Moving with an emotional support animal
Answers
The letter moves with you. The accommodation does not, and in five states the letter may not either.
Accommodations do not transfer
An accommodation is granted by a particular housing provider in relation to a particular tenancy. A new landlord has had no request from you and has granted nothing, so you make the request again. That is normal and usually straightforward, particularly with documentation that is current.
Crossing a state line
Your documentation rests on a clinician licensed in your old state. Once you live somewhere else, that is the most common defect a careful provider spots. If you are moving to Arkansas, California, Iowa, Louisiana or Montana you also land in a jurisdiction requiring a clinical relationship of at least thirty days, so a replacement letter cannot be produced quickly.
Sequence it properly
- Work out which state you are moving to and whether it has a relationship rule, before you give notice if you can.
- If it does, start a relationship with a clinician licensed there as early as possible.
- Request the accommodation from the new provider before or at the point of signing, so the animal is not a surprise discovered later.
- Keep the old letter. It is still evidence of a clinician view even where a new one is needed.
Applying for a new tenancy
A provider may not refuse your application because you have an assistance animal, and may not apply a pet screening process to it. In practice being upfront and supplying documentation with the application is smoother than raising it after acceptance.
Common questions
- Can a landlord refuse my application because of the animal?
- Not on the animal being an assistance animal. They assess your application on the ordinary criteria.