# Hollywood FL ESA Rules: Informal Leases & Charges

> Hollywood is 41.1% renters across older and newer buildings. What Fla. Stat. § 760.27 forbids a landlord to charge or ask, even without a written lease.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/florida-emotional-support-animal/hollywood/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-07-28
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 159,073
- Households renting: 41.1%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): $0 for a documented ESA under § 760.27(2); other deposits return within 15 days of termination absent a 30-day claim notice
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $0 for a documented ESA; informal monthly animal charges are extra compensation the statute forbids
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Old Stock, New Stock, Same Statute

Hollywood held about 159,073 residents in the 2024 Census Bureau estimate,
and 41.1% of its households rent — above Florida's 32.4% statewide share,
across roughly 25,000 renter households.

The city's rental supply spans two very different worlds: older small
buildings, often owned and managed by the same person, and newer
professionally managed communities. The second kind produces disputes about
policy. The first produces disputes about arrangements that were never
written down at all — a verbal understanding about the animal, an extra
hundred dollars in cash each month, a promise that "it's fine for now."

Florida's ESA statute does not distinguish between the two. Under
§ 760.27(1)(b), a housing provider is any person or entity engaging in
conduct covered by the federal Fair Housing Act or by section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the definition names owners and lessors
explicitly. There is no small-operator carve-out and no requirement that a
lease be written for the protection to attach.

## Informal Charges Are Still Charges

The rule in § 760.27(2) runs against the charge itself: where a tenant has
been allowed to keep an emotional support animal as a reasonable
accommodation, extra compensation for that animal may not be required of
them. The clause has no exception for cash, for
handshake arrangements, or for money folded into a rent figure without a
line item.

That does not leave a landlord exposed. Section 760.27(4) keeps the tenant
liable for damage the animal does to the premises or to another person on
the premises — the statute simply moves the money from an upfront premium to
an actual bill.

When a deposit is held on an ordinary tenancy, § 83.49 sets the schedule. No
claim means the deposit is due back within 15 days after the rental
agreement terminates. A claim requires written notice within 30 days, and
the tenant then has 15 days from receiving that notice to object in writing.
In a market with many small landlords, that objection deadline is the one
tenants most often let pass.

## Getting the Arrangement in Writing

Informality favors whoever remembers the conversation differently. The
practical protection for a Hollywood renter is a short written request that
states the accommodation being asked for, and a saved copy of whatever
answer comes back.

That record does real work later. Section 760.34 gives one year from the
alleged discriminatory housing practice to file with the Florida Commission
on Human Relations, and the date of a refusal is much easier to prove from a
message than from recollection. A building that changes hands mid-tenancy
makes the point sharply: the new owner inherits the property, not the
previous owner's verbal approvals.

## What May Be Asked

Where a disability is not readily apparent, § 760.27(2)(b) permits a request
for reliable supporting information. The statute's list runs from a
government agency's determination of disability, through receipt of
disability benefits or services and proof of eligibility for housing
assistance received because of a disability, to information from a health
care practitioner or telehealth provider with personal knowledge of the
disability who is acting within the scope of practice.

Section 760.27(2)(e) permits a separate demand: proof that the animal meets
state and local licensing and vaccination requirements.

## What May Not

A provider may not seek information that discloses the diagnosis or the
severity of a disability, or any medical records, under § 760.27(3)(a). Nor
may it require a particular form or a notarized statement, or deny the
request solely because the tenant did not follow its routine method, under
§ 760.27(3)(b).

Both limits apply to an owner who has never handled such a request before.
Inexperience is not a defense, and a tenant who quotes the subsections
directly usually shortens the argument.

## Eviction, Threats, and What Actually Justifies Action

Tenants sometimes ask whether keeping an approved animal puts the tenancy at
risk. The accommodation itself cannot be the reason for eviction, since
§ 760.23(9)(b) treats a refusal to accommodate as a discriminatory housing
practice.

What can matter is conduct. Section 760.27(2)(a) allows a provider to deny
the accommodation on a direct-threat finding — the animal endangering
someone's health or safety, or threatening physical damage to someone's
property — where no other reasonable accommodation could reduce or eliminate
that threat.
That finding rests on what the animal has actually done, and it is
independent of size, breed, or the building's general preferences.

## When the Building Changes Hands

Older Hollywood buildings trade owners regularly, and a sale is where verbal
arrangements go to die. A new owner steps into the tenancy but not into the
prior owner's undocumented approvals, and tenants are sometimes told the
animal must go or start paying.

The accommodation obligation itself does not reset. The new owner is a
housing provider under § 760.27(1)(b) on the same terms as the old one, and
§ 760.27(2) bars extra compensation for the animal just as before. In
practice the tenant will need to make the request again, in writing, with
whatever supporting information § 760.27(2)(b) allows the provider to seek.
Keeping the original letter and the original approval makes that second
round short rather than adversarial.

## Letters and What They Must Show

Section 760.27(2)(b)4. adds Florida's distinctive condition: where the
practitioner is licensed in another state, their information counts only if
they have provided in-person care or services to the tenant at least once.
The mode of care is not the issue — telehealth providers appear among the
accepted sources — but an entirely remote relationship with an out-of-state
clinician is a weak foundation for a request.

Products sold as proof are weaker still. Section 760.27(3)(c) treats an ESA
registration of any description — an ID card, a patch, a certificate, or
anything similar bought online — as insufficient by itself to show a
disability or a disability-related need for the animal. Section 817.265
makes knowingly providing
fraudulent ESA documentation a misdemeanor of the second degree, adding 30
hours of community service within six months of a conviction.

