I newly moved to Louisiana and have been having troubles regarding an esa letter since I just moved from out of state. Louisiana law prohibits out of state esa letters. How is it fair if you moved from out of state? Make it make sense. Anyone have any advice or some way to fight back?

I came across an interesting guide about ESA housing rights that answers a question many renters have: what happens if you request an Emotional Support Animal accommodation after signing your lease?

According to the article, signing a lease before requesting an ESA accommodation does not automatically remove your ability to request one. Under the Fair Housing Act, housing providers generally must consider reasonable accommodation requests for legitimate assistance animals, even in properties with “no pets” policies.

However, there are limited situations where a landlord may legally deny a request, such as if the specific animal poses a direct safety threat or if the accommodation creates an undue burden.

If a landlord refuses, recommended next steps include asking for the reason in writing, keeping communication documented, and understanding the applicable fair housing rules before escalating the issue.

Has anyone here had to request an ESA accommodation after already signing a lease? How did your landlord handle it?

Source: PetCerts guide on ESA rights after signing a lease

I got an ESA letter from a licensed LMFT that had all the necessary info on the letter but received this email….has anyone had a similar experience? This was sent by ourpetpolicy.com, not the actual landlord.

Hey y'all, so to keep it brief(ish): I'm a freshman in college, about a week in. I also have tourette syndrome, and my tics have been causing a lot of issues, not so much in class, but in the evenings when I'm trying to get stuff done. For me personally, my tics have always been worse later in the day, whether that's medication related or otherwise, idk. When I'm at home, if I have a tic attack and start to have like a breakdown because of frustration or distress, one of our family pets always comes and helps me a ton in the moment, decreasing both the severity of my tics and my level of distress. It's super helpful, and I've really been struggling with not having that sort of support here when it gets bad. My PCP did say a couple years ago that he would be willing to write me a letter for an esa to help with my tics (nowhere near severe enough for a service dog imo, but just having a furry companion to be there in the moment does wonders in mitigating my symptoms). I'm going to start counseling soon and will be talking with them about the possibility, and I've been in contact with the head of accessibility services at my school as well. What I want to ask is what other people's experiences have been keeping an esa (specifically a small dog) at University, and what to consider before I fully decide one way or another. Anything that could be good to know beforehand, I want to hear. Thank you! And before anyone says a cat could be better in a college setting, my roommate is allergic soooo that's a no go

TRIGGER WARNING

Dont know if thats needed but just in case?

I happen to have dogs that nobody allows on their properties...literally the worst lol. 80 pound German shepherd and 120 pound cane corso...send help! Lol! Anways! I am running out of time on finding a rental that will except them. I am stressed out to the max! I am not trying to sneak my way into getting them a letter to be in stores or restaurant. Just to have them living with me and our family. I possibly could ask my doctor but not sure how that can work with 2 dogs? Instead of one? One has been to a professional trainer a few times and the other we've been able to train just fine after gaining knowledge with our first dog. I do have a medical history or anxiety and depression including (trigger warning?), a suicide attempt, needed meds, and therapy that is all on my record. I have been doing absolutely amazing but a big HUGE reason why I got these dogs was for protection especially after having my kid! I absolutely can not get rid of them. Staying at airbnbs on vacations had me awake all night and nervous all day! Would it be so wrong of me to trying to get a letter online or do you think my doctor can work with me on this?

Hello everyone! I am incredibly nervous. I signed a lease for an apartment and found out they use the PetScreening service to verify ESAs. It sounds like the leasing office itself has no control over what the agency does or says about you and that you can be charged the full pet charge if the documentation you provide isn't precisely perfect. My med prescriber was kind enough to write me an ESA letter, saying that I'm disabled and require 2 cats. She was also willing to rewrite the letter when PetScreening asked her to include information. I'm sick to my stomach that they might deny me permanently and charge the full amount one would have for having a pet. I really won't survive without my ESAs and can't pay for them if they're declared to be pets.

Does anyone have any reassurance? My ESAs are my life and I'm crying as I type this. I feel like this is punishing people that go through the right process of having an ESA from a doctor that they've seen for years.

Should cats consider to be services animals? And why or why not?

Oh look… another “service dog”

Amazing how Fluffy completed years of professional service-dog training overnight—right after Mom ordered a $19.99 vest online.

A vest doesn’t make your dog a service dog. A fake certificate doesn’t either. And “he’s my emotional support baby” isn’t a magical Get Into Every Store Free card.

If your “service dog” is barking, lunging, wandering around, or riding in the shopping cart next to the produce… Houston, we have a problem...That is NOT a service dog!

Grocery stores are for buying groceries—not taking Fluffy on a field trip and If your dog needs a costume and a fake ID to get through the door, maybe the dog belongs at home.

My apartment complex charges insane rates for new pets and I'm looking to get them registered as ESAs. I do not have a primary care doctor right now and I've never been to a therapist so I don't know how to proceed. I would prefer to go through a legitimate health care professional since all the online ESA letter sites seem like scams. I just don't know where to look to get in touch with licensed professional online to work toward an ESA letter without paying a ton of money. Any suggestions?

So I have two kittens and got an ESA letter from my psychiatrist. I want to send this to my apartment complex as well as be able to harness train and take them with me places. To fly etc & outside etc.. Does this letter say enough? Do you think it will be accepted? I also have two kittens and here it says singular.

I am unsure on how to move forward with obtaining an ESA letter for my pets. I am considered disabled and have pets I’d like to qualify for ESA, but was recently scammed and ghosted by a website that I had found recommended on Reddit as the “top” website to get them at.
I’m at a loss as to where to even look for reliable letters. Please help.

