HUD Issues New ESA Memo

On May 22, 2026, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor issued an enforcement memorandum that changes how HUD will handle animal-related reasonable accommodation complaints under the Fair Housing Act.

Under the new standard, HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) will find reasonable cause and recommend charges only in cases where the animal has been individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to the person’s disability. This standard mirrors the definition of a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The memo also formally rescinds HUD’s 2020 guidance on emotional support animals (ESAs), known as FHEO Notice FHEO-2020-01, as well as the 2013 assistance animal notice that preceded it. Those documents had broadly extended fair housing protections to untrained ESAs and had restricted housing providers from charging pet fees in connection with accommodation requests. HUD’s memo concludes that the guidance went beyond what the Fair Housing Act requires and was never subject to the public notice-and-comment process required for binding rules.

Why It Matters for Property Managers

ESA-related complaints have grown significantly in recent years, accounting for more than 20% of FHEO’s fair housing caseload according to the memo. For property managers — particularly those managing single-family homes or small portfolios — these complaints have been a persistent source of legal exposure and operational uncertainty, especially given the widespread availability of online ESA letters from services that require little or no clinical relationship.

The new guidance means HUD will no longer pursue federal complaints based solely on a housing provider’s refusal to accommodate an untrained ESA. That is a meaningful shift in the federal enforcement posture.

At the same time, it is important to understand what this memo does not change. The Fair Housing Act itself has not been amended. Tenants and applicants retain the right to file a private lawsuit in federal or state court regardless of HUD’s enforcement priorities. And many states have their own fair housing laws that may impose different or stricter requirements than the federal standard. This memo addresses federal enforcement only.

What Comes Next

HUD has announced its intent to pursue formal notice-and-comment rulemaking to update its regulations on animal-related reasonable accommodations — a set of rules that has not been revised in 35 years. That process will give housing providers, property managers, and other stakeholders the opportunity to submit public comments before any new rules take effect.

NARPM^® will monitor the rulemaking closely and plans to engage the process on behalf of members. We will provide additional guidance as that process moves forward.

Read the Memo

You can read the full enforcement memorandum from Assistant Secretary Trainor, including supporting case examples, here.

A Reminder on Legal Guidance

This memo reflects a significant shift in federal enforcement priorities, but it does not eliminate legal risk for housing providers. Fair housing law remains an area of real complexity at the federal, state, and local levels, and the legal landscape on ESAs is still evolving. NARPM^® encourages members not to change their animal accommodation policies or practices based on this guidance unless directed to do so by your own qualified legal counsel.