Pet Policies vs Assistance Animals in San Antonio Rentals: What You Can Charge, What You Can't Ask

A pet is a pet. An assistance animal is not. That single distinction is where most San Antonio landlord fair housing complaints start, and it's the reason the tenant with a Yorkie you charged a $400 pet deposit to has no case, while the tenant with the same Yorkie and a letter from a treating provider does.

Texas gives landlords wide latitude to set pet rules — no state statute caps pet deposits, pet fees, or pet rent. The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) overrides all of that the moment the animal is documented as an assistance animal for a person with a disability. Below is how to run a defensible pet program on the pet side, and a compliant reasonable accommodation process on the assistance animal side.

Pets: what Texas actually lets you do

On a straight pet, you can set almost any policy you want, as long as it's in the lease and applied consistently. In San Antonio rentals I see:

• Pet deposit — refundable, held with the security deposit, subject to the same Texas Property Code § 92.103–104 accounting rules within 30 days of move-out.
• Non-refundable pet fee — legal in Texas if the lease clearly labels it non-refundable. This is separate from the security deposit and does not have to be itemized at move-out.
• Monthly pet rent — typically $25–$50 per pet in the Bexar County market. Treat it as rent for late-fee and eviction purposes.
• Breed and weight restrictions — legal. Many landlord policies mirror insurance carrier exclusions (Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Doberman, Chow, wolf hybrids). Check your landlord policy — most Texas carriers exclude specific breeds, and a claim on an excluded breed is a denial.
• Pet screening — vaccination records, prior landlord reference, a photo, and a signed pet addendum. Third-party pet screening services are fine as long as you charge the same way you charge for tenant screening.

One thing to fix if it's in your lease: a blanket "no pets" clause with no carve-out for assistance animals. It's not enforceable against a valid accommodation request, and having it in writing looks bad in a HUD file.

Assistance animals are not pets

Under the FHA and HUD's 2020 Assistance Animals Notice (FHEO-2020-01), an assistance animal is any animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms of a disability. Two categories fall inside that definition:

• Service animals — dogs (and in some cases miniature horses) individually trained to perform a task tied to a disability. Guide dogs, mobility assist dogs, psychiatric service dogs, seizure alert dogs. Texas Human Resources Code § 121.003 covers public accommodation access; the FHA covers housing.
• Emotional support animals (ESAs) — no task training required. The animal's presence itself provides the therapeutic benefit. Species is not limited to dogs.

For either category in housing, the following are off the table:

• No pet deposit.
• No non-refundable pet fee.
• No monthly pet rent.
• No breed restriction.
• No weight restriction.
• No "pets allowed with additional insurance" surcharge on the tenant.

You can still recover the actual cost of damage the animal causes, out of the standard security deposit under § 92.104, the same as any other tenant-caused damage. What you can't do is pre-charge for the animal's existence.

The two questions HUD lets you ask

When a tenant or applicant requests to keep an animal that would otherwise violate your pet policy, and the disability or need is not obvious, HUD allows exactly two questions:

1. Does the person have a disability — that is, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities?
2. Does the person have a disability-related need for the animal — does it perform work, tasks, provide assistance, or provide therapeutic emotional support?

If the answer to both is yes and reliable documentation supports it, the request is granted. That is the whole test.

What you cannot ask for

• The specific diagnosis.
• Medical records or treatment history.
• The provider's license number as a gate (you can verify a provider is licensed, but you can't demand it as a condition of considering the request).
• A demonstration of the animal's training.
• Certification or registration from any "ESA registry." HUD has explicitly said online certificates purchased without any therapeutic relationship are not reliable documentation. That cuts both ways — you don't have to accept a $79 PDF from a site the tenant found on Google, but you can't reject documentation from an actual treating provider just because you don't like ESAs.

What reliable documentation looks like

A letter from a licensed healthcare professional — physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, LPC, LCSW — who has a therapeutic relationship with the tenant, stating the tenant has a disability and the animal is needed to alleviate symptoms. Texas licensed providers can be verified through the Texas Medical Board or the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. If the disability is observable (a tenant using a wheelchair with a mobility service dog), you don't get to ask for a letter at all.

Running the request properly

When an applicant or tenant makes a reasonable accommodation request — verbally or in writing — treat it as a formal process, and document every step:

1. Acknowledge the request in writing within a few days. Silence looks like denial.
2. If the disability or need isn't obvious, request reliable documentation. Put the request in writing. Give a reasonable deadline (10–14 days is defensible).
3. Review promptly. HUD treats unreasonable delay as constructive denial.
4. Approve in writing with an assistance animal addendum that (a) removes pet fees and deposits, (b) preserves your right to recover actual damages from the standard deposit, and (c) states the tenant is responsible for the animal's behavior, waste cleanup, leash laws (San Antonio Municipal Code Chapter 5), and any bite or nuisance liability.
5. Keep the file. If a HUD or Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division complaint lands, this paperwork is your defense.

You can deny in narrow circumstances: a specific animal (not the breed, the individual animal) that poses a direct threat based on documented behavior, or that would cause substantial physical damage that can't be mitigated. "I've heard pit bulls are dangerous" is not documented behavior. A prior landlord's report of a specific bite incident is.

What most landlords get wrong

• Charging pet rent on an ESA "because the lease says so." The lease doesn't override the FHA. Refund it and remove the charge going forward, or expect a complaint.
• Requiring the tenant's therapist to use a specific form. You can ask for a letter; you can't dictate the format. HUD has flagged this as a common violation.
• Rejecting the ESA because your insurance excludes the breed. Insurance exclusions are not a defense to a fair housing violation. Shop carriers — several Texas landlord policies underwrite around breed with a rider. If genuinely uninsurable, document the search before you deny.
• Treating a service dog like an ESA and asking for a letter. If the disability is observable or the tenant states the dog is a trained service animal, you're limited to the two questions and cannot demand documentation of training.
• Applying the pet policy to the animal while it lives with the tenant, then deducting a "pet cleaning fee" at move-out. A flat cleaning fee tied to the animal's existence is a disguised pet fee. Actual carpet damage, urine remediation, or drywall repair is deductible under § 92.104 like any other damage — with receipts.
• Ignoring the request until the applicant gives up. Delay is denial. HUD's investigators know this and ask for the timeline first.

When to bring in a pro

If you're managing one or two doors, a written accommodation policy and a good assistance animal addendum from a Texas real estate attorney will cover 95% of what comes at you. If you own a small portfolio and you're getting more than one or two requests a year — common in San Antonio near JBSA installations, where VA-connected tenants and PTSD-related ESAs are routine — put a property manager or attorney between you and the paperwork. A single HUD complaint costs more in time than years of professional oversight.

If you're still building the rental itself — pricing, screening standards, lease drafting — start at /resources for the rest of the pillar, list your rental free on HomeFinder at /list-your-home, or find a Bexar County property manager or leasing agent at /agents who has handled reasonable accommodation requests before, not just filled vacancies.