The Landlord's Guide to Emotional Support Animal Laws in St. Louis

The Landlord's Guide to Emotional Support Animal Laws in St. Louis

Parts of St. Louis County have officially been designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), making it harder for some residents to access the mental health care they need. For many tenants, emotional support animals (ESAs) help fill that gap by providing comfort and companionship. As a landlord, knowing how to handle requests for ESAs is both a legal responsibility and the right thing to do.

This guide will break down the emotional support animal laws in St. Louis, outlining how to handle documentation, denials, and tenant communication. By keeping up with these guidelines, you can safeguard your rental property and create an inclusive environment for your tenants. 

What Is an Emotional Support Animal?

Emotional support animals in St. Louis may look like ordinary pets, but for many tenants, they’re an important part of staying mentally healthy. These animals provide comfort and emotional stability to individuals diagnosed with conditions like PTSD, panic disorders, OCD, or chronic depression. Just by being present, they can significantly improve a person’s quality of life. 

To qualify as an ESA, a tenant must receive a written recommendation from a licensed healthcare provider who has evaluated their condition and determined that the animal helps alleviate symptoms. This differs from service animals, which are specially trained to do specific tasks. 

While dogs and cats are the most common emotional support animals, any domesticated animal may qualify. Rabbits, birds, ferrets, and even miniature pigs have been legally accepted, as long as they don’t pose health or safety concerns.

Since emotional support animals in St. Louis are prescribed as part of a treatment plan, that means they provide a variety of potential benefits to their owners, including: 

• Lower amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone) 
• Higher levels of oxytocin (the bonding chemical)
• Increased physical activity (from walking/playing with the animal)
• Feeling less lonely or isolated
• More confidence in social situations
• Greater sense of purpose from caring for the animal 
• Fewer feelings of anxiety and depression
• Lower heart rate and blood pressure

For your tenants, these benefits can be life-changing, especially if they don’t have access to other mental health resources or they don’t feel comfortable reaching out for help. While ESAs are not a replacement for seeing a professional, they can make a positive difference for tenants needing consistent support. Recognizing the role of emotional support animals in St. Louis can help you treat tenants who request them with compassion.

What Makes Emotional Support Animals Different from Service Animals and Pets?

Knowing how to tell the difference between pets, service animals, and emotional support animals is essential when renting out property in St. Louis. Each category is governed by different laws, and misclassifying a tenant’s animal can lead to discrimination complaints or legal trouble.

• Pets: You can enforce pet rules for regular animals, including charging pet rent or deposits, limiting breeds and sizes, or prohibiting them from the property entirely. 

• Service animals: These animals, typically dogs (and in rare cases, miniature horses), are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They are trained for a very specific job, like alerting someone with diabetes to low blood sugar or retrieving a dropped item for someone in a wheelchair. With the most protections under the law, they must be allowed into public spaces as well as housing. While you can’t request documentation for a service animal, you can ask the tenant whether the animal is required because of a disability and what tasks it performs. 

• Emotional support animals: ESAs are not covered under the ADA but are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). This means that once a tenant submits the right documentation, you must allow their ESA inside your property, even if you have a no-pet policy in place. 

Lumping an ESA in with pets could violate housing law. On the other hand, assuming they’re as well-trained as service animals might expose you and your tenants to health or safety risks. That’s why it’s important to understand what makes each one different before you get into the specifics of the emotional support animal laws in St. Louis. 

Legal Protections for Emotional Support Animals in St. Louis

Emotional support animals in St. Louis are protected by both state and federal law. At the state level, the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) prohibits housing discrimination based on disability, while the federal Fair Housing Act provides more detailed guidance on how landlords must accommodate emotional support animals. 

Under the FHA, housing providers cannot discriminate based on race, religion, sex, nationality, familial status, or disability. Because emotional support animals are considered a medical need for people with emotional disabilities, landlords must make a reasonable accommodation for them. 

Even if you’d prefer not to allow pets on your property, emotional support animals in St. Louis are a legal exception. You won’t be able to collect pet rent or deposits from ESAs and imposing breed or weight restrictions is also not allowed. 

Although it’s illegal to charge fees for emotional support animals in St. Louis, you are allowed to bill the tenant for any damages the animal causes while living on your property. Tenants are also expected to clean up after their animal and make sure it’s not disturbing other tenants by excessively barking or being aggressive. 

