Fair Housing Act (FHA)

What the FHA covers

Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968. According to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, it prohibits discrimination in housing because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. It applies to landlords, property managers and other housing providers, as well as to practices like lending and zoning that affect access to housing.

The Department of Justice notes that the Fair Housing Act applies to virtually all types of housing, though some limited exemptions exist. The FHA's definition of disability mirrors the ADA's: an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one.

Assistance animals under the FHA

Refusing to make a reasonable accommodation that a person with a disability needs can be discrimination under the FHA. HUD withdrew its 2020 assistance animal notice (FHEO-2020-01) effective September 17, 2025, and its May 22, 2026 enforcement guidance now explains how HUD assesses requests for animals.

HUD uses the broader term assistance animal, which includes trained service animals like psychiatric service dogs and animals that provide disability-related emotional support. Under the May 2026 guidance, requests for animals individually trained to perform disability-related tasks are presumptively reasonable, while untrained emotional support animals are reviewed case by case. A provider may need to waive a no-pet rule or a breed or weight restriction for an assistance animal.

FHA documentation limits

If your disability or the disability-related need for your animal isn't obvious, the housing provider may ask for reliable documentation. A letter from a licensed clinician who has evaluated you, such as a PSD letter, is one common way to provide it. Certificates bought online from sites that sell them to anyone may not, on their own, be reliable.

For a trained PSD, the 2004 HUD and DOJ joint statement says providers may not require extra fees or deposits as a condition of the accommodation, though they may charge for actual damage. For untrained emotional support animals, HUD's May 2026 guidance may allow fees, and state law may differ. A request can be denied, case by case, if the specific animal poses a direct threat, would cause substantial physical damage that can't be reduced, or the request imposes an undue financial and administrative burden.

Where to get fair housing help

If you believe a housing provider has discriminated against you, you can file a complaint with HUD, and private lawsuits are also possible. Keep copies of your request, the provider's responses and your documentation.

Related terms

See reasonable accommodation for how requests work step by step, assistance animal for HUD's broader category, and pet deposit and no-pet policy for how those rules change for assistance animals. For airline rules, the Air Carrier Access Act entry explains the separate federal law.