HUD Signals Major Shift on Emotional Support Animals

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently signaled a significant change in its approach to emotional support animals (ESAs) under the Fair Housing Act.

For years, HUD has recognized ESAs as a type of assistance animal that could qualify for a reasonable accommodation. Under HUD’s prior guidance, ESAs and service animals were afforded the same protections under the act.

In September 2025, HUD withdrew its guidance documents as part of the Trump Administration’s direction that HUD and other federal agencies focus more on intentional discrimination, as opposed to unintentional discrimination (i.e., disparate impact). Last month, HUD issued an internal memorandum directing its enforcement staff to distinguish between trained service animals and untrained emotional support animals. Under the reported guidance, trained service animals are viewed more favorably, while requests involving untrained emotional support animals may receive greater scrutiny.

What does this mean for housing providers? Most importantly, the Fair Housing Act itself has not changed,nor does HUD’s internal guidance change state and local laws involving housing discrimination. Housing providers should continue to evaluate accommodation requests on an individualized basis and should not assume that all emotional support animal requests can now be denied. However, the withdrawal of HUD’s prior guidance may provide landlords with greater flexibility to scrutinize ESA requests and the supporting documentation offered by applicants and residents for them.

Because the legal landscape is evolving, and the courts have not addressed this new HUD guidance, housing providers should exercise caution before changing existing policies and should continue to assess each request based on the specific facts presented.