# ESA Letter in Leawood, KS: Three Houses, and No Broker

> K.S.A. 44-1018(b)(1) exempts an owner with up to three houses renting without an agent. In a city with 1,190 rentals, the second condition decides it.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 34,013
- Households renting: 9%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Barred as accommodation
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $50-$100/mo for pets
- Breed/weight limits common: sometimes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Nine percent

Leawood has **1,190** renting households out of 13,272 occupied homes, **9.0
percent** on the 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate.

That is the lowest renter share of any city on this site. Kansas as a whole
is 32.8 percent; Dell Rapids, South Dakota, the previous low, is 17.7
percent. Leawood is under ten.

Median gross rent is **$1,983**, the highest in Kansas and eighty-seven
percent above the $1,060 state median. The 2024 Census estimate puts the
city at 34,013, thirteenth in Kansas.

A market that small and that expensive is not made of apartment communities.
Leawood rentals are largely single-family houses let by their owners, which
puts one particular Kansas exemption at the front of almost every
accommodation question here.

## K.S.A. 44-1018(b)(1)

> "Nothing in this act, other than the prohibitions against discriminatory advertising … shall
> apply to: (1) The sale or rental of any **single family house by an owner**, provided the
> following conditions are met:
> **(A)** The owner does not own or have any interest in **more than three single family
> houses** at any one time; **and**
> **(B)** the house is sold or rented **without the use of a real estate broker, agent or
> salesperson or the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting
> dwellings.**"

Note the "and." Both conditions, not either.

This is an exemption South Dakota does not have. SDCL 20-13-20's only
carve-out is owner-occupancy in a two-family dwelling; an owner with one
rental house in Sioux Falls who lives elsewhere is fully inside the South
Dakota act. Kansas exempts up to three houses, but only on condition (B).

## Condition (B) is where it usually fails

In practice, condition (A) is often satisfied in Leawood. An owner who moved
and kept the house, or who holds two, is inside the three-house limit.

Condition (B) is the one to examine, and it is drawn widely:

- **"a real estate broker, agent or salesperson"**, the obvious case.
- **"or the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings"**, much
  broader. A property management company. A listing service run by someone in that business.

So the question is not only "did an agent sign the lease." It is whether the house was rented
**through** anybody in the business of renting dwellings. In a market where most houses reach
tenants through a brokerage or a manager, the answer is frequently no exemption.

No Kansas case construing that phrase was retrieved for this page, so what
is stated here is the breadth of the words rather than a holding on where
they stop.

## The other exemption, for completeness

K.S.A. 44-1018(b)(2) exempts "rooms or units in buildings containing living quarters occupied or
intended to be occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other, if the
owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as the owner's residence."

That is about a building the owner **lives in**, and it is generous, four
families, against South Dakota's two. Leawood's housing stock produces very
few (b)(2) questions and a great many (b)(1) ones.

## The one rule no exemption reaches

Read the opening words again: "**Nothing in this act, other than the prohibitions against
discriminatory advertising as provided in subsection (c) of K.S.A. 44-1016**…"

K.S.A. 44-1016(c) prohibits any notice, statement, advertisement or application with respect to
the sale or rental of real property indicating "any preference, limitation, specification or
discrimination based on … disability." An exempt owner is still bound by it, and a listing that
announces no assistance animals is outside the exemption they are relying on.

## And the federal Act is a separate question

An exemption in K.S.A. 44-1018 exempts from **the Kansas act**. **42 U.S.C.
§ 3604(f)(3)(B)** is a federal obligation with federal exemptions, drawn
differently.

So when a Leawood owner says the law does not reach them, the sequence is:
how many houses, was a broker or a manager used, and then, whatever those
answers are, what about the federal Act.

## Where the right comes from when the act applies

**K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(3)(B)**, "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 residential real property."

Charges attached to the animal come off under **K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(2)**.

And note that **K.S.A. 58-2550 has no exemptions of this kind.** The residential landlord and
tenant act's deposit rules apply to a single-family house let by its owner exactly as they apply
to a management company. At Leawood's $1,983 median, the one-month unfurnished cap is close to
two thousand dollars, and the additional half-month pet deposit is available only "if the rental
agreement permits the tenant to keep or maintain pets", which an accommodation animal is not
there under.

## What 1,190 rentals means

There is no comparable unit to move to. A city where nine percent of
households rent, at the highest median in the state, does not have an
alternative for a tenant whose landlord refuses.

Which changes what a good outcome looks like. In Wichita a refusal is a
reason to look elsewhere. In Leawood the accommodation you obtain from the
owner of the house you are in is almost certainly the whole result.

## What to establish before the exemption comes up

The exemption question has an answer, and it is usually the landlord who holds it.

How many single family houses do they have an interest in? Was the house let
through an agent, a brokerage or a management company? Those two facts
decide (b)(1), and neither is something a tenant can work out from the
outside.

There is no obligation on a landlord to answer, and pressing for it can sour
a relationship you will be living inside. The better order is to make the
request well first: an owner who says yes never needs to be asked which
statute reaches them.

