ESA Letters · Maryland
Get an ESA Letter in Maryland
Maryland’s fair housing law names emotional support animals exactly once (to note that “service animal” does not include them), and then protects them anyway through Md. Code, State Gov’t § 20-706’s accommodation duty.
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32.4%
Households renting
35
State statutes cited
on our full guide
$0
Pet fees with a letter
~5 min
Check time
What your Maryland letter stops, and what stays
With a valid letter
- refuse to make a reasonable accommodation in a rule, policy, practice or service where it may be necessary for a tenant with a disability to have equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling: Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-706(b)(4). A no-pets policy is a rule
- rely on § 20-706(d)'s "no additional rent or fee" language to decide an emotional support animal request, in either direction: that subsection is written for a "service dog" as defined in § 20-706(a)(3), which expressly excludes an animal providing only emotional support
- treat the owner-occupied exemption as covering a disability complaint: § 20-704(a)(2) is limited to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status and voucher income, and disability is not among them
- impose a security deposit greater than one month's rent per dwelling unit regardless of how many tenants sign, outside the narrow utility-assistance case, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(b)(1). Exceeding it exposes the landlord to three times the excess plus fees
- use a lease requiring a tenant to pay more than that deposit plus the first month's rent to commence the lease and take occupancy, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(11)
- enforce a lease provision prohibited by § 8-208, and owes actual damages plus reasonable attorney's fees for tendering one or making known an intent to enforce it, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(g)
- advertise or offer a rental in terms indicating a preference or limitation based on disability, Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-705(3)
- keep any part of a security deposit for damages if it failed to honour a tenant's certified-mail request to be present at the move-out inspection, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(f)(1)(vii)
- hold a security deposit past 45 days after the end of the tenancy without a reasonable basis, and owes interest at the one-year Treasury yield curve rate or 1.5%, whichever is greater, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(e)
- omit the pet policy from the rental application or the property website, and the policy must itemise breed and weight limits, pet limits, vaccination and insurance requirements, and every up-front fee, deposit and monthly charge: Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(c)
- write a lease clause having the tenant waive or forgo any right or remedy provided by law, or waive a jury trial, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(2), (d)(4)
- charge a late fee above 5% of the rent unpaid for the period in question, Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(3)
- In Montgomery County only, and only where more than three units are offered on one parcel or at one location, cannot prohibit a tenant aged 60 or older from keeping a household pet unless the prohibition was in writing at the time occupancy took place: Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-214
- keep a fee over $25 taken from a prospective tenant that is not a security deposit, beyond what was actually spent on the credit check or other application expenses, and owes twice the amount in damages if it does: Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(b). Landlords with four or fewer units on one parcel, and seasonal and condominium rentals, are outside this section
Still applies
- still refuse where the tenancy would be a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others, Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-703(5), but that turns on the tenancy, not on the species or the label
- hold the tenant liable for damage the animal actually does; an accommodation removes the charge for having the animal, not the cost of repairing what it breaks
The Maryland rule: excluded from one definition, covered by one duty
§ 20-706(a)(3)’s definitional carve-out trips up landlords who read half the statute: the exclusion from “service animal” changes nothing about the reasonable-accommodation obligation in subsection (b)(4). Maryland letters work because the duty is unconditional where the need is documented.
The law behind the letter
Every claim on this page traces to a primary source. The ones doing the work in Maryland:
- Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-706(b)(4)
- Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-706(a)(3)
- Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-706(d)
- Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-706(b)(6)
What pet charges actually look like in Maryland
Typical figures from our 20 Maryland city guides. Every one of these charges falls to $0 once a valid letter is on file.
| City | Monthly pet rent | Pet deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | Varies by building | Varies by building |
| Columbia | Varies by building | Varies by building |
| Germantown | Varies by building | Varies by building |
| Frederick | Varies by building | Varies by building |
| Waldorf | Varies by building | Capped: 1 month's rent |
Three steps to your Maryland letter
Check that you qualify
Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Maryland. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front.
About 5 minutes: free
Connect with a licensed professional
You are matched with a provider licensed for Maryland clients who reviews your situation in a telehealth evaluation.
Telehealth evaluation
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
Receive your signed letter
Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number: the documentation Maryland landlords may lawfully request.
Typically within days of approval
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 Maryland.
Protection under FHA + state law
About “ESA registration” in Maryland
There is no emotional support animal registry in Maryland, and no state agency issues an ESA certificate, tag, licence or identification card. Nothing in Md. Code, State Gov't Title 20 creates one, across every populated section of that title the phrases "assistance animal" and "support animal" do not appear at all, and "emotional support" appears exactly once, in the § 20-706(a)(3)(ii)2 exclusion. What a Maryland landlord may lawfully consider on an accommodation request under § 20-706(b)(4) is whether the tenant has a disability within § 20-701(b) and whether the animal is needed for equal use and enjoyment of the dwelling. A certificate bought online answers neither question, and a site selling one is not registering anything with the State of Maryland, because there is nothing to register with.
Maryland ESA letter FAQs
Maryland says ESAs aren’t service animals, am I unprotected?
No. That sentence only stops ESAs from borrowing service-animal public-access rights. In housing, § 20-706(b)(4)’s accommodation duty applies to them fully.
How long does a Baltimore landlord have to respond?
Maryland expects prompt engagement; the federal framework treats unreasonable delay as a denial, which is actionable with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights.
Does Maryland cap what a provider may charge?
The statute regulates the evaluation, not the fee: beware bundled prices for registrations that carry no legal weight here or anywhere.
Is an online ESA letter valid in Maryland?
Yes. Maryland layers its own fair housing law on top of the federal Fair Housing Act, and neither requires an in-person visit, what both require is a real evaluation by a provider licensed for Maryland. A telehealth evaluation that ends in a signed letter meets that standard; a questionnaire that ends in a PDF does not.
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