What was FHEO-2020-01?

HUD's notice of January 28, 2020, "Assessing a Person's Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act." It replaced the 2013 notice, said emotional support animals are not pets, and set out what a housing provider could ask for. HUD withdrew it effective September 17, 2025, and published the withdrawal in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026.

Where can I read FHEO-2020-01 now?

Not on HUD.gov: HUD removed it, and the old link returns an error. Archived copies exist, and one is linked in the timeline on this page. HUD's withdrawal notice says it should not be relied upon as authoritative.

Are emotional support animals still covered by the Fair Housing Act?

The Act's text did not change, and courts, not HUD, decide what it requires. What changed is HUD's own enforcement: since May 22, 2026 its office finds cause only where the animal is trained. State agencies, state laws and private lawsuits are separate, so where you stand depends on your state and your building.

Can a landlord charge a pet fee for an emotional support animal now?

There is no single answer. The court in Henderson v. Five Properties, which HUD's memo attached, decided one $400 fee on its own facts and said it was not holding that fees can always be charged. Some states have their own rules, so ask your landlord what applies and check your state's.

What counts as a trained animal for HUD?

The memo borrows the ADA's test: an animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks directly related to a person's disability. Emotional support, comfort and companionship are not tasks under that definition. Unlike the ADA, the memo says the animal need not be a dog.

Is HUD writing a new rule?

HUD says it intends notice-and-comment rulemaking to bring its rules on animals in housing as close as it can to the ADA's. It has given no date, and a proposed rule would be open for public comment first.

Does an ESA Card registration change any of this?

No. A registration is a convenience credential, not a legal document, so it changes nothing on this page. It keeps your animal's photo, name and a registration number anyone can check on one card.

Housing · FHEO-2020-01 and after

HUD's Emotional Support Animal Rules: What Changed in 2026

HUD changed how it enforces the law, not the law itself. 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. The Fair Housing Act, your right to go to court, and state laws did not change.

Below: the timeline, the memo's own words, what changed and what did not, and what to ask your landlord.

A tabby cat stretched out on a pale sofa among cushions

20%+

of HUD's fair housing complaints involve untrained ESAs, the memo says.

2 years

to take a Fair Housing Act claim to court. The memo leaves that alone.

35 years

since HUD last updated its rules on animals in private housing.

2 notices

withdrawn: the 2013 and 2020 guidance on assistance animals.

Sources: HUD FHEO enforcement memo on animal accommodations (May 22, 2026) · 42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A) (two years to sue) · HUD withdrawal of FHEO-2020-01, 91 FR 17291 (Apr. 6, 2026)

Timeline

From the 2013 notice to the 2026 memo

Two notices, one withdrawal, one memo, and a rule HUD says is coming. The notices are gone from HUD.gov, so the links go to archived copies.

Apr. 2013
The 2013 notice
FHEO-2013-01 told housing providers that assistance animals, trained or not, should generally be allowed, without pet fees.
Source
Jan. 2020
FHEO-2020-01
Replaced the 2013 notice. It said emotional support animals are not pets and set out what a housing provider could ask for.
Source
Sept. 17, 2025
Both notices withdrawn
HUD withdrew the 2013 and 2020 notices and took them off HUD.gov.
Source
Apr. 6, 2026
In the Federal Register
The withdrawal was published, saying the notices "should not be relied upon as authoritative."
Source
May 22, 2026
The enforcement memo
HUD's fair housing office will find cause only where the animal is trained to provide disability-related assistance.
Source
Next
A new rule
HUD says it intends notice-and-comment rulemaking to bring its animal rules close to the ADA's. It gave no date.
Source

May 22, 2026

The sentence that changed HUD's enforcement

An internal memo to HUD's fair housing staff, effective the day it was signed. It also sends every open emotional support animal case for review one by one, and it does not address complaints under Section 504 or the ADA.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Memorandum

From: Craig W. Trainor, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Date: May 22, 2026
Subject: Enforcement Guidance – Assessing Requests for the Use of an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act.

“Effective immediately, for complaints related to animal-related reasonable accommodations, FHEO will find reasonable cause and recommend charges only for those cases involving animals trained to provide disability-related assistance.”

Source: HUD FHEO enforcement memo on animal accommodations (May 22, 2026)

An old beagle resting its chin on its owner's knee and looking up, a hand on its head

Side by side

What changed, and what did not

HUD changed its guidance and its own enforcement. The law, the courts and the states are where they were.

Changed

HUD's guidance is gone
The 2013 and 2020 notices are withdrawn and off HUD.gov. HUD says not to rely on them.
Source: HUD withdrawal of FHEO-2020-01, 91 FR 17291 (Apr. 6, 2026)
HUD pursues trained animals
Its office finds cause only where the animal is individually trained to do work or tasks for the disability. Comfort alone is not a task under the ADA's definition, which the memo borrows.
Sources: HUD FHEO enforcement memo on animal accommodations (May 22, 2026) · 28 CFR § 36.104 (ADA service animal definition)
Pet fees are case by case
The memo attached Henderson v. Five Properties (E.D. La. 2025), where a court found waiving a $400 one-time animal fee was not required on those facts. The court said it was not holding that fees can always be charged.
Source: HUD FHEO enforcement memo on animal accommodations (May 22, 2026)
No federal list of what to show
The 2020 notice's guide to what a housing provider may ask for went with it.
Source: HUD withdrawal of FHEO-2020-01, 91 FR 17291 (Apr. 6, 2026)

Did not change

The Fair Housing Act
Its text, including the duty to make reasonable accommodations, is the same. Courts, not HUD, decide what it requires.
Source: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) (Fair Housing Act)
Your right to go to court
You can still file in federal or state court within two years. The memo says nothing in it affects that.
Sources: 42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A) (two years to sue) · HUD FHEO enforcement memo on animal accommodations (May 22, 2026)
State and local laws
They are separate. California's fair housing rules, for one, define support animals as animals that need no training.
Source: Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, § 12005(d)(2) (support animals)
Trained service animals
A request for an animal trained to do disability-related tasks stays presumptively reasonable, and it need not be a dog.
Source: HUD FHEO enforcement memo on animal accommodations (May 22, 2026)

Your next conversation

What this means when you talk to your landlord

Where you stand depends on your state and your building, so there is no one answer. These are the questions that get you one.

1.Ask for the animal policy in writing
What the building allows, what it charges, and what it asks to see. Policies differ by building and by state.
2.Bring what you have
A letter from your own clinician is the document landlords look for. Nothing in HUD's memo stops a landlord from saying yes.
See a sample ESA letter
3.Read your state's rules
Some states set their own rules on support animals and on ESA letters, and HUD's change does not touch them.
ESA laws by state
4.If a fee is the problem, ask about it
In Henderson the landlord had offered a payment plan twice. Ask what the building can do.
5.If the answer is no
Your state or local fair housing agency, a local fair housing group, or a housing lawyer can tell you where you stand. The two-year window to go to court still runs.

A ginger cat curled on its owner's lap, looking up, a hand resting on its back

HUD and emotional support animal questions

A long-haired tabby cat sitting on pale indoor stairs with its tail draped down

Keep your animal's details on one card

A certificate and a wallet card with your animal's photo, and a registration number anyone can check.

Keep reading: ESA laws by state · the Fair Housing Act · ESA vs. service dog · the letter · a sample letter