Heather Arranie 
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are popular companions that help with the symptoms of many different mental health symptoms. And while one ESA is often a common sight, you might be wondering if you can have more than one ESA at a time. Our article gives you all of the information you need to know when it comes to obtaining an ESA letter for multiple animals and requesting housing accommodations for your ESAs.
What Is An ESA?
An emotional support animal is any animal that is legal to own and provides support, comfort, and relief to their owners. ESAs are generally prescribed for conditions such as anxiety, depression, and chronic stress, though many individuals with other types of mental health conditions might benefit from an ESA in their lives.
Emotional support animals do not need to be trained, unlike service animals who must be dogs trained to complete disability-related tasks for their owners. As such, ESAs generally have fewer public access rights and protected accommodation rights, but your ESA will have the right to live alongside you in any suitable area of housing.
Is It Possible To Have An ESA Letter For Multiple Animals?
It is possible to have multiple ESAs, as long as you have a valid ESA letter stating your need for each animal in your care. You will need a mental healthcare provider licensed in your state to evaluate your condition, discuss your treatment options with you, and help you figure out whether or not owning one or more ESAs is helpful. From there, your provider will write you a letter for every ESA that you need.
For example, if you have been diagnosed with both depression and anxiety, your provider might recommend an ESA or multiple ESAs to help. You may adopt a dog to help you build a routine that gets you outside of the home and mitigates symptoms of depression. You might also adopt a cat to help provide you with comfort and cuddles during anxiety attacks. Both of these ESAs are integral to your treatment plan, and your provider will write you a separate letter for each animal stating your need.
Typically, your provider will not write a letter that contains every animal’s information on it; you will need multiple letters for multiple animals. This is because your ESA needs may change, and your ESA letters may need updating at different times.
If you wish to take advantage of ESA housing rights, such as not adhering to pet and breed restrictions and avoiding paying pet rent and pet fees, you will need to show your ESA letters for multiple animals when moving into a housing unit.
Can My ESAs Be Denied?
Emotional support animals can be denied, but it’s important to note that you can’t be denied housing rights for simply having one or more ESAs. In general, the following circumstances are grounds for legal denial of your ESA housing accommodation request:
- One or more of your ESAs do not have a valid ESA letter
- Your ESAs are out of control, dangerous, or destructive
- Your ESAs pose a safety or health risk to the property, other tenants, or themselves
- You do not have ample space to properly care for your ESA in the housing unit
Keep in mind that you must also pay for any damages that your ESA causes while on the property – simply having an ESA does not make you unable to pay for issues your animal has caused.
How Can I Make Sure My ESAs Are Accepted Into Housing?
Requesting housing accommodations with just one ESA can be stressful, and this process can be even more intimidating when you have multiple ESAs that you need to live with. If you want to make sure that your ESAs are accepted into your chosen housing, it’s important to ensure that the animals are legal to own in your state, able to be cared for within your chosen housing unit, and have a reasonable request.
For example, you cannot request to live with a flock of chickens in a small studio apartment without access to the outdoors. On the other hand, you could care for a tank that supports multiple ESA fish, if your chosen apartment unit has space for a large enough tank.
Validating Your ESA Letter For Multiple ESAs
Emotional support animals are valuable companions, and, sometimes, it takes more than one of these wonderful creatures to provide the mental health support you might need to go about your day.
If you do need multiple ESAs, it’s essential that you work with a mental healthcare provider licensed in your state to evaluate your needs, your treatment plan, and how multiple ESAs fit into it. Your provider can answer all of your questions and help you with obtaining ESA letters to keep your companion animals protected under federal and state law.
