# ESA Letter in Naperville, IL: A Definition That Does No Work

> Naperville's code writes emotional support animals out of one term it never uses. The clause that counts is 12-4-2, and the city gives you only 90 days.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/illinois-emotional-support-animal/naperville/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-08-10
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 153,124
- Households renting: 25.2%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Varies by building
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): Varies by building
- Breed/weight limits common: sometimes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## The one line in the city code that names your animal

Search Naperville's Municipal Code for "emotional support animal" and you get a
single hit. It is in **§ 12-2-1**, the definitions section of Title 12, and it
reads badly for you. The code defines a "service animal" as an animal trained
in obedience and task skills to meet the needs of a person with a disability,
consistent with the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act (510 ILCS 70), then
adds that emotional support animals "shall not be included in this" definition.

Read cold, it looks like the city wrote your animal out of local protection.

It did not. The defined term does no work. "Service animal" is set out in
§ 12-2-1 and then never appears again — not in the rental chapter, not in the
enforcement chapter, nowhere in Title 12. It is attached to no duty at all.

The duty that governs your request sits elsewhere, and it is written far wider.

## Section 12-4-2 never asks what kind of animal it is

Title 12 is headed "Human Rights and Fair Housing." Naperville adopted it by
Ordinance 20-143 in December 2020 and amended it in May 2022. Its § 12-4-2
lists things an owner or manager may not do. One of them is refusing
"to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services
if the accommodations are necessary for the person with a disability to use the
housing."

Look at what is absent. No species. No training standard. No cross-reference to
that definition. The clause turns on rules and on need, and a no-pets clause is
a rule.

Section 12-1-1 says who is covered, and physical or mental disability is on the
list. So is legal source of income, which few Illinois municipalities protect
locally. Title 12 calls itself consistent with, and in some cases more
stringent than, the Illinois Human Rights Act and the federal Fair Housing Act.

## Ninety days, and the ordinance uses the word "barred"

Put this sentence in your calendar. Section 12-5-1: a complaint "shall be
barred from consideration by the Commission if it is not filed within ninety
(90) days of the alleged unlawful act."

Not "should." Not "ordinarily." Barred.

Ninety days is a quarter of the year Illinois gives you, and the count starts at
the act: the day the leasing office said no, not the day you stopped trying to
talk them round. Tenants lose this route by being patient.

Filing runs through the city's fair housing office at 400 S. Eagle Street, on
(630) 305-5315 or fairhousing@naperville.il.us. One wrinkle: the Commission's
own board page does not take complaints and sends you back to that fair housing
page. Do not lose a fortnight of a ninety-day clock finding the live page.

## The clocks still running after the city's has stopped

Missing ninety days costs you the local forum, not the claim.

The Illinois Department of Human Rights will take a housing charge for **one
year** after the violation was committed or terminated, 775 ILCS
5/7B-102(A)(1). And 775 ILCS 5/10-102(A) lets you sue in circuit court within
**two years**, where either party may demand a jury and paragraph (3) says you
may file whether or not you ever went to the Department.

If the landlord pushes back because you asked (a sudden inspection, a hint
about the renewal, pressure to drop it), that is its own violation under 775
ILCS 5/3-105.1.

## Why the state right never has to say "pet"

Naperville's clause has a state twin. **775 ILCS 5/3-102.1(C)(2)** makes it a
civil rights violation to refuse reasonable accommodations in rules, policies,
practices, or services when they may be necessary to give a person with a
disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

The Act does not contain the word "animal" anywhere. That is not an oversight.
It operates on rules, and every barrier you are likely to hit in a Naperville
lease is one: a blanket no-pets paragraph, a weight limit in a condo
association's rules, a second-animal surcharge typed in by the owner.

Disability, at 775 ILCS 5/1-103(I)(1), is a determinable physical **or mental**
characteristic, and the Department of Human Rights repeats that on its housing
rights page. Federal law sits alongside: 24 C.F.R. § 100.204 states the
accommodation duty, and § 100.202(c) limits what a landlord may ask. HUD's 2020
assistance-animal guidance was **withdrawn effective September 17, 2025**, so
quote the regulations, never the guidance.

## The support-dog statute is a wrong turn

Sooner or later someone points you at 775 ILCS 5/3-104.1. It is written about
refusing to rent to a person who has a guide, hearing or support dog, and its
subsection (C) bars an extra lease charge other than for actual damage the dog
does. It sounds perfect.

