ESA Letters · Oregon
Get an ESA Letter in Oregon
Oregon wrote a training requirement for assistance animals and then kept it out of housing: ORS 659A.143(1)(a) opens “As used in this section” and governs shops, while ORS 659A.145 — the housing provision — defines no animal at all.
Free to check · Takes about 5 minutes
- Licensed providers
- HIPAA compliant
- Most of Our Applicants Qualify
- Money-back guarantee
36.7%
Households renting
7
State statutes cited
on our full guide
$0
Pet fees with a letter
~5 min
Check time
What your Oregon letter stops, and what stays
With a valid letter
- refuse to make a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services where it is necessary to give a disabled tenant equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling: ORS 659A.145(2)(g). A no-pets policy is a rule, and the accommodation is an exception to it
- charge a pet security deposit for a service animal or companion animal the tenant requires as a reasonable accommodation, ORS 90.300(4), which names the companion animal in the statute itself
- charge any fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated expense, and may charge only the fees ORS 90.302 lists, each described in a written rental agreement
- make a distinction or restriction against a renter in the price, terms, conditions or privileges of the tenancy because of disability: ORS 659A.145(2)(c)
Still applies
- still charge a noncompliance fee for failure to clean up a service or companion animal's waste from common areas, but only after a written warning notice, only for a second or later occurrence within a year, and capped at $50 under ORS 90.302(3)
- still hold the tenant liable for damage the animal actually does, and may still take an ordinary security deposit, provided it is not larger because of the animal
- a disparate-impact claim under ORS 659A.425 where a facially neutral policy hits disabled tenants harder than tenants generally, weighed against the policy's business purpose and any less discriminatory alternative
The Oregon rule: the trained-animal test never reaches your home
Housing runs on ORS 659A.145(2)(g)’s reasonable-accommodation duty, which requires no training and names no clinician. And where chapter 659A declines to name the animal, the landlord-tenant code does it instead: ORS 90.300(4) bars a pet security deposit for “a service animal or companion animal” a disabled tenant requires as a reasonable accommodation — the statute’s own words.
The law behind the letter
Every claim on this page traces to a primary source. The ones doing the work in Oregon:
- ORS 659A.145(2)(g)
- ORS 90.300(4)
- ORS 659A.143(1)(a)
- ORS 90.302
What pet charges actually look like in Oregon
Typical figures from our 20 Oregon city guides. Every one of these charges falls to $0 once a valid letter is on file.
| City | Monthly pet rent | Pet deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Portland | $35-$75/mo for pets | Barred as accommodation |
| Salem | $25-$50/mo for pets | Barred as accommodation |
| Eugene | $25-$50/mo for pets | Barred as accommodation |
| Gresham | $35-$60/mo for pets | Barred as accommodation |
| Hillsboro | $50-$100/mo for pets | Barred as accommodation |
Three steps to your Oregon letter
Check that you qualify
Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Oregon. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front.
About 5 minutes: free
Connect with a licensed professional
You are matched with a provider licensed for Oregon 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 Oregon 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 Oregon.
Protection under FHA + state law
About “ESA registration” in Oregon
No Oregon statute establishes a registry of assistance animals, companion animals or emotional support animals, and none of the ORS sections that govern Oregon housing mentions a certificate, an ID card or a database listing. What ORS 659A.145(2)(g) asks for is that the accommodation be necessary because of a disability: a question about you and your animal, which a licensed clinician answers, and which no online registration can answer for you. Registry sites sell a product that Oregon law does not recognise and a landlord is not required to accept.
Oregon ESA letter FAQs
Does an Oregon ESA have to be trained?
Not for housing. The training language sits in ORS 659A.143, a section about places of public accommodation. A landlord quoting it at a housing request has the right statute and the wrong section.
Can a Portland or Eugene landlord charge pet rent?
No. ORS 90.300(4) removes the deposit by name, and ORS 90.302(1) permits only the fees that section lists — recurring pet rent for a required accommodation is not among them.
What if the building’s no-pets policy applies to everyone?
That is exactly what ORS 659A.425 describes: Oregon codified the disparate-impact test, and a “facially neutral housing policy” applying equally to all persons is the thing the section examines rather than a defence to it.
Is an online ESA letter valid in Oregon?
Yes. Oregon 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 Oregon. 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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