Accommodation Requests: Assistance Animals in Housing

An accommodation request is a letter a tenant or applicant writes, in their own name, asking a housing provider to change a rule, policy or practice because of a disability. The most common example is a request to keep an assistance animal in housing that has a “no pets” rule or charges pet fees. Right now, the generator in it is paused, and we want to be clear about why.

The current pause

The assistance-animal accommodation request tool is guidance-only. It does not generate a letter and offers no download. According to the site’s source ledger, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development withdrew its 2013 and 2020 assistance-animal guidance documents, with an effective date of September 17, 2025, and said they should not be relied on as authoritative.

LetterForgeUSA has not finished reviewing what current federal materials say, and has not reviewed the state and local rules that apply alongside federal law. Until that review is done, and until the rules in our pack reach the required status, we will not generate a request that could be read as relying on withdrawn authority. The tool page explains what the generator will and will not do once it returns, and lists official places to get help now.

What this tool will and will not do

When the generator is available again, it will produce a tenant-authored request: who you are, where you live, what you are asking for, and how the housing provider can reply. It will not do any of the following, now or later:

• It will not generate a letter from a clinician, a diagnosis, a signature, a license number or any certification of disability.
• It will not register an animal or issue any document that claims to.
• It will not collect medical records or ask for health details that the request does not need.
• It will not promise that a request will be granted, or state how a housing provider must respond.

A request from a tenant does not replace supporting information that a housing provider may legitimately ask for. What can be asked for, and when, is exactly the kind of question the withdrawn guidance used to answer, which is why the pause matters.

Who sends an accommodation request

The tenant or applicant sends it, or someone acting on their behalf with their knowledge. It goes to the housing provider: the landlord, management company, housing authority or condominium association that controls the rule you are asking to change.

Typical mistakes

1. Sending more health information than needed. A request does not need your full history. Read rental letter privacy before you write anything down.
2. Buying a “certificate” or “registration”. This site has not reviewed the current documentation requirements. Do not rely on this page to decide what a housing provider may request or accept.
3. Signing a pet addendum without reading it. A pet addendum is for pets and should not be used to charge pet fees for an assistance animal. If you are asked to sign one, ask why.
4. Not keeping a copy. Date your request, keep a copy, and note how you delivered it. See how to deliver a letter and keep a copy.
5. Waiting too long to get help. If a request is refused, or if you face a fee, an eviction threat or a denial of housing because of an animal, qualified help matters.

Where to get help now

The tool page lists official federal sources from our ledger, including the Department of Justice overview of the Fair Housing Act and the government’s housing discrimination complaint information, each marked with the date an editor checked it. Local fair housing organizations and legal aid offices handle these questions regularly and often at no cost. State and local law may add protections or procedures that federal law does not, so a local source is worth reading as well.

No advertising appears on this page or on the accommodation tool page, and no analytics events are collected from that editor. Those are fixed implementation choices for this category.

LetterForgeUSA provides document drafting tools and general information, not legal advice. Rules depend on your location and circumstances.