Emotional Support Animals
A quick guide to understanding lease termination, tenant rights, and financial responsibilities under Washington State law.
This guide provides general information based on Washington’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA) and related state laws. It is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
This guide is not a replacement for legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer or schedule a legal consultation through QLaw Foundation’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Legal Clinic.
Emotional Support Animals
An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) provides emotional support and comfort by alleviating one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Unlike a service animal, an ESA does not need specialized training and can be any animal. While service animals are generally dogs, ESAs can be a variety of animals.
ESAs help with disabilities such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health conditions.
An ESA’s primary function is to provide emotional support.
A service animal is trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability.
ESAs are not considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and do not have the same public access rights.
While service animals are generally dogs, ESAs can be a variety of animals.
ESAs do not need specialized training.
A person must have a disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
The individual must obtain documentation from a licensed healthcare provider who can verify the disability-related need for the animal.
The provider must evaluate the individual and determine that the animal provides emotional support that alleviates one or more symptoms or effects of the disability.
Generally, to verify an ESA, a housing provider may request reliable documentation from a licensed healthcare provider.
You do not need to disclose your specific diagnosis, but your provider may need to confirm that you have a disability and a disability-related need for the ESA.
The licensed healthcare provider should be familiar with your condition and have personal knowledge of your disability-related need for the animal.
You and your healthcare provider must have an established provider-patient relationship.
Owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units may be exempt from certain Fair Housing Act requirements.
Single-family homes sold or rented by the owner without a broker may be exempt from certain Fair Housing Act requirements.
The ESA must not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
The ESA must not cause substantial physical damage to the property of others.
Full breed profiles are not legally allowed in Washington State and should not be used to determine whether an ESA is permitted.
Reasonable accommodations must be made when a person with a disability requires an ESA, unless doing so would impose an undue financial or administrative burden or fundamentally alter the nature of the housing provider’s operations.
Landlords cannot charge pet rent, pet fees, or pet deposits for an ESA.
However, tenants remain responsible for actual damage caused by the animal.
ESAs are protected under the Fair Housing Act and are exempt from “no pets” policies.
Direct threat to safety.
Property damage risk.
Accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative hardship.
Accommodation would fundamentally change how the housing provider operates.
Insufficient documentation.
Landlords cannot charge tenants pet rent, pet fees, deposits, or cleaning charges.
However, tenants remain responsible for actual damages caused by the animal.
While most laws do not require ESAs to have formal registration, landlords may ask for reliable documentation from a licensed healthcare provider.
Fake ESA registrations or certificates sold online do not automatically qualify an animal as an ESA.
Tenants may be charged for actual damage their animals do.
ESA letters should come from a licensed healthcare provider.
While some online services may be legitimate, more often, it needs to come from a provider that has licensed that particular person and not simply an online ESA certification.
Warning about scams.
Websites that sell ESA registrations should not be considered sufficient documentation.
A person does not need an ESA certification, registration, ID card, or vest.
Online certifications are often scams.
