# ESA Letter in New Castle, DE: One Borrowed Word

> Delaware's Fair Housing Act borrows a single term from the chapter that defines a service animal as a dog — and it is not the term about dogs.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/delaware-emotional-support-animal/new-castle/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-09-05
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 5,715
- Households renting: 36.6%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Capped at 1 month's rent
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $35-$60/mo for pets
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## The small New Castle, and the highest rent of the twenty

The City of New Castle had **5,715** people on the 2024 Census estimate. Of
its 2,774 occupied homes, **1,015 are rented**, 36.6 percent on the
2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate, against 27.0 percent
for Delaware as a whole.

Median gross rent here is **$1,739**. That is the highest reliable figure
among Delaware's twenty largest places: ahead of Newark's $1,654 and
Smyrna's $1,534, and $338 above the **$1,401** Delaware median. A thousand
renting households paying the top rate in the state is an unusual thing for
a place this size.

One warning before anything else. This page is about the **city** of New Castle, population 5,715.
It is not about New Castle County, which surrounds it, carries the same name and is many times
larger. Even the websites split: the city is at `newcastlecity.delaware.gov`, the county at
`newcastlede.gov`. In Delaware a name travels further than it should.

So do definitions, a renter assumes. That assumption is the subject of this page.

## The one term that crosses the wall

Delaware keeps its disability rules in two different chapters of Title 6.
Chapter 45 is Equal Accommodations. Chapter 46 is the Fair Housing Act. They
are separate chapters with separate subject matter, and exactly one thing
passes between them.

**6 Del. C. § 4602(10)**, in the Fair Housing Act's own definitions:

> "(10) '**Disability**' means as defined in **§ 4502 of this title**."

And **6 Del. C. § 4502(20)**, in the chapter it points at:

> "(20) '**Person with a disability**' means any person who satisfies any 1 of the following:
> a. Has a physical or mental impairment which **substantially limits 1 or more major life
> activities**. b. Has a **record** of such impairment. c. Is **regarded as** having such an
> impairment."

That is a real cross-reference, and it is useful. The class protected in
Delaware housing is the class chapter 45 describes, on three alternative
grounds.

## What stayed behind

Chapter 45 also holds the two sentences a landlord's adviser reaches for.
Neither made the trip.

Section 4502 opens with four words that decide the question: *"For purposes of this chapter."*
Under that heading sits **§ 4502(28)**:

> "(28) '**Service animal**' means **a dog** individually trained to do work or perform tasks for
> the benefit of a person with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric,
> intellectual, or other mental disability."

A dog. Individually trained. If that definition governed Delaware housing,
most of this page would be unnecessary and the answer would be short and
bad.

It does not govern, and chapter 45 says so twice. The opening words limit it
to its own chapter. Then **§ 4502(21)b.1.** removes housing from that
chapter's reach outright:

> "b. '**Place of public accommodation' does not apply to any of the following: 1. The sale or
> rental of houses, housing units, apartments, rooming houses, or other dwellings.**"

Read the two together. The dog-only definition lives in a chapter that has excused itself from the
rental of dwellings by name. And § 4602(10) borrowed one term: "Disability" — not the definitions
section entire. The word "service animal" appears nowhere in the Fair Housing Act for a borrowed
meaning to attach itself to.

## The other sentence, the one in Title 25

There is a second place a New Castle tenant lands, and it needs handling in the same breath as the
definition beneath it.

**25 Del. C. § 5514(i)(3)** says a landlord

> "shall not require any pet deposit from a tenant if the pet is a **duly certified and trained
> support animal** for a disabled person who is a resident of the rental unit."

**25 Del. C. § 5141(38)** then defines the term the sentence turns on:

> "(38) '**Support animal**' shall mean any animal **individually trained to do work or perform
> tasks** to meet the requirements of a disabled person, including, but not limited to, minimal
> protection work, rescue work, pulling a wheelchair or retrieving dropped items."

Training again, and this time a second condition on top of it — "duly certified," with no
certifier named anywhere in Part III of Title 25. An animal that helps by being present is not
doing work and is not performing tasks. The sentence uses the words a renter is searching for and
belongs to a different animal.

## What the borrowed word decides

Being inside § 4502(20)'s definition puts you in the protected class. It
does not finish the case, and reading it as though it did is the mistake
this page exists to prevent.