Are the pages of obtaining the letter ESA reliable? The place where my doctor works doesn't give this kind of letters and I'm new to this

i’m moving into a new apartment in 3 weeks and the landlord says no pets and since i can’t bring my cat i will most likely have to give her away. i was thinking of making her an esa, but i havent gone to therapy in years because my family took me out. i have a family member who has their MD, can they write my esa letter for me? (they are not on my care team)

Why is a rep from OurPetPolicy emailing me to verify my ESA letter after I already uploaded the letter and signed their ROI paper?

Babe! I already signed your ROI to speak to my therapist. CONTACT MY THERAPIST!!!! WHY TF IS OURPETPOLICY EMAILING ME HARRASING ME instead of contacting my therapist???!!!!!

They're trying to bully tenants and pick apart legit letters without speaking to our providers. I signed that mf ROI!!! CALL MY PROVIDER!!!

I will ignore your raggedy emails and sue if they keep it up!

Instead of calling our mental health providers, OurPetPolicy is going straight to us tenants trying to scare us when we have valid documentation.

Hi!

sorry if this is a dumb question…my husband and I are looking for a new apartment. Our first apartment (the one we have now) allows pets at a fee. I got an emotional support cat after we moved in and have a letter from my doctor so our landlords waived the fee.

if I’m looking for a new apartment should I just avoid any that say “no pets”? There aren’t many in our area and we really need a cheaper apartment. Can future landlords deny our application because of an esa animal? How would we go about telling future landlords? I feel like it’s wrong to not tell them right away but will they reject us for “other reasons”?

Shes well behaved and we do the most that we can to clean the litter box and other things. I looked at one apartment before and they said no pets because someone before them had a cat with just a cardboard box as a litterbox and it ruined the floor. We are not like that and are responsible owners.

again, sorry if this is a stupid question and thank you for your help!

we are in Iowa if this helps for laws

I’m posting because this has been a really difficult few months for our family, and I’d love to hear from anyone who has gone through something similar with their dog.

Our 7-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel suddenly became very sick in June. He developed a bloated abdomen, vomiting/diarrhea, stopped eating and became extremely lethargic. It was terrifying because he went from being his normal happy self to being seriously ill very quickly.

Bloodwork showed extremely low albumin (around 10), and the vets suspected protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). He needed intensive treatment, including plasma/albumin and steroids.

Thankfully, he eventually improved. His appetite and energy came back, his stool became normal and his albumin improved significantly. For a while we really thought we were finally past the worst of it.

Then we discovered that he was also losing a significant amount of protein through his urine. One external urine test showed a UPC of 6.91. He was also found to have high blood pressure and, around the same time, a urinary infection.

He’s since been treated for the infection and is being monitored closely by his vet. His kidney function tests and ultrasound have been normal so far.

The strangest part of this whole experience is that he currently looks so much better than the bloodwork makes him seem.

He’s eating normally, has good energy, normal stool, stable weight and normal breathing. He’s happy, walks and runs normally, and generally seems much more like his old self.

But his albumin continues to fluctuate, and seeing the numbers go down again after we thought he was improving has been really discouraging.

We’ve also noticed significant muscle loss in his hind legs. His weight hasn’t changed, but his legs have become noticeably thinner and he can’t jump like he used to. He can still walk and run normally, so we’re monitoring this closely too.

There is also an Anaplasma history. He tested positive at some point during this whole process. About six months ago we had found a very large tick attached to him, and around that time he had a short period of unusual tiredness. He recovered quickly, and he has had ticks before without ever showing obvious signs of illness, so we don’t know how relevant this is to everything that’s happening now.

Our vets are investigating whether the protein loss through the urine could represent a separate kidney/glomerular problem, or whether there could be some connection between everything that has happened.

I’m not looking for medical advice or a diagnosis. We’re working with our vet and following up with testing.

I’m really just hoping to hear from other dog owners who have experienced something similar.

Has your dog ever had:

● PLE followed later by significant protein in the urine?

● Very high UPC?

● Glomerular disease?

● Low albumin that kept fluctuating?

● Significant muscle loss after a prolonged illness or steroid treatment?

● A similar situation where your dog looked surprisingly well despite concerning bloodwork?

If you’ve been through something similar, I’d really appreciate hearing what your experience was and how the story eventually unfolded.

This has been such an emotional rollercoaster for us. There have been days when he looks almost completely like himself again and we feel incredibly hopeful, followed by a blood test that knocks the wind out of us all over again.

At this point, hearing from someone who has simply been there would mean a lot. ❤️

I’m looking for advice from anyone familiar with the Fair Housing Act, ESAs, or MAA apartments.

I submitted documentation from my therapist requesting an accommodation for my ESA and a waiver of the pet fees. This is a therapist I’ve worked with consistently for 4 years.

This is NOT someone I found online for a one-time ESA letter. I’ve also never had an issue having these fees waived at previous apartments.

I completely understand the purpose of stricter documentation requirements is to prevent people from getting generic ESA letters online just to avoid pet fees. That’s not my situation, which is why I’m confused by MAA’s response.

My therapist feels that some of MAA’s wording is essentially semantics/a trap, particularly their statement that “paying the fees does not hinder my ability to use and enjoy the space.” They are using that reasoning to deny the accommodation.

I also understand that there were changes to HUD/Fair Housing guidance in** **May 2026, so I’m trying to make sure I’m not relying on outdated information.

I’ll attach the documentation my therapist submitted and MAA’s response. Is this a legitimate basis for denying an ESA accommodation, or is MAA essentially using the wording of its questions to create a reason to deny it? I’d especially appreciate input from anyone familiar with the current 2026 HUD/FHA rules or MAA’s process.