Frequently Asked Questions: Emotional Support Animals
Common questions and answers for people with disabilities who have emotional support animals in their housing.
This resource is a self-advocacy guide for people with disabilities. It is not legal advice. For legal advice on your specific situation, please talk with an attorney.
What are emotional support animals (ESAs)?
An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that gives emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship for someone with a disability. They can be any domesticated animal, like cats, dogs, mice, birds, or rabbits.
To have an emotional support animal in your housing, you need a letter from a licensed mental health professional that says you need one. This can be your therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
Unlike service animals, emotional support animals aren’t trained to perform tasks for someone with a disability.
Emotional support animals are defined in Wisconsin Statute §106.50(1m)(im).
How are Emotional Support Animals different from service animals, therapy animals, or pets?
Service Animals
Service animals are dogs or mini-horses which are trained to do specific tasks to help their owners with disabilities.
Service animals are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They can go to public places and do things emotional support animals cannot.
An example of a service animal is a guide dog that leads a blind person around obstacles.
Therapy Animals
Therapy animals are trained to offer comfort to people in different settings, like:
hospitals
mental health institutions
schools
disaster response sites
Therapy animals help groups of people. They are different from service animals and emotional support animals, which help only one specific person.
Pets
Pets are not protected under either state or federal law.
What laws protect my right to have an emotional support animal in my rented home?
Federal Law
The federal Fair Housing Act protects you from housing discrimination because of your disability. The act applies to nearly all rental properties, including private landlords. It requires housing providers to grant a tenant’s requests for changes in rules, practices, or policies to accommodate a person’s disability.
Learn about the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §3604 on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's website.
*Note: While the Fair Housing Act itself has not changed, the federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) wrote an internal memo on May 22, 2026, reversing prior guidance on Emotional Support Animal protections in housing. In this memo, HUD describes its current position that landlords don’t have to automatically approve requests from tenants with ESAs to have them at home. You can read the HUD memo online.
Wisconsin State Law
The Wisconsin Fair Housing Law is a state law that protects you from housing discrimination because of your disability.
Learn about the Wisconsin Fair Housing Law on the Department of Workforce Development's website.
*Note: The May 22, 2026 HUD Memo does not affect Wisconsin’s state law on housing.
Do landlords need to accommodate for emotional support animals if they have a “no pets” policy?
Yes. Under housing law in Wisconsin, landlords must make reasonable accommodations for emotional support animals and service animals even if they have a “no pets” policy.
A landlord may ask you to send paperwork from a healthcare professional to confirm that you have a disability, and you need the animal for a disability-related reason.
What is a reasonable accommodation?
A reasonable accommodation is any change to a policy or practice affecting your environment to help you live there comfortably and safely.
A reasonable accommodation request for an assistance animal may be:
to live with your emotional support or service animal at a property where a landlord has a no-pets policy
to waive a pet deposit, fee, or other rule for your animal.
to allow an emotional support animal in common areas in housing complexes and campus or university housing, if that is normally not allowed.
You should write down your accommodation request and other important information and send it to your landlord. Keep a copy for yourself.
Can a landlord deny my reasonable accommodation request for an emotional support animal?
Under federal law, a landlord can deny your request to have an emotional support animal if:
the landlord lives in the unit and they or a member of their immediate family have an allergy to the animal
your animal has shown aggressive or threatening behavior.
This reason must be based on your animal’s actual behavior. It should not be based on your landlord’s beliefs about behavior from your animal’s breed, size, or other characteristics.
Under Wisconsin law, a landlord may deny your reasonable accommodation request if they can show that, by allowing an emotional support animal, your animal would:
threaten other people’s health or safety
damage other people’s property.
What does it look like when a landlord discriminates against me for having an emotional support animal?
Under Wisconsin Law, your landlord has discriminated against you if they:
refuse to rent or sell housing, because of an emotional support animal.
evict you, because of an emotional support animal.
charge a higher rate or deposit, because of an emotional support animal.
attempt to delay or stall the rental process, or suggest that a person with a disability or emotional support animal is not welcome.
fail to provide reasonable accommodations or modifications of policies, practices, and procedures.
separate your emotional support animal from you.
What documentation must I give to a landlord for an emotional support animal request?
Your landlord may ask for documentation confirming:
that you have a disability; and
your disability-related need for your emotional support animal.
A landlord may also ask for information about your emotional support animal. This can be medical information about them, like vaccines or other public health requirements.
A landlord cannot ask you to:
tell them what kind of disability you have.
tell them what disability is treated by your emotional support animal or service animal.
prove that your animal has been specifically trained or registered as an emotional support animal.
give them access to your medical records.
What information should a medical professional include in documenting the disability or disability-related need for an emotional support animal?
Your medical provider should document that you:
have a disability.
need the animal to treat or manage your disability.
Your provider does not need to document what your disability is.
Does my emotional support animal have to be certified or have special papers?
No. There is no official registry, certificate, or papers for service or emotional support animals. Landlords can’t require you to give any official certification or pay for any certification.
Can my landlord have breed restrictions?
No. Emotional support animals and service animals are not required to follow a landlord’s size, weight, or breed restrictions.
Am I responsible for sanitation or any property damage caused by my emotional support animal?
Yes. You are legally responsible for any property damage caused by your emotional support animal. A landlord can charge a tenant for damage done by their emotional support animal.
What can I do if my landlord refuses to allow my support animal?
Informal Process
First, you can talk to your landlord and try to resolve the issue informally. If they deny your reasonable accommodation request, your landlord should make other accommodations for you if possible.
Formal Complaints
You can file a complaint with the following agencies if you think your request was denied illegally or you have been discriminated against:
State Level: Wisconsin Equal Rights Division (ERD)
You have one year from the date of the incident to file a complaint. You can file one using the following methods:
Online: Use the Equal Rights Division’s online form.
Mail: Fill out Form ERD-10240, “Discrimination Complaint – Fair Housing."
Send your completed form to:
Madison Office
PO Box 8928
Madison, WI 53708
Phone: 608-266-6860
Fax: 608-267-4592
Milwaukee Office
819 N 6th St; Room 723
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Phone: 414-227-4384
Fax: 414-227-4084
*Note: the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division may be the best place for a formal complaint about ESAs right now, due to HUD’s recent memo.
Federal Level: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
You have one year from the date of the incident to file a complaint. You can file online, by phone, or by mail.
Complaints with HUD about ESA discrimination will be affected by the memo from May 22, 2026. This memo makes it harder for tenants with disabilities to win HUD complaints about ESAs. Read the memo online. You can also learn more about this memo online.
You can learn about the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s complaint process on their website.
Phone: 800-669-9777
Website: hud.gov
Lawsuit
You can also sue your landlord in court, even if you don’t make a complaint first. It is always a good idea to consult with a lawyer before filing a lawsuit.
What happens if a court finds that my landlord broke the law by denying my emotional support animal?
The court may award you:
Money damages
Injunctive relief, or orders for the landlord to stop discriminating
Attorney fees and costs