The operative duty is **6 Del. C. § 4603A(a)(2)**:

> "(2) A refusal to make **reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services**,
> when such accommodations **may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and
> enjoy a dwelling**."

Two findings sit inside that sentence. First, a disability, and "Disability"
is the borrowed term, so chapter 45 supplies the standard for it. Second,
whether this accommodation **may be necessary** for equal use and enjoyment
of the home. The definition says nothing at all about the second one. No
Delaware definition can, because the second finding is about you and this
animal, not about a category.

For the charge rather than the animal, **§ 4603(b)(2)** makes it unlawful

> "To discriminate against any person in the **terms, conditions, or privileges** of sale or rental
> of a dwelling … because of … **disability**."

And the honest other half, which Delaware states twice (at § 4603(c) and
again at § 4603A(f)) is that nothing requires a dwelling be made available
where the tenancy would be a **direct threat** to others' health or safety,
or would cause **substantial physical damage to the property of others**.
That is an individual assessment of a particular animal's conduct. It is not
a breed list, and it is not a general licence to say no.

## What the Division asks to see

Delaware's fair-housing agency is the **Division of Human and Civil
Rights**, and its published guidance on accommodations describes the
documentation without ever mentioning an animal:

> "[Documentation must come] **From a health professional or other person who can establish that the
> person has a disability and explain the nexus between the disability and the accommodation
> request**, unless the disability is apparent to the housing provider."

The Division also says a provider who thinks a request is unreasonable
**must engage** with the person making it rather than simply refusing, and
that while no particular form or wording is required, a written request is
the one that gets documented properly.

Note what that sentence asks for. Not a category, not a card, not a
certificate. A person qualified to make two findings, making them.

## The step a definition cannot take for you

New Castle sits ten minutes south of downtown Wilmington, and that matters
practically. Delaware's specialist mental-health capacity is concentrated in
New Castle County, so a tenant here has more options than a reader in Kent
or Sussex has.

Start with a clinician who already treats you. If that relationship is real
and current, it is the strongest and cheapest source of the two findings.
The friction is not distance here. It is willingness and fit. A prescriber
who manages your medication may never have assessed functional limitation. A
clinician seen twice may properly decline to write a determination about a
person they barely know. Being able to book an appointment is not the same
as getting an answer.

Where that route is closed or slow, a licensed evaluation does the same work
deliberately: a licensed professional examines whether a disability exists
and whether this animal answers a disability-related need, then puts the
conclusion in writing, or declines to. Both endings happen, and a service
whose answer is decided before you arrive is selling paper rather than a
finding.

Delaware lent its housing law one word from the chapter next door. It lent
nothing else, which is why the dog-only definition cannot touch you, and
also why the word alone cannot carry you. What carries you is the finding
underneath it.

## What New Castle landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- May not refuse a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services where it may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling: 6 Del. C. § 4603A(a)(2).
- May not discriminate because of disability in the terms, conditions or privileges of the rental, or in the services and facilities provided with it: 6 Del. C. § 4603(b)(2). This is where a charge attached to a required animal is met.
- May not require a security deposit above one month's rent where the agreement runs a year or more, or on a month-to-month tenancy once it has lasted a year, 25 Del. C. § 5514(a)(2)–(3), and those limits do not apply to furnished units at all, § 5514(a)(4).
- May not inquire whether an applicant for a dwelling has a disability, or as to its nature or severity, except by inquiries made of all applicants alike: 6 Del. C. § 4603A(a)(4).

**Can:**
- May require a pet deposit, capped at one month's rent regardless of the length of the agreement, 25 Del. C. § 5514(i)(2), but that deposit is a separate and additive ceiling from the security deposit, which § 5141(33) defines as "exclusive of a pet deposit."
- Must remit the deposit and provide an itemized list of damages within twenty days of the end of the tenancy; failure to itemize is an acknowledgment that no payment for damages is due, and failure to remit entitles the tenant to double the amount wrongfully withheld, 25 Del. C. § 5514(e)–(g).
- May charge an application fee of no more than the greater of 10 percent of the monthly rent or $50, on pain of double damages, 25 Del. C. § 5514(d).
- May decline where the tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others, 6 Del. C. §§ 4603(c) and 4603A(f). The assessment is individualised.
- Is outside the state accommodation duty only in the case 6 Del. C. § 4607(e) describes: a dwelling of no more than four families where the owner occupies one of them. Discriminatory advertising under § 4603(b)(3) remains unlawful even there, and the federal Fair Housing Act runs its own exemptions on its own terms.

