Why this generator is paused
LetterForgeUSA planned a tenant-authored assistance-animal accommodation request: a short letter, written in your own name, asking a housing provider to allow an assistance animal in your home or not to apply a pet rule, deposit or fee to it.
The generator is paused and no download is offered. The reason is simple. The two HUD notices that housing providers and tenants relied on to understand these requests were withdrawn, no replacement federal guidance had been identified when this page was last checked, and this site has not reviewed any state rules on the topic. Drafting a request on that basis would not be honest.
What changed
HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity withdrew eight guidance documents effective September 17, 2025. Two of them concern assistance animals:
- FHEO Notice 2013-01, “Service Animals and Assistance Animals for People with Disabilities in Housing and HUD-funded Programs”, issued April 25, 2013.
- FHEO 2020-01, “Assessing a Person’s Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act”, issued January 28, 2020.
HUD published the withdrawal in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026 (91 FR 17291, Docket No. FR-6571-N-01). The notice states that the documents “have been removed from active use and should not be relied upon as authoritative”, that HUD “is continuing to review its need for existing guidance”, and that guidance “determined to be necessary will be reissued”. It also says that “any actions that do not comply with the text of the Fair Housing Act continue to be subject to enforcement by the Department.”
LetterForgeUSA confirmed this from the official Federal Register publication on govinfo on October 16, 2026: Notification of Withdrawal of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Guidance Documents. HUD also hosts a PDF of the notice on hud.gov; that copy could not be opened during the same check, so it is listed on the Sources and coverage page as pending.
The statute was not withdrawn. The Fair Housing Act still provides, at 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B), that discrimination includes “a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling”. How that provision applies to assistance animals in practice, and what a housing provider may ask for, is exactly what the withdrawn guidance used to explain, and it is what this site has not yet reviewed.
What an accommodation request generally is
An accommodation request is a tenant asking a housing provider to make an exception to a rule, policy or practice. For assistance animals, the exception is usually to a no-pets rule, a breed, size or weight limit, or a pet deposit or fee.
In general terms, a tenant-authored request says who you are and where you live, what you are asking for, that the request is for an accommodation related to a disability (without describing it), what the animal is, whether you can provide supporting information if asked, how to reach you, and the date. It is short, polite and specific.
Three things it is not:
- It is not a letter from a clinician, and it does not replace legitimate supporting information that may be needed in some situations.
- It is not a promise about the outcome. A housing provider may respond, ask questions or decline, and what happens next depends on rules this site has not reviewed.
- It is not legal advice. Rules depend on your location and circumstances.
What this site will never generate
Whatever the future review finds, LetterForgeUSA will not produce:
- A letter from, or in the name of, a clinician or any other professional.
- A diagnosis, a disability certification or any statement about your health.
- A signature, license number or credential for anyone other than you.
- An animal registration, certificate or ID.
- A form that collects medical records or asks why you need the animal.
You may have seen “ESA letter” products online. The term is mentioned here only to make the difference clear: those products sell a clinician’s letter about you. This site does not offer one, imitate one or help you obtain one.
Privacy guidance
Health details do not belong in a letter to a housing provider unless a fair housing organization, legal aid office or attorney has advised you to include them. Once sent, a letter can be copied, stored and forwarded. If you are later asked for supporting information, ask what is needed and why before you share anything, and share only that.
This tool’s editor sends no analytics events, and this page carries no advertising. Nothing you type into any LetterForgeUSA tool leaves your browser. See the Rental letter privacy guide and the Privacy page for details.
Where to get help
Only pages that were opened and checked on October 16, 2026 are linked here.
- Find a local legal aid organization (Legal Services Corporation). A local fair housing organization or legal aid office can review your situation and your state’s rules, and may help you write or respond to a request.
- The Fair Housing Act (U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division). A federal overview that names disability as a protected basis and links to HUD’s online complaint form and to the Civil Rights Division’s reporting site.
- Identify and complain about rental housing discrimination (USAGov). A plain-language official page that lists the protected characteristics and links to HUD’s online complaint form.
- Your state civil rights or human rights agency. Many accept housing complaints and some have their own assistance-animal rules. This site has not reviewed them, so search for your state’s agency directly.
HUD’s own pages could not be opened by this site’s automated check, so they are not linked directly. Both the DOJ and USAGov pages above link to HUD’s online complaint form.
LetterForgeUSA provides document drafting tools and general information, not legal advice. Rules depend on your location and circumstances.