The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development canceled federal fair housing protections for untrained emotional support animals. According to a May 22 enforcement memorandum signed by HUD Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor, the agency will now use the stricter Americans with Disabilities Act service animal standard to evaluate housing discrimination complaints.
The policy shift means HUD will close animal-related reasonable accommodation complaints without finding a violation unless the animal has been individually trained to perform tasks directly related to a tenant’s disability.
Under the previous 2020 framework, residential landlords were generally required to waive pet fees, deposits, and breed restrictions for disabled individuals who provided medical documentation for an untrained emotional support animal. While HUD will still permit species other than dogs to serve as assistance animals, those animals must now meet the same individual training criteria to trigger federal enforcement.
Texas REALTORS said the reversal reduces the immediate regulatory risk of a federal fair housing complaint for property owners who deny untrained animals. However, legal analysts noted that the Fair Housing Act text remains unchanged and the memo explicitly preserves a tenant’s right to file private lawsuits in federal or state court.
State and local fair housing guidelines, including the Texas Fair Housing Act, operate separately from HUD’s internal enforcement posture and continue to recognize accommodations for untrained emotional support animals, says Texas REALTORS. Although, they advise property managers to evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis to avoid violating state statutes.