## How to get an ESA letter in New Castle

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in New Castle. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional**, You are matched with a provider licensed for Delaware clients who reviews your situation in a telehealth evaluation. (Telehealth evaluation)
3. **Complete your evaluation**, The professional evaluates whether an emotional support animal alleviates symptoms of a condition recognized in the DSM-5. Honest evaluations, not everyone qualifies. (Most of Our Applicants Qualify)
4. **Receive your signed letter**, Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number: the documentation Delaware landlords may lawfully request. (Typically within days of approval)
5. **Send it to your landlord**, Submit the letter with a short reasonable-accommodation request. Pet fees, pet deposits, and breed limits no longer apply to your animal in New Castle. (Protection under FHA + state law)

## Conditions that can qualify for an ESA

No fixed government list exists. A licensed professional evaluates whether an animal alleviates symptoms of a DSM-5-recognized condition, commonly:

- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Phobias with housing impact
- Chronic stress affecting daily function

## Housing help in New Castle

- [City of New Castle](https://newcastlecity.delaware.gov/) (city government)
- [Charter of the City of New Castle](https://charters.delaware.gov/newcastle.html) (ordinance)
- [New Castle County](https://www.newcastlede.gov/) (county government)
- [Delaware Division of Human and Civil Rights](https://humanandcivilrights.delaware.gov/) (state civil rights agency)
- [Community Legal Aid Society (CLASI), office locations](https://www.declasi.org/contact-us/) (legal aid)

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Delaware's dog-only service-animal definition apply to my apartment here?

No, and the Code blocks it twice. 6 Del. C. § 4502(28) defines a service animal as "a dog individually trained," but § 4502 opens "For purposes of this chapter," and § 4502(21)b.1. states that "place of public accommodation" does not apply to "the sale or rental of houses, housing units, apartments, rooming houses, or other dwellings." The chapter that holds the definition has excluded housing from its own subject matter.

### What did the Fair Housing Act actually borrow from that chapter, then?

One term. 6 Del. C. § 4602(10) provides that "'Disability' means as defined in § 4502 of this title," and § 4502(20) supplies the standard: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one. That single cross-reference is the whole of the traffic between the two chapters.

### If I meet the borrowed definition, does that settle my request?

It settles half of it. 6 Del. C. § 4603A(a)(2) requires an accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services "when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling." The definition tells you whether you are in the protected class. Whether this animal may be necessary for equal use and enjoyment of your home is a separate finding about you, and no definition can supply it.

### I found 25 Del. C. § 5514(i)(3) barring a pet deposit for a support animal. Is that me?

Almost certainly not. That sentence requires a "duly certified and trained support animal," and 25 Del. C. § 5141(38) defines "support animal" for all of Part III of Title 25 as "any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks," illustrated by protection work, rescue work, pulling a wheelchair and retrieving dropped items. An animal that helps by its presence does neither. The Code also never names who certifies.

### New Castle has the state's highest reliable rent. What does that do to the deposit ceilings?

It raises them, because both ceilings are expressed as a month's rent. 25 Del. C. § 5514(a)(2) caps the security deposit at one month's rent where the agreement runs a year or more, § 5514(i)(2) caps the pet deposit at one month's rent regardless of the term, and § 5141(33) defines the security deposit as "exclusive of a pet deposit", so the two are separate and stack. At the city's $1,739 median that is a meaningful amount of money held at once.

### Is the city of New Castle governed differently from New Castle County?

They are different jurisdictions that share a name, and the state law on this page is the same in both. The practical difference is where you look: the city of 5,715 people publishes at newcastlecity.delaware.gov, while New Castle County, a far larger government, publishes at newcastlede.gov. Search results for "New Castle" overwhelmingly return the county.

### Are there limits on what a landlord has to accept?

Yes, and Delaware writes the limit into two separate sections. Under 6 Del. C. § 4603(c) and § 4603A(f), a housing provider need not open a dwelling where the tenancy would be a "direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals" or would cause "substantial physical damage to the property of others." Both tests turn on what this particular animal has actually done. Neither is satisfied by a breed list, a weight limit or a general worry.

---

Get evaluated by a licensed provider: https://my.supportanimal.com/qualify?sa_source=blog&sa_medium=blog&sa_campaign=esa-guides&sa_content=markdown&ref=blog&sa_term=delaware-emotional-support-animal%2Fnew-castle