## Housing Rights, Not Public Access

An approved animal belongs in the apartment; it does not acquire rights
beyond it. Section 413.08 keeps the service animal category to dogs and to
miniature horses, and only where the animal has been trained to do work or
perform tasks; emotional support, the section states, does not qualify an
animal for that category. Section
760.27(5) confirms from the other side that the emotional support animal
statute does not apply to a service animal defined by § 413.08.

A Hollywood business is therefore free to decline an emotional support
animal at its door, and a tenant who treats an approved accommodation as a
general access pass is likely to be turned away — correctly.

## Where to Take a Dispute

Legal Aid Service of Broward County provides free civil legal help to
residents who qualify financially, and Florida Law Help publishes
plain-language material on tenant rights.

For a formal filing, matters arising inside the county are handled by
Broward County's Human Rights Section, while complaints under the state Fair
Housing Act go to the Florida Commission on Human Relations, subject to the
one-year deadline in § 760.34.

Do both things in parallel rather than in sequence: seek advice while the
negotiation continues, and let the calendar rather than the conversation
decide when to file. Our guide to [what a landlord can and cannot do](/blog/articles/can-landlord-deny-emotional-support-animal/)
covers how a denial gets evaluated, and the [Florida ESA law overview](/blog/florida-emotional-support-animal/)
sets out the statute statewide.

## What Hollywood landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- Cannot require extra compensation for an emotional support animal, which takes pet rent, pet deposits, and pet fees off the table under § 760.27(2)
- Cannot request information that discloses the diagnosis or the severity of the tenant's disability, or any medical records
- Cannot require a specific form or a notarized statement, or deny a request solely because the tenant did not use the provider's routine method
- Cannot refuse the request merely because the property advertises a no-pets policy, since the request is judged under the reasonable-accommodation standard in § 760.23(9)(b)

**Can:**
- May request reliable information supporting the disability when the disability is not readily apparent, including a government disability determination, proof of disability benefits, or information from a licensed practitioner
- May treat an out-of-state practitioner's information as unreliable unless that practitioner has provided in-person care or services to the tenant on at least one occasion
- May ask for information about the specific need for each animal when a tenant requests more than one emotional support animal
- May require proof of compliance with state and local licensing and vaccination requirements for the animal
- May deny the accommodation on a direct-threat finding — the animal endangering the health or safety of other people, or threatening physical damage to what belongs to them — where no other accommodation can reduce or eliminate the threat
- May hold the tenant liable for damage the animal does to the premises or to another person on the premises

## How to get an ESA letter in Hollywood

1. **Check that you qualify** — Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Hollywood. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes — free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional** — You are matched with a provider licensed for Florida 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. (95% of applicants qualify)
4. **Receive your signed letter** — Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number — the documentation Florida 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 Hollywood. (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 Hollywood

- [Legal Aid Service of Broward County](https://browardlegalaid.org/) (legal aid)
- [Broward County Human Rights Section](https://www.broward.org/HumanRights/Pages/Default.aspx) (government)
- [Florida Commission on Human Relations — housing complaints](https://fchr.myflorida.com/housing-complaint) (government)
- [Florida Law Help](https://www.floridalawhelp.org/) (legal information)

## Frequently asked questions

### My Hollywood landlord wants cash each month for my animal. Is that allowed?

No. Extra compensation for the animal is exactly what § 760.27(2) forbids once a tenant has been allowed to keep an emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation, and an informal cash arrangement is still compensation. Section 760.27(4) leaves the tenant liable for damage the animal causes, which is a separate and later question.

### The building never gave me a written lease. Do the ESA rules still apply?

Yes. The definition in § 760.27(1)(b) turns on conduct: anyone, person or entity, whose actions the federal Fair Housing Act reaches — or whose actions section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 reaches — is a housing provider, and the owner or lessor of a dwelling is named outright. A written lease is not what triggers the protection; the tenancy is.

### What if the landlord says the building is too small for an ESA?

Building size is not a ground for denial. Under § 760.27(2)(a) refusal is confined to a finding that the animal directly threatens the health or safety of others, or directly threatens physical damage to property belonging to others, with no other reasonable accommodation capable of reducing or eliminating that threat.

### Where do Hollywood tenants get legal help?

Legal Aid Service of Broward County provides free civil legal help to residents who qualify financially. Florida Law Help publishes plain-language material about tenant rights. For a formal complaint, Broward County's Human Rights Section handles county matters and the Florida Commission on Human Relations handles state ones under the one-year deadline in § 760.34.

### Can a landlord evict me for having an approved emotional support animal?

An approved accommodation cannot itself be the basis for eviction, since § 760.23(9)(b) treats a refusal to accommodate as a discriminatory housing practice. What can matter is conduct: § 760.27(2)(a) allows a provider to act where the animal poses an unmitigable direct threat, and § 760.27(4) makes the tenant liable for damage the animal does.

### Does my landlord have to accept a letter from a therapist I see online?

Telehealth is an accepted category under § 760.27(2)(b), so the delivery method is not the problem. The condition is in § 760.27(2)(b)4.: where the practitioner is licensed in another state, they must have provided in-person care or services to the tenant on at least one occasion for the information to count as reliable.

### Are ESA vests or ID cards useful in Hollywood?

No. Section 760.27(3)(c) is explicit that no ESA registration — an identification card, a patch, a certificate, or any similar registration ordered from the Internet — is by itself sufficient information to establish a disability or a disability-related need. Section 817.265 makes knowingly providing fraudulent ESA documentation a second-degree misdemeanor.

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