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For over a decade, the rule for landlords was simple, if not always welcome: an emotional support animal letter from any licensed mental health professional was enough to require reasonable accommodation, no pet policy or breed restriction included. That changed on May 22, 2026, when HUD issued new enforcement guidance applying the ADA's trained-task standard to federal fair housing complaints involving assistance animals.
The underlying law hasn't disappeared, but the practical risk calculus for Celina landlords has shifted in ways worth understanding before the next accommodation request lands on your desk.
Key Takeaways
The Fair Housing Act and Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 121 still require landlords to provide reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, including assistance animals, regardless of a no-pet policy.
As of May 22, 2026, HUD applied the ADA's individually trained task standard when evaluating federal fair housing complaints, meaning untrained emotional support animals have weaker federal enforcement backing than before.
Landlords cannot charge pet deposits, pet fees, or pet rent for a legitimate assistance animal, though tenants remain fully liable for any damage the animal causes.
Tenants retain the right to sue directly in federal or state court within two years of a discriminatory act, regardless of HUD's enforcement posture.
Texas's own fair housing protections operate independently of the federal policy change and are unaffected by it.
What Actually Changed for Support Animals
HUD's new guidance doesn't rewrite the Fair Housing Act itself. What it changes is how HUD evaluates and pursues complaints. For over a decade, HUD guidance dating back to 2013 and reinforced in 2020 treated an untrained emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation on the strength of documentation alone. Under the new standard, HUD now applies the same individually-trained-task requirement the ADA uses for service animals, meaning an animal that provides comfort or companionship without performing a specific, trained task tied to the tenant's disability carries less weight in a federal complaint. In practical terms, a complaint HUD would have pursued in 2024 over a denied ESA request may now simply be closed at the federal level.
This is a meaningful shift, but it is not a green light to start denying every ESA request. The Fair Housing Act's underlying reasonable-accommodation requirement is a federal statute, not a HUD policy memo, and it remains fully in force. What has weakened is one specific enforcement pathway, not the landlord's underlying legal obligation.
Texas Law Hasn't Changed at All
Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 121 provides its own, independent protection for tenants with service animals and assistance animals, and this state-level protection is entirely unaffected by HUD's federal policy shift.
A landlord operating in Celina, Prosper, or anywhere else in Collin County still has to evaluate an accommodation request under both the federal Fair Housing Act and Texas state law, and the state law doesn't defer to whatever enforcement posture HUD happens to be taking in a given year. Landlords who read headlines about HUD's policy change and conclude they can now freely deny ESA requests are working from an incomplete picture of the legal landscape.
What You Still Cannot Do
Regardless of HUD's enforcement posture, a landlord still cannot charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or monthly pet rent for a legitimate assistance animal, and a no-pet policy or breed restriction cannot be used to deny a valid request outright.
That said, accommodation is not unconditional. A landlord may still require the removal of an assistance animal that poses a direct threat to others, causes substantial physical damage beyond what reasonable modifications could address, or is not reasonably kept under the tenant's control. The tenant remains fully liable for any damage the animal actually causes beyond normal wear and tear, which is worth distinguishing clearly from the separate, discretionary pet-charge questions we've covered in our piece on the unauthorized-pet problem.
An assistance animal accommodation request and a tenant sneaking an unauthorized pet into a unit are two entirely different legal situations, and treating them the same way is a common and costly mistake.
What a Legitimate Accommodation Request Looks Like
A landlord can still ask for documentation when a tenant's disability or need for the animal isn't obvious. That typically means a letter from a licensed healthcare provider, a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or physician, confirming the tenant has a disability and that the animal provides disability-related assistance. The letter should be dated, signed, and on the provider's letterhead rather than a generic form purchased from an online ESA registry site, since those registries carry no legal weight regardless of what they claim.
A sample request a tenant might submit reads something like: "I am requesting reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act to keep an emotional support animal in my unit. I have a disability, and my healthcare provider has confirmed that this animal is necessary for my disability-related needs." Evaluating each request consistently and documenting the review process protects a landlord far more than an informal, case-by-case approach, which is exactly the kind of consistency our tenant screening process is built to support across every property we manage.
The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong
Wrongfully denying or restricting a legitimate assistance animal accommodation still creates serious legal exposure, HUD's policy change notwithstanding. A tenant can pursue actual damages, including moving costs, rent differentials, and emotional distress, and punitive damages if the denial is found to be intentional discrimination.
The two-year window to file suit in federal or state court is untouched by the HUD enforcement shift, so a landlord who denies a request today based on a misreading of the new guidance can still face a lawsuit well after HUD itself has closed the door on pursuing the complaint administratively.
Given how much confusion this policy change has created, reviewing your current move-in paperwork and accommodation request process with a clear eye is worth doing now rather than after a dispute has already started. Our owner FAQs page covers several related scenarios Celina-area landlords run into most often.
FAQ
Can I deny an emotional support animal now that HUD changed its guidance?
Not automatically. The Fair Housing Act and Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 121 still require reasonable accommodations, and a tenant can still sue directly in court regardless of HUD's current enforcement posture.
Can I charge a pet deposit for a legitimate assistance animal?
No. Pet deposits, pet fees, and pet rent cannot be charged for a legitimate service animal or emotional support animal, though the tenant remains liable for any damage it causes.
What documentation can I request for an ESA?
If the disability or need isn't obvious, you can request a dated, signed letter from a licensed healthcare provider confirming the disability and the animal's role in providing disability-related assistance.
Does Texas law give tenants any protection beyond the federal Fair Housing Act?
Yes. Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 121 operates independently of federal policy and is unaffected by HUD's 2026 enforcement guidance change.
Staying Compliant Through a Confusing Policy Shift
HUD's 2026 guidance change has genuinely altered how federal fair housing complaints get evaluated, but it hasn't touched the underlying legal obligations landlords owe their tenants under the Fair Housing Act or Texas state law. Treating this as permission to deny every ESA request is exactly the kind of misreading that turns a policy footnote into a lawsuit.
If you'd like help reviewing your current accommodation request process or move-in paperwork for a Celina-area rental, reach out to our team today.
