Fair Housing in Action!

Success Stories and Disability Rights Protections

At the Housing Rights Center (HRC), we are committed to ensuring equal access to housing free from discrimination. In this edition, we highlight recent success stories from HRC case analysts where fair housing protections and reasonable accommodations helped remove barriers and support housing stability for individuals with disabilities and their families.

Success Story: Advocating for Disability-Related Accommodations in a Mobile Home Community

When a Los Angeles County resident received notices challenging the accommodations she had put in place for her son with a disability, she turned to the Housing Rights Center (HRC) for help.

The resident and her son live in a mobile home community where her son relies on emotional support animals (ESAs) as part of managing his disability. To ensure the animals could safely accompany her son while he spent time on the home's porch, the resident had installed removable gates and protective fencing around the porch area. These modifications were intended to prevent the animals from escaping and to protect them from interactions with other animals in the community.

However, the resident received notices alleging that the gates and fencing violated community policies. In addition, management questioned the family's need for emotional support animals despite the resident having previously provided supporting documentation.

Over the course of several weeks, HRC followed up with management, addressed questions regarding documentation, and emphasized the housing provider's obligations under fair housing laws. Through continued advocacy and communication with all parties involved, HRC helped move the accommodation request toward resolution.

As a result of these efforts, the housing provider ultimately granted the family's reasonable accommodation request. The family was allowed to keep the emotional support animals and maintain the disability-related accommodations necessary to safely use their outdoor living space.

➜ Understanding Disability Rights and Emotional Support Animal Protections in Housing

Under California's fair housing laws, individuals with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations that may be necessary to fully use and enjoy their homes. A reasonable accommodation is an exception or change to a housing provider's rules, policies, or services when needed because of a disability.

One common accommodation involves assistance animals, including emotional support animals (ESAs). Unlike pets, emotional support animals provide disability-related support that helps alleviate the effects of a person's disability. Because they serve a disability-related need, assistance animals are generally not subject to "no pets" policies, pet fees, pet deposits, or breed and size restrictions that may apply to household pets.

Housing providers may request reliable documentation when a disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal is not readily apparent. However, they may not demand access to a person's medical records, require disclosure of a specific diagnosis, or impose unnecessary barriers that delay or prevent a resident from obtaining a reasonable accommodation.

The Housing Rights Center assists tenants, homeowners, housing applicants, and housing providers with questions about disability rights, reasonable accommodations, and fair housing protections. Contact HRC for information, counseling, and assistance (Contact Form).

CRD's FAQs on Emotional Support Animals

HRC's Flyer on Disability Accommodations

CRD's FAQs on Disability Modifications in Housing

Success Story: Protecting a Family’s Right to Emotional Support Animals in Housing

A Southern California family reached out to the Housing Rights Center (HRC) after receiving a notice requiring them to remove their emotional support animals (ESAs) or vacate their home.

The family, who includes a resident with a mental health disability, had recently moved into a single-family residence where they were initially told that their ESAs would be permitted. Shortly after moving in, however, the property owner began demanding the removal of the animals, despite the family providing documentation identifying them as assistance animals needed for disability-related support.

The family reported ongoing communication from the property owner, including repeated messages insisting that the animals be removed. The situation escalated when the family was issued a formal notice giving them a limited timeframe to either remove the ESAs or leave the property, placing their housing stability at risk.

HRC assisted the family by evaluating the circumstances and preparing a formal reasonable accommodation request under fair housing law. The request explained the disability-related need for the emotional support animals and provided supporting documentation from a healthcare provider.

Following HRC’s intervention and continued dialogue with the housing provider, the owner agreed to allow the family to keep their emotional support animals in the home. The accommodation was granted, resolving the immediate threat of displacement and ensuring the family could remain safely housed with their assistance animals.

This case highlights the importance of fair housing protections for individuals with disabilities who rely on emotional support animals. Under fair housing law, housing providers must consider reasonable accommodation requests and may not impose blanket prohibitions on assistance animals when they are necessary to support a disability. HRC continues to assist residents and housing providers in navigating these obligations to ensure equal access to housing opportunities.

➜ How HRC Can Help

If you believe you have experienced housing discrimination, the Housing Rights Center is here to help.

HRC provides free:

• Fair housing counseling

• Housing discrimination investigations

• Community workshops and trainings

• Educational materials and resources

Our services are available to tenants, homebuyers, homeowners, landlords, housing providers, real-estate agents, community organizations, and more!

📞 Housing Rights Hotline: 1 (800) 477-5977 (TTY: 1 (213) 201-0867)

✉️ Email: info@housingrightscenter.org

*Please include your city and contact information to help our counselors provide you with the correct information.

The Housing Rights Center is a non-profit organization established in 1968 to actively support and promote equal opportunity and freedom of residence to all persons without regard to their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, familial status, disability, marital status, ancestry, age, source of income, or other characteristics protected by law.