legally contact the mental health professional who issued the letter? Are there certain formats or wordings that make a letter more “acceptable” or more likely to be flagged?


If anyone has gone through this process—either as a tenant or landlord—I’d really appreciate your input. Especially curious about what landlords look for, or what might raise red flags.


Thanks in advance for any insight!

 

[FarmerJ]

There is no reason a landlord cannot verify a ESA letter with the clinic where it was written. No different really than verifying owner information of the references a applicant supplies for past residences.

 

[quincy]

—how do landlords even verify these letters? Do they usually accept them without question, or do they dig deeper to check their legitimacy?…

ESA letters can be questioned by landlords and can lead to rejections if there is not proper verification of the need for a support animal. It will be the letter that is questioned and not the medical reason for the ESA.

A tenant’s ESA can also be rejected if the specific animal is illegal to own (eg., a wild animal) or is known to be dangerous (eg., a history of aggressive behavior).

A landlord’s general pet policy can play a role in how much investigation is made into an ESA letter and a request by a tenant for a waiver of pet deposit and monthly pet fees.

 

[zddoodah]

how do landlords even verify these letters?

Not all of them do.

Do they usually accept them without question, or do they dig deeper to check their legitimacy?

Are you looking for a generalization about hundreds of thousands of landlords in the United States?

can a landlord legally contact the mental health professional who issued the letter?

Of course.

Are there certain formats or wordings that make a letter more “acceptable” or more likely to be flagged?

There is no general or universal answer to this question.

The federal Fair Housing Act entitles individuals with disabilities to reasonable accommodations, which may include allowing an emotional support animal, regardless of the landlord's typical pet policy. The FHA defines an emotional support animal as an animal that provides therapeutic benefits to individuals with a diagnosed mental or emotional disorder.

Obviously, no one at the fly-by-night sites that you mentioned is doing any diagnosis. However, while landlords are allowed to ask for documentation confirming the tenant’s need for the emotional support animal, they cannot request details about the tenant’s diagnosis or medical history. Needless to say, this creates a lot of room for abuse, and many smaller, less sophisticated landlords may simply accept the letters without any verification. That's why sites such as those you mentioned exist.

 

[adjusterjack]

Former landlord here.

A very large percentage of ESA claims are scams to avoid a landlord's pet policy. That's why the online sources of phony ESA letters exist.

I would not accept any ESA letter that didn't come from a local, verifiable, medical or mental health professional and you would sign an authorization allowing me to contact that professional to verify that the letter was authentic (without asking for details, of course).

 

[quincy]

It might be important to note that, even with a tenant’s verified need for an emotional support animal and a landlord’s acceptance of an emotional support animal in a rental, a landlord still can evict a tenant and/or rescind permission for a tenant to have a specific emotional support animal if the animal is disruptive (eg., destroys the landlord’s property, causes excessive noise, behaves aggressively).

 

[Gail in Georgia]

As a landlord, my response to an applicant claiming an ESA is the same as adjusterjack's. When I point this out to an interested applicant I rarely hear back from them again.

 

[bcr229]

I have an emotional support giant python that gives great hugs.

 

[Zigner]

What US state?

 

[quincy]

I’ve also looked into a lot of ESA letter providers online, and while there are many options out there, my personal experience with [company name deleted] has been really good.

What stood out to me is that if a landlord refuses to allow your emotional support animal, [company name deleted] provides 24/7 customer support. Their team is very responsive and helps with documentation or clarification if needed, which gave me peace of mind.

I didn’t face any issues personally, but knowing that their support is always available made the whole process a lot smoother.

Commercial messages are not permitted on this forum, bronte. Your post has been reported for moderator review.

 

[Just Blue]

Commercial messages are not permitted on this forum, bronte. Your post has been reported for moderator review.

The OP smells of spam seed. IMO.

 

[quincy]

The OP smells of spam seed. IMO.

That’s what I said to the moderator in my report of the post.