Damage, deposits and pet fees

Damage: unchanged, and not negotiable

You are liable for damage your animal causes. An accommodation is not an indemnity, it never was, and no version of HUD guidance ever said otherwise. A landlord may deduct for actual damage at the end of the tenancy in the same way they would for any tenant, and may apply the ordinary damage deposit they apply to everybody.

Deposits and fees: genuinely contested now

HUD's 2020 notice said a housing provider may not charge a pet fee, pet deposit or pet rent for an assistance animal. That notice was rescinded on 22 May 2026. The reasonable accommodation principle underneath it is still in the statute and a court can still find that a pet charge defeats the accommodation, but the guidance a tenant used to point at has gone.

The distinction that decides most arguments

• A refundable deposit is held against damage and returned. Many states regulate the amount and the return deadline.
• A non-refundable fee is revenue. Several states do not permit it at all, and where they do it usually has to be disclosed in the lease.
• Pet rent is a recurring charge and is the hardest of the three for a landlord to defend against an accommodation argument, because it is not tied to any damage.