**And ask for the answer in writing if it is given.** An owner who says they are exempt has made a
statement of fact about their holdings and how the house was let. Recording it costs nothing, and it
is the fact a later adviser would otherwise have to establish from scratch.

## Which puts the weight on the request itself

The cheapest and strongest route is a clinician who is already treating you,
history answers what a single appointment cannot, and the visit is the only
cost. Johnson County answers slowly: count on two to four months for a new
patient, and expect several of the larger practices to decline housing
documentation as a standing rule.

Where that is unavailable, a licensed evaluation is that examination
arranged on purpose. Someone licensed decides whether a disability exists
and whether this animal answers it, then writes the determination or
explains why not.

Against the owner of the house you live in, in a city with a thousand
rentals, the exemption argument may never be the one that matters. The
assessment always is.

## What Leawood 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 residential real property: K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(3)(B).
- May not discriminate because of disability in the terms, conditions or privileges of the rental, or in the services and facilities provided with it: K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(2).
- May not take a security deposit above one month's rent for an unfurnished unit, or 1½ months' where the landlord supplies the furniture, K.S.A. 58-2550(a).

**Can:**
- May take the additional pet deposit of up to half a month's rent only where the rental agreement permits the tenant to keep pets, K.S.A. 58-2550(a). An accommodation animal is not there on permission, so the condition is not satisfied.
- Must return the balance of the deposit within fourteen days of determining charges and no more than thirty days after termination, possession and demand, or face damages of one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld: K.S.A. 58-2550(b) and (c).
- May refuse where the tenancy would be a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others, K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(7). This is an assessment of the individual animal and tenancy, not of a breed.
- May still hold the tenant liable for damage: K.S.A. 39-1108 makes even a trained service dog's handler liable for damage to the premises, and nothing in the accommodation duty says otherwise.
- Is not required to permit modifications at the landlord's expense, K.S.A. 44-1016(h)(3)(A) puts reasonable modifications of existing premises at the cost of the person with the disability.
- Is exempt from the state act only within K.S.A. 44-1018(b): a four-family owner-occupied building, or an owner with an interest in no more than three single family houses renting without a broker. The federal Fair Housing Act runs its own, different exemptions.

## How to get an ESA letter in Leawood

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

- [City of Leawood](https://www.leawood.org/) (city government)
- [Johnson County](https://www.jocogov.org/) (county government)
- [Kansas Legal Services](https://www.kansaslegalservices.org/) (legal aid)
- [Disability Rights Center of Kansas](https://www.drckansas.org/) (disability rights org)

## Frequently asked questions

### I rent a house from its owner in Leawood. Does the Kansas act apply?

It depends on two things. K.S.A. 44-1018(b)(1) exempts the rental of a single family house by an owner where "(A) The owner does not own or have any interest in more than three single family houses at any one time; and (B) the house is sold or rented without the use of a real estate broker, agent or salesperson or the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings." Both conditions have to be met, not either.

### Which of the two conditions usually decides it?

The broker condition. In a market where the property was listed by an agent, marketed through a brokerage, or is managed by a property management company, the exemption is unavailable however few houses the owner holds. The number-of-houses condition is often satisfied in Leawood; the no-broker condition frequently is not.

### What does "or the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings" cover?

It is broader than a named agent. The subsection reaches use of the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings, which is why a listing service or a management arrangement matters. No Kansas case construing the phrase was retrieved for this page, so what can be said is that the words are wider than "a broker signed the lease."

### Is there a separate owner-occupied exemption?

Yes. K.S.A. 44-1018(b)(2) exempts rooms or units in buildings for no more than four families living independently where the owner actually occupies one. That covers a different situation from (b)(1) (a building the owner lives in rather than a house they rent out), and Leawood's stock produces far more (b)(1) questions than (b)(2) ones.

### If an exemption applies, is that the end of it?

No. K.S.A. 44-1018(b) exempts from the Kansas act "other than the prohibitions against discriminatory advertising as provided in subsection (c) of K.S.A. 44-1016," so the advertising rule survives. And the federal Fair Housing Act has its own exemptions, drawn differently, so 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) has to be considered separately rather than treated as answered.

### Leawood rents are the highest in Kansas. What does that mean for the deposit?

K.S.A. 58-2550(a) caps an unfurnished deposit at one month's periodic rent, and at Leawood's $1,983 median gross rent, the highest in the state, that is close to two thousand dollars. The additional half-month the same subsection allows for pets is conditioned on a rental agreement that permits pets, which an accommodation animal is not there under.

### There are only 1,190 rentals here. Does that change my approach?

It changes the practical stakes. Leawood's 9.0 percent renter share is the lowest of any city on this site, so there is no comparable alternative unit to move to and the accommodation you obtain where you are is likely to be the whole outcome. That puts weight on the quality of the request rather than on any threat behind it.

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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=kansas-emotional-support-animal%2Fleawood