Then read who it covers: a blind or hearing impaired person, or a person with a
**physical disability**. If your animal answers anxiety, depression, PTSD or
another mental health condition, that is not your section, and leading with it
hands your landlord an easy way to say no. Lead with § 12-4-2 and 3-102.1(C)(2)
instead.

## There is no ceiling to appeal to, and no need for one

Naperville's code has no pet deposit rule, no pet rent rule and no cap on a
security deposit. Title 12 hands out rights and says nothing about money.
Illinois sets no statutory maximum either. So a landlord here can charge a
tenant with an ordinary pet whatever the local market bears, and plenty do.

For an approved assistance animal none of that matters, because the protection
was never a number. Charging you for the animal is refusing the accommodation,
and refusing the accommodation is what § 12-4-2 forbids. The fee fails for the
same reason an outright "no" would. State law reinforces it: under 775 ILCS
5/3-102.1(C)(1), a customarily required security deposit may not be increased
for a person with a disability.

## After you move out, the receipts have to arrive

Approval covers the animal, not the carpet. Damage it actually does is yours.

How that money leaves your deposit is tightly controlled. **765 ILCS 710/1**
gives the landlord 30 days to hand over an itemised statement of the damage
with paid receipts attached, counted from the later of the day you vacate or
the day your right of possession ends. No statement, and the whole deposit is
due back inside 45 days. A circuit court that finds bad faith, or a flat
refusal to itemise, awards **double the deposit** on top of costs and the
attorney's fees you ran up getting there.

That law once reached only buildings with five or more units. **Public Act
103-224 struck those words effective January 1, 2024.** In a city where so many
rentals are single houses and small condo buildings, that did real work.

## One home in four is rented, across two counties

Of Naperville's 54,847 occupied homes, 13,827 are rented. That is a **25.2%**
renter share where the Illinois figure is 32.9%, on the Census Bureau's
2020–2024 five-year estimates.

That shapes the experience. Much of the stock is scattered: a rented townhouse
here, an owner's condo there, rather than towers with a compliance department
that has met this question a hundred times. You are more likely to be
explaining § 12-4-2 to an individual owner than to a property manager.

The city also straddles a county line: 100,751 residents in DuPage County and
52,373 in Will. Title 12 follows the city limits and covers you either way.
Free legal help does not, and your county decides who takes the call.

## No office in this city approves an animal

Neither the Commission nor any Illinois agency certifies or lists assistance
animals. Title 12 asks for no card, no vest and no certificate, because none of
those exist in law. A site selling you a place on a national registry is
selling something your landlord may bin, and a landlord who knows the rules
will.

Federal rules at 24 C.F.R. § 100.202(c) do let an owner seek information
showing you qualify for the accommodation. Answer that with documentation from
a licensed provider who has examined you and can spell out how the animal bears
on your condition. A current letter from a clinician who treats you turns a
request into one § 12-4-2 obliges your landlord to consider.

## Who to call on either side of the county line

Inside the ninety days, start with the city's fair housing office. It runs
intake for the Commission.

Prairie State Legal Services covers both counties, but from two separate
offices: West Suburban for DuPage addresses and Joliet for Will ones. Check
your county before you dial, or you will be transferred.

HOPE Fair Housing Center names DuPage among the counties it serves and works
specifically on housing discrimination, a strong fit when the fight is squarely
about the animal. The Illinois Department of Human Rights is the state door,
with the one-year charge window and a housing rights page setting out
disability as a protected basis.

## What Naperville landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- Cannot refuse to make a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services when it may be necessary to give a tenant with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, under 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1(C)(2), which is what a request to waive a no-pets rule for an assistance animal asks for
- Cannot treat a mental-health disability as outside the Act, because 775 ILCS 5/1-103(I)(1) defines disability as a determinable physical or mental characteristic and the housing article adds only that it be unrelated to the person's ability to acquire, rent or maintain a housing accommodation
- Cannot demand that the animal be trained, certified, registered or of a particular species, none of which appears anywhere in the Illinois Human Rights Act. The word "animal" does not appear in the Act at all
- Cannot refuse to rent because of the disability of a person who will live in the unit or of anyone associated with the renter, not only the person signing the lease, under 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1(A)
- Cannot alter the terms, conditions or privileges of a tenancy, or the services and facilities that come with it, because of a disability, under 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1(B)
- Cannot increase for a person with a disability any customarily required security deposit, in the express words of 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1(C)(1)
- Cannot coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with a tenant who asks for an accommodation, or who helped someone else ask, under 775 ILCS 5/3-105.1, a separate civil rights violation from refusing the request
- Cannot keep any part of a security deposit for damage without sending an itemised statement with paid receipts within 30 days, or must return the whole deposit within 45 days, under 765 ILCS 710/1: a duty that reaches every Illinois landlord since Public Act 103-224 removed the five-unit threshold on January 1, 2024
- Cannot rely on 775 ILCS 5/3-104.1 to justify a charge, because that section is written for blind, hearing impaired and physically disabled tenants and grants a landlord nothing in any event

