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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you have a single family house rental that is not rented through a real estate broker or agent, then you are not required to allow the ESA.  Both the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exclude that case and you will not be required to cover it.   Also, if you have a multi-family unit (like a condo or duplex) and you inhabit one of the units.

However, assuming that doesn't cover you, then you are allowed to request documentation of a disability that needs an ESA.  You can request that a physician or mental health professional send you a letter on their practice's official letterhead and include their professional license number that documents the prospective tenant's disability and need for an ESA.  Note that they do not need to identify what the disability is, only that the prospective tenant has one that requires an ESA to treat.  Alternatively, you can provide the medical or mental health professional to complete.  I personally would specify that the mental health professional has seen the prospective tenant more than once and for more than a year.

[b]You cannot charge a pet deposit[/b], but I would make sure to have a larger deposit (at least one months rent) for such a situation to ensure that any damage can be covered.

You can read more details about your obligations and your rights as a landlord here.  I recommend that you read this before you respond to the prospective tenant, as it specifically includes how to respond to the tenant and questions you can and cannot ask the tenant.  Note although the page is named "service dog documentation" it covers both service animals, ESAs and the difference between the two and what you can and can't say or do in both cases. 
[url]https://ipropertymanagement.com/blog/service-dog-documentation[/url][/quote]

That’s crazy that you can’t charge a pet deposit for animals that have no special training. Does the law distinguish between emotional support dogs and emotional support miniature horses?[/quote]

HUD specifically identifies ESAs as a lower, but still regulated class of animals to service animals. 
[url]https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/assistance_animals[/url]
[quote][b]What Is an Assistance Animal?[/b]
An assistance animal is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of a person’s disability. An assistance animal is not a pet.

[b]Obligations of Housing Providers[/b]
Individuals with a disability may request to keep an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation to a housing provider’s pet restrictions.

Housing providers cannot refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

[...]

[b]Examples[/b]
A reasonable accommodation request for an assistance animal may include, for example:

A request to live with an assistance animal at a property where a housing provider has a no-pets policy or
A request to waive a pet deposit, fee, or other rule as to an assistance animal.[/quote]

However, there are limits to what a landlord has to allow.  Something like an ESA horse can be restricted by the exceptions:
[quote]The housing provider has not demonstrated that:
[list]Granting the request would impose an undue financial and administrative burden on the housing provider[/list]
[list]The request would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the housing provider’s operations[/list]
[list]The specific assistance animal in question would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or reduce the threat[/list]
[list]The request would not result in significant physical damage to the property of others despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or reduce the physical damage[/list]
[/quote]

The landlord can certainly claim that the horse would violate (1), (3), and/or (4).[/quote]

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