7 red flags that identify a fraudulent letter
Specific, documentable signals including the one in 95% of purchased letters.
New HUD guidance
HUD changed the ESA rules.
Here's what it actually means for your properties.
The headlines said ESAs are now just pets. That's not accurate and acting on it puts you at risk.
This free eBook explains exactly what changed, what didn't, and what your process should look like today.
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What you'll walk away with
The ESA Questions This eBook Answers.
You'll leave getting important questions answered.
What you can and can't ask residents
How to run the verification process correctly without creating fair housing exposure.
Learn about Edge Cases
Learn about the growing shift to edge cases like psychiatric service animal letters.
Three things to do right now
Immediate actions that protect you regardless of your state.
The HUD memo, decoded
What changed. What didn't.
The memo shifts how HUD enforces ESA complaints at the federal level but it doesn't override state law, and it doesn't eliminate your documentation requirements. In most states, your obligations are the same as before.
WHAT CHANGED
WHAT DID NOT CHANGE
Federal enforcement posture
FHEO will now deprioritize complaints about untrained ESA denials as long as no other discrimination is in the record.
State law obligations
Many states wrote the old HUD guidance into their own statutes. In those states, the memo changes nothing.
ESA vs. service animal status
Untrained ESAs and trained service animals are now separate categories at the federal enforcement level.
Your documentation requirements
You still need to document every request and engage in the interactive process. Residents have two years to file a complaint.
Get the free guide
Know where you stand before the next ESA request lands in your inbox.
OurPetPolicy processes thousands of ESA requests every month. This guide is what we've learned.
Free for every property manager navigating the post-memo landscape.
FREE DOWNLOAD
Resource Library
These four resources give your leasing team a fast, practical way to handle assistance animal requests correctly while you wait for your state to confirm anything changes. Download what your team needs, save the rest for reference.
Executive Summary
HUD ESA Memo: What It Means for Your Portfolio
This is a two-minute read on what HUD's May 2026 memo actually changed, what it didn't touch, and why most operators should hold their process steady until their state weighs in.
Desk Reference Card
Spotting a Mill-Produced ESA Letter
Most ESA letters crossing your desk didn't come from a treating provider. These seven signals take seconds to check and help your team triage documentation before any decision gets made.
Compliance Checklist
ESA & Service Animal Requests
The questions that create liability are usually the ones a leasing agent didn't know were off limits. See what you can ask, what you can't, and the checks that belong in the file before any decision goes out.
Decision Flowchart
A Resident Submits an ESA Letter. Now What?
Six steps, one page, no guesswork. This flowchart walks your on-site team from intake to documented decision, including where the HUD memo actually matters and where your state law still overrides it.
About OurPetPolicy
OurPetPolicy delivers a comprehensive solution for property owners to confidently manage pets, assistance animals, and related resident requests across their portfolios. By combining technology with real-world expertise, OurPetPolicy helps reduce unreliable submissions, improve compliance, streamline communication with residents, and ease the growing administrative burden faced by property teams.