Just being offended is not a valid reason to reject an ESA. Your landlord however is entitled to see that you have an ESA letter before they approve your animal to live in a no-pets building.

If the landlord is offended, can they evict for “unauthorized animal”?

You should provide the updated ESA letter to them before moving in your second ESA. Landlords have to accommodate ESAs unless they have a valid exemption. For example, if the presence of another ESA created a safety or health concern.

I’ve recently been approved for a 2nd ESA (residing in CA). Can I just provide the property management the updated letter for both dogs prior to an upcoming renewal? Can they evict for having an approved 2nd?

You do not need to fill out a specific form that your landlord provides, but the landlord is entitled to see a letter from your licensed therapist or doctor. The letter must confirm you have a mental health condition that meets the criteria for being a disability under Fair Housing rules.

My landlord says me and my dr have to fill out their reasonable accommodation form for my ESA dog. I am not disabled however I do have several disabilities (ADHD, anxiety) that can be debilitating at times. I keep getting denied because my Dr will not check off that I’m disabled. I started this process before the dog arrived here in April 2023 and still continue getting denied. I tried filing a complaint with department of housing urban development and they denied my claim. They will probably try to evict me. What can I do? I mean the landlord doesn’t have a good reputation of approving requests. Their name is WODA Cooper.

That is generally not a good reason for a landlord to reject an emotional support animal. It’s reasonable to expect that a dog will make some noise. However, an ESA cannot create a persistent nuisance for other tenants.

We recently wrote an article about this topic which you can find here: https://esadoctors.com/do-i-have-to-disclose-my-esa-when-filling-out-a-lease-if-the-property-is-no-pets/

When applying for new rentals some applications are saying that we must disclose ESAs when we apply, however I feel like that will cause us to be denied. If we don’t disclose our ESAs until after we sign a lease would the landlord then have grounds to evict due to us not listing them on the application?