AMH Allows Three Pets per Home and Requires Approval for Assistance Animals

AMH allows no more than three pets per home, bans certain dog breeds, and says assistance animals for persons with disabilities are not considered pets but need its advance written approval. Its rental criteria, revised October 28, 2026, give no fee amounts. ESA Card has no connection to AMH: its registration is the ID card and certificate you carry beside your provider's letter.

AMH publishes its pet rules on one page, Rental Criteria, which is marked "Revised October 28, 2026". Everything below about AMH comes from that page, read on November 5, 2026, with its quotes exact. The page names no dollar amount for a pet fee and no weight limit, and it does not use the words emotional support animal, so what it says about assistance animals is all AMH publishes there.

What is AMH's pet policy?

AMH allows no more than three pets per home, and it does not permit livestock, poisonous, wild or exotic animals. The page says "no more than three (3) pets are allowed per home," that "aquariums may be permitted, subject to a 20-gallon maximum," and that "pet rent, fees, and/or deposits may be charged, where applicable." It also bars certain dog breeds, including Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Terriers, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Chow Chows, Dobermans, Akitas and wolf hybrids, and a mix that includes one of them.

Does AMH allow emotional support animals?

AMH's page does not name emotional support animals, but it says assistance animals for persons with disabilities are not considered pets and are exempt from its pet rules, and that they require its advance written approval. Ask AMH in writing whether it handles an emotional support animal as an assistance animal, because the page does not say. Four things follow from what it does say:

Does AMH charge pet fees for an assistance animal?

AMH's page says pet rent, fees and deposits "may be charged, where applicable," and it gives no dollar amount. Because the same page says assistance animals are not considered pets, ask AMH in writing which of those charges, if any, apply to an assistance animal. HUD's own statement on fees is below.

How do you get AMH's approval for an assistance animal?

AMH asks for advance written approval, but its page gives no form, no list of documents and no deadline, so the request starts with a written message to AMH. Four steps keep it clean:

1. Ask AMH for its assistance animal request process in writing, before the animal moves in.
2. Put your request in writing and keep a copy of everything you send.
3. Give a letter from your provider when AMH asks for documentation.
4. Ask whether pet rent, fees or deposits will be charged, and keep the answer in writing.

What do HUD's own documents say about an emotional support animal at an AMH home?

The Fair Housing Act covers AMH like any other landlord, and HUD's own statement says a housing provider may ask for reliable proof of the disability and the need, but may not charge extra fees or deposits for an accommodation. HUD and the Justice Department's joint statement on reasonable accommodations, dated May 17, 2004 and still on hud.gov when we read it, says a provider "may request reliable disability-related information" when a disability is not obvious, and that "housing providers may not require persons with disabilities to pay extra fees or deposits as a condition of receiving a reasonable accommodation." It adds that a tenant can still be billed for damage the animal causes. AMH's page says pet charges apply "where applicable" and does not say whether that includes an assistance animal.

HUD has since changed how it enforces this. It withdrew its 2013 and 2020 assistance animal notices, effective September 17, 2025, and since May 22, 2026 its fair housing office pursues an animal complaint only when the animal is trained to do disability-related work or tasks (HUD's enforcement memo). The Fair Housing Act itself, your right to go to court and state laws did not change, and a 2025 federal decision attached to the memo found that waiving one $400 animal fee was not required on its facts, so fees are decided case by case. Our page on HUD's emotional support animal rules has the documents, and our guide to pet deposits, pet rent and fees for an ESA has the cases.

What should an ESA letter include when you give it to AMH?

A letter from a licensed provider who evaluated you and can be reached, on letterhead with their license number and a signature, gives a leasing team something it can check. Our free sample ESA letter shows each part, and our guide to who can write an ESA letter covers which licenses count. The quickest route is a therapist, psychiatrist or doctor who already treats you, because they know you and can confirm the letter if AMH calls. AMH's page does not list the documents it asks for, so ask what it needs to see. The checks anyone can run on a letter are in how to verify an ESA letter.

No provider of your own? In Florida, New Jersey and New York we can book you a live video evaluation with an independent therapist licensed in your state: $120, with $80 back if they can't approve you, and the therapist alone decides on the letter. You can book in Florida, book in New Jersey or book in New York.

Other managers publish different rules. Our guides to Tricon, AvalonBay and Maymont Homes read each company's own pages the same way, our study of what 16 large landlords publish about emotional support animals counts all sixteen, and our guide to how PetScreening reviews an ESA request covers the screening service many properties use.

Alongside the letter, ESA Card registration gives your animal a digital ESA Card with its photo, a certificate and a number anyone can check at esacard.com/verify, for $39$59$79$99 once, in about three minutes. It is handy for the everyday questions; the letter from your provider is the document a housing provider can ask for.