Emotional support animals and seasonal affective disorder
By condition
A seasonal pattern does not make a condition seasonal in the eyes of the statute.
Episodic impairments are covered
An impairment that is episodic or in remission still counts if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. A condition that arrives every autumn and lifts every spring is the clearest possible example, and the accommodation does not lapse in July.
A diagnosis is not the test and does not decide this. The question is whether the impairment substantially limits a major life activity, and whether this animal alleviates a symptom or effect of it. Both halves have to hold, a licensed clinician decides, and the answer can be no.
What it limits
- Sleep, often substantially and for months at a time.
- Concentration and working, through the affected season.
- Caring for yourself, which is where the housing consequences usually show up.
What the animal is reported to do
Two things come up repeatedly, and one of them is unusually concrete: an animal that needs walking gets people outside in daylight during the months they would otherwise not go out at all, which is not incidental to this condition. The second is the ordinary structural one, a routine that persists through a period when motivation does not.
The renewal timing
Worth renewing before the season rather than during it. A letter that expires in November is a letter that expires at the worst possible moment, and the assessment is easier to complete while you are well.
If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is free and available at any hour. An assessment on this site is not a crisis service and is not a substitute for one.
Common questions
- Can my landlord say it only applies in winter?
- No. The accommodation attaches to the disability, not to whether you are currently symptomatic.