Quick answerIf you have a disability, landlords and housing agencies must make reasonable changes to rules, policies, practices, and services (accommodations) and allow reasonable physical changes to your home (modifications) when needed for equal use of housing. Ask in writing, explain the connection between your disability and the request, provide reliable verification if your disability isn’t obvious, and follow up. A provider can deny only if the request is unreasonable—an undue burden or fundamental alteration—or there’s no disability-related need, and should discuss alternatives.
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Accommodations vs. modifications

Reasonable accommodation Reasonable modification
What it is A change to a rule, policy, practice, or service A physical change to the unit or common areas
Examples Assistance animal in a no-pet building; reserved accessible parking; moving rent due date to match SSI payment; mailed notices instead of posted ones; live-in aide; extra time to find a unit with a voucher; a ground-floor or accessible unit transfer Grab bars; ramp; widened doorways; lowered counters; visual doorbell/alarms; roll-in shower; lever handles
Who pays (private housing) Generally the provider (policy changes usually have little cost) Generally the tenant; landlord may require restoration of the interior at move-out in some cases
Who pays (federally assisted housing) Provider Provider, unless an undue financial and administrative burden

Who must provide them

  • Almost all housing providers under the Fair Housing Act: landlords, property managers, HOAs, condo associations, and housing agencies
  • Federally funded housing also must comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which adds stronger obligations, including paying for structural changes
  • Public entities (like housing authorities) also have ADA obligations
  • Shelters and homeless programs receiving federal funds

How to make a request

You can ask verbally, but a written request creates a record. Include:

  1. That you (or a household member) have a disability—you don’t need to name the diagnosis
  2. What you’re requesting
  3. How it relates to your disability (the “nexus”)
  4. Any supporting verification if your disability or need isn’t obvious

Sample:

I am requesting a reasonable accommodation because of a disability. I ask that my rent due date be moved from the 1st to the 5th of each month, because my only income is a disability benefit deposited on the 3rd. A letter from my caseworker confirming my disability-related need is attached. Please respond in writing by [date].

Use the provider’s form if it has one, but a provider can’t refuse to consider a request because you didn’t use its form.

Documentation rules

  • If the disability and need are obvious (for example, a wheelchair user requesting a ramp), no documentation should be needed.
  • If not obvious, a provider may request reliable information confirming:
    • you have a disability, and
    • the requested accommodation is needed because of it
  • Reliable sources include a doctor or other medical professional, a therapist, a caseworker, a peer support worker, a benefit letter (such as SSI or SSDI), or another reliable third party.
  • A provider may not demand your diagnosis, medical records, or unlimited detail about your condition.

Assistance animals

Assistance animals include service animals (dogs trained to do tasks) and support animals that provide emotional support or other assistance related to a disability. In housing:

  • No-pet policies, breed or weight limits, and pet fees generally must be waived for assistance animals when the accommodation is reasonable.
  • A provider may request reliable documentation of the disability-related need when it isn’t obvious.
  • You’re responsible for the animal’s care and for actual damage it causes.
  • A provider may deny a specific animal that poses a direct threat to others’ health or safety or would cause substantial physical damage, based on that animal’s actual behavior—not speculation about the breed.
  • Unusual animals may require a stronger showing of need.

HUD withdrew its 2020 assistance-animal guidance notice in September 2025, but the Fair Housing Act and HUD’s regulations still require reasonable accommodations, including for assistance animals, and courts continue to apply these principles. Some states have added rules about documentation for emotional support animals.

How providers must respond

  • Engage in an interactive process if they have concerns—discussing alternatives that would meet your need.
  • Respond promptly. Unreasonable delay can be treated as a denial.
  • Deny only for valid reasons: no disability, no disability-related need, an undue financial and administrative burden, or a fundamental alteration of the provider’s operations (or, for animals, a direct threat or substantial damage).
  • Not retaliate against you for asking.

Common accommodations in subsidized housing

  • Extra bedroom for a live-in aide or medical equipment
  • Higher payment standard (up to 120% of Fair Market Rent without HUD approval) so a voucher holder can rent an accessible unit
  • Voucher extensions when a disability makes searching take longer
  • Reinstatement to a waiting list after missing a notice because of hospitalization
  • Home visits or phone appointments instead of office visits
  • A reasonable-accommodation transfer to an accessible or ground-floor unit
  • Renting from a relative when needed as an accommodation (voucher program)

If you’re denied

  1. Ask for the denial in writing with reasons.
  2. Offer alternatives or more information.
  3. Request a hearing or grievance if the provider is a housing agency.
  4. File a complaint with HUD (within one year), your state or local fair housing agency, or in court (within two years).
  5. Get help from a fair housing organization, legal aid, a Center for Independent Living, or your state’s Protection and Advocacy agency.

Paying for modifications

If you must pay, look into:

  • State assistive technology programs and low-interest loans
  • Medicaid home and community-based services (for some modifications)
  • VA grants for veterans (Specially Adapted Housing, HISA)
  • USDA Section 504 repair grants in rural areas (homeowners 62+)
  • Local nonprofits and Rebuilding Together

See accessible bathroom modifications.

Frequently asked questions

Who counts as having a disability?

Under the Fair Housing Act, someone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or who is regarded as having one. This includes many chronic health conditions, mental health conditions, and people in recovery from substance use disorder (but not current illegal drug use).

Can my landlord charge a pet deposit for my assistance animal?

No. Assistance animals aren’t pets, so pet fees, pet deposits, and pet rent generally can’t be charged. You can be charged for actual damage the animal causes, the same as any other damage.

Can a landlord ask what my disability is?

Generally no. If the disability and need aren’t obvious, the provider may ask for reliable information showing you have a disability and a disability-related need for the request—but not your diagnosis, medical records, or details of the condition.

Is an online ESA letter enough?

Providers may question documentation from websites that sell certificates or letters without a genuine relationship with the person. A letter from a health care or service provider who knows you and your needs is more reliable.

Who pays for a modification like grab bars or a ramp?

In most private housing, the tenant pays for reasonable modifications, though the landlord must allow them. In federally assisted housing (public housing and most HUD-funded properties), the housing provider generally pays unless it’s an undue financial and administrative burden. Some programs and nonprofits help cover costs.

How fast must a landlord respond?

There’s no single deadline in the statute, but undue delay can be treated as a denial. Ask for a written response by a reasonable date, and follow up in writing.

Sources and verification

Use these sources to check program rules. Funding, openings, and local procedures must be confirmed with the agency handling your application.

  1. Reasonable accommodations and modificationsU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  2. 24 CFR 100.203 and 100.204 — Reasonable modifications and accommodationsElectronic Code of Federal Regulations
  3. 24 CFR Part 8 — Section 504 nondiscrimination in federally assisted programsElectronic Code of Federal Regulations
  4. ADA service animalsU.S. Department of Justice
  5. File a housing discrimination complaintU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

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Published by Housing Assistance Info

Independent guidance based on the sources listed above. Read our sourcing, automated-tool, and correction policies.