**Can:**
- May ask for information establishing the disability and the disability-related need for the animal where neither is obvious, the enquiry 24 C.F.R. § 100.202(c) leaves open
- May refuse an accommodation that is not reasonable. One imposing an undue financial or administrative burden, or requiring a fundamental alteration of the landlord's operations
- May hold a tenant liable for damage the animal actually causes, and may recover it from the deposit through the itemised statement 765 ILCS 710/1 requires
- May enforce the ordinary terms of the tenancy against a tenant with an assistance animal: rent, noise, cleanliness and lease conduct rules apply the same way they apply to everyone else
- May set a security deposit at any amount, Illinois capping none, and may charge pet fees and pet rent to tenants generally, since no Illinois statute regulates them, which is exactly why the accommodation, rather than a ceiling, is what removes the charge for an assistance animal

## How to get an ESA letter in Naperville

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Naperville. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional**, You are matched with a provider licensed for Illinois 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 Illinois 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 Naperville. (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 Naperville

- [Naperville Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission](https://www.naperville.il.us/residents/fair-housing-and-discrimination/) (municipal agency)
- [Prairie State Legal Services](https://www.pslegal.org/our-offices) (legal aid)
- [HOPE Fair Housing Center](https://hopefair.org/services/) (fair housing)
- [Illinois Department of Human Rights](https://dhr.illinois.gov/rights/housing-rights.html) (state agency)

## Frequently asked questions

### Naperville's code says emotional support animals are not service animals. Am I unprotected here?

No. That sentence lives in § 12-2-1, the definitions section, and it narrows a defined term called "service animal." The term is then never used anywhere in Title 12, including every housing provision. The duty a landlord owes you is in § 12-4-2, which is a reasonable-accommodation clause about rules, policies, practices and services, and it is not limited to service animals. The definition looks hostile and does no work.

### How long do I have to complain to the Naperville commission?

Ninety days, and the ordinance means it. Section 12-5-1 says a complaint "shall be barred from consideration by the Commission if it is not filed within ninety (90) days of the alleged unlawful act." The clock starts at the act itself, not at the point you gave up negotiating, so a few weeks of polite back-and-forth with a leasing office can eat most of it.

### I missed the 90 days. Is my claim over?

Only the city route is. A housing charge still goes to the Illinois Department of Human Rights within one year of the violation being committed or terminated under 775 ILCS 5/7B-102(A)(1). A circuit court suit runs two years under 775 ILCS 5/10-102(A), either side may demand a jury, and paragraph (3) says you do not have to file a charge with the Department first.

### Can a Naperville landlord charge pet rent or a pet deposit for an ESA?

Not as the price of the accommodation. There is no local ceiling to appeal to (the city code has no pet fee or pet deposit provision and Illinois caps nothing), but that is beside the point. Billing you for the animal is refusing the accommodation § 12-4-2 requires. State law adds that a customarily required security deposit may not be increased for a person with a disability, at 775 ILCS 5/3-102.1(C)(1).

### Does Naperville limit how many animals I can keep in a rental?

No per-dwelling cap on dogs or cats was found in the Municipal Code, unlike several other Illinois municipalities that set a number. What can still limit you is your lease, which is a private rule rather than a city one, and a rule is exactly what an accommodation request asks a landlord to set aside under § 12-4-2.

### Which legal aid office covers Naperville, DuPage or Will?

Both, depending on your address. Naperville straddles the county line, with 100,751 residents in DuPage County and 52,373 in Will County. Prairie State Legal Services serves the city from two different offices, West Suburban for DuPage and Joliet for Will. HOPE Fair Housing Center names DuPage among the counties it covers. Confirm your county before calling so you are not transferred twice.

### Is Naperville's ordinance stronger than Illinois law for an ESA?

Title 12 states that it is consistent with and, in some cases, more stringent than the Illinois Human Rights Act and the federal Fair Housing Act, and it does add protections the state does not have, such as legal source of income at § 12-1-1. On accommodations the local and state clauses say much the same thing. The practical difference runs the other way: the city gives you 90 days where the state gives you a year.

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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=illinois-emotional-support-animal%2Fnaperville