How to Validate Emotional Support Animals in St. Louis

When a tenant tells you they need an ESA, you are legally allowed to ask for proof. However, the emotional support animal laws in St. Louis still place limits on what you can request. Tenants must provide a letter from a licensed healthcare provider confirming that they have a mental or emotional disability and that the animal helps manage one or more symptoms. There must be a real doctor-patient relationship, meaning the tenant didn’t acquire the letter from a one-time, online interaction.

Emotional Support Animal Housing Letter Checklist

The emotional support animal laws in St. Louis set guidelines for validating ESA letters to prevent fraudulent claims. To ensure consistency when validating requests, check that each one: 

• Is written and signed by a licensed U.S.-based provider
• Comes from a therapist, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or LCSW
• Is printed on the provider’s official letterhead
• Includes a current date (within the last year)
• References the tenant’s qualifying condition and explains how the animal provides support
• Includes the provider’s license number and contact details

Letters that don’t meet these standards are often invalid and can be rejected. Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate websites offering assistance animal documentation for a fee. HUD has cautioned against accepting these certificates, noting that they don’t carry any real value. If something about a tenant’s ESA letter looks off, you can double-check that the provider is licensed, but you can’t request diagnosis specifics, full medical records, or speak to the provider unless the tenant gives written permission.

Can Landlords Reject Emotional Support Animals in St. Louis?

In general, landlords in St. Louis are required to accept emotional support animals when the tenant submits a valid ESA letter. That said, there are a few limited exceptions, and it’s important to understand exactly when and how you’re allowed to say no.

First, you’ll want to make sure that the exemptions from the Fair Housing Act do not apply to you. If you meet any of the following criteria, you won’t be held to the emotional support animal laws in St. Louis: 

• You live in a building with four or fewer units, and one of those units is your primary residence.
• You rent out single-family homes that you personally own and don’t use a broker in the leasing process (so long as you own no more than three total rental properties)
• Your property is owned or operated by a private religious organization or social club that only allows its members to live there
• You manage a senior housing community

Even if one of these scenarios applies to you, it’s still important to communicate with the tenant. While the emotional support animal laws in St. Louis don’t set a specific timeline for handling requests, letting them know why the request was rejected in a timely manner can prevent conflict, misunderstandings, and complaints. 

When Can a Landlord Legally Deny an ESA?

If your property isn’t exempt from the FHA, there are still some situations that allow you to say no to an ESA request. You may legally reject an ESA on your property in the event that: 

• The tenant fails to provide proper documentation from a qualified provider.
• The ESA poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
• The animal is not housebroken or consistently creates unsanitary conditions.
• The ESA has a history of aggression or destruction to rental properties.
• The animal is not a domesticated household species (meaning exotic or wild animals are excluded)
• The request would cause an undue financial or administrative burden on the landlord
• Allowing the animal would fundamentally change the nature of the business

If you happen to deny a request, it’s critical to document everything with photos, files, and complaint records. Having your reasoning written down and explaining the steps you took to work with the tenant can be useful if they file a dispute.

The emotional support animal laws in St. Louis require denials to be based on facts. Rejecting an ESA because you have a fear of dogs, are allergic to cats, or had a bad experience with an ESA in the past are all invalid (and illegal) reasons. Tenants who feel their rights have been violated may file a complaint with HUD or the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. 

Wrapping Up: Getting ESA Requests Right in St. Louis

Behind the majority of ESA requests are tenants just trying to feel more comfortable in their homes. Whether it’s helping someone get out of bed in the morning or feel less alone, emotional support animals in St. Louis make a difference in people’s lives. As a landlord, how you respond to those requests matters more than you might think.

It helps to know what makes an emotional support animal different from a pet or service dog and what’s legally required when a tenant asks to keep one. Getting familiar with the emotional support animal laws in St. Louis is key to avoiding issues and protecting your investment. 

If the pressure feels like too much to handle, consider working with a local property management company like Evernest. From reviewing ESA letters to communicating with tenants, our team takes the stress off your plate while ensuring compliance and a welcoming atmosphere. Reach out to us today to see how easy managing your property can be!