# ESA Letter in Silver Spring, MD: The Most-Rented Place in Maryland

> Six in ten Silver Spring homes are rented, and the place has no city hall. Where an emotional support animal request actually goes in Montgomery County.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 81,462
- Households renting: 61.7%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Varies by building
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): Varies by building
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Twenty thousand renter households, no city hall

Silver Spring has 33,988 occupied homes, and 20,979 of them are rented:
**61.7%**. No other place among Maryland's twenty largest rents at that
rate, and the state as a whole sits at 32.4%. Population here is 81,462. The
numbers are ACS five-year estimates, 2020 through 2024.

Now set that against a second fact: this is a census-designated place. It
elects no mayor and no council, it has no municipal code, and Montgomery
County governs it.

So the most-rented large place in the state cannot write a tenant law of its
own. The county decides which office hears a complaint and which clock is
running. Potomac, lowest of those twenty at 15.2%, answers to the same
county and the same commission, identical rules, very different numbers of
people under them.

## The word the statute uses once

Maryland's fair housing law sits in Title 20 of the State Government Article. Read every section of it that carries text and the phrase "emotional support"
shows up a single time, put there to shut an animal out.

A service dog, under § 20-706(a)(3)(i), is a dog "individually trained to do work or
perform tasks." The very next clause takes yours back out: the term does not cover a
dog that "provides only emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship to an
individual." Neither "assistance animal" nor "support animal" occurs anywhere in the
title.

The provision that helps you is a few lines earlier. Section 20-706(b)(4) forbids a
housing provider to "refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies,
practices, or services when the accommodations may be necessary to afford an
individual with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling."

Notice the subject: **rules**. Not dogs, not training. A no-pets clause in a
Silver Spring lease is a rule; so is a weight ceiling. What the statute
wants to know is whether § 20-701(b)'s definition of disability fits you,
and whether you need the animal for equal use of the home.

## The book your landlord had to offer you

The County's Landlord-Tenant Handbook runs to 77 pages, and a landlord in Silver
Spring has to offer you a paper copy at signing. Page 7:

> "Landlords should allow emotional support animals as a reasonable accommodation
> unless they can prove that the presence of the animal poses an undue hardship.
> The landlord is entitled to request verification from a doctor/therapist or other
> licensed or professional person who can document a tenant's need for such an
> animal. The landlord is not entitled to ask a person's particular disability. An
> emotional support animal, just as a service animal, is not a pet and cannot be
> charged pet fees."

The same passage leaves damage with the tenant, and a box on page 8 says it again.

Be careful about attribution. The no-fee line has two supports: the County's
own ban on such charges, and the federal rule on accommodations, 24 C.F.R. §
100.204. Maryland's service-dog provisions are not among them. They shut an
emotional support animal out.

## Money at the door

Page 11 of the handbook is blunt about charges: "Non-refundable fees such as
reservation or holding fees, move-in, redecorating or cleaning fees, **pet fees or
deposits**, or renewal fees, may not be charged or imposed by a landlord." Carry the
exception along with it, "[i]n certain condominium communities, these fees are
allowed in the by-laws."

State law piles on limits. No deposit may pass "the equivalent of 1 month's rent per
dwelling unit, regardless of the number of tenants", Real Property § 8-203(b)(1).
Because § 8-203(a)(3) identifies a deposit by the job the money does, not by the
lease's wording, a refundable pet deposit counts against that single month rather than
above it. And § 8-208(d)(11) ends the move-in bill there: that deposit, the first
month's rent, nothing further.

Since October 2025 the pet policy has also been a document you can read before
applying: § 8-210(c) requires it on the property's website and in the application
itself, with every limit and every charge spelled out.

## The two sentences that look like the answer

Both are traps, and both get quoted at tenants.

Take § 20-706(d) first. A service-dog handler, it says, is "exempt from any provision
in a lease or rental agreement prohibiting the keeping of dogs" and "may not be
required to pay any additional rent or fee." Right words, wrong door: the definition
two subsections earlier has already put your animal outside. The whole scheme,
exclusion and all, arrived on 1 October 2023 with 2023's Chapters 211 and 212.

Human Services § 7-704(c) reads closer still, "full and equal access to housing
accommodations," no "extra compensation for the service animal." Then § 7-701(g) ties
its service animal to individual training for work or tasks, so that door is shut as
well. Build on § 20-706(b)(4) and on the handbook.

## Choosing a forum costs you nothing

Silver Spring complaints are heard by the Montgomery County Office of Human
Rights, at 21 Maryland Avenue in Rockville, Suite 330: 240-777-8450, TTY
240-777-8480. Its authority is the County Code, Chapter 27, Article I, and
disability is among the grounds for a real estate complaint.

You have a year. County Code § 27-7(d) sets that limit, then adds the line worth
memorising: "Filing with any federal or state agency charged with civil rights
enforcement constitutes a filing under this article." COMAR 14.03.04.10D(3) mirrors it
in the other direction: file locally inside the year, and the State treats the filing
as timely. Both gates stay open here, which is not so everywhere in Maryland.

On the state route, the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights works to the
same one-year limit (§ 20-1021(a)(2)); intake runs through 410-767-8600, and
a Preliminary Questionnaire comes first. Section 20-1022(a)(2) puts 100 days
on the probable-cause stage. After a charge, 20 days run under § 20-1026(b)
to elect court over a hearing, and § 20-1035 keeps a State court action open
for two years, filed any time past day 130.

Disregard the six-month figure that circulates: COMAR 14.03.01.03C(1) keeps
housing discrimination out of that shorter rule. And this county office
holds no HUD certification, the federal roster of partner agencies names a
Maryland state agency and no local ones.

## Two county functions inside a place with no government

A Regional Services Center of its own is one. The other is the landlord/tenant
District Court at 8552 Second Avenue; every other landlord-tenant courtroom in
Montgomery County is in Rockville. Keep the tracks apart, though. A refused
accommodation is a discrimination claim, and it belongs with the Office of Human
Rights, MCCR or HUD.

## If the Housing Opportunities Commission is your landlord

HOC, the housing authority for the county, has its headquarters in Silver
Spring. If it is your landlord, or administers your assistance, its
published accommodation policy sits alongside the law: 45 days to a written
decision, the ADA's disability definition in place of HUD's, and
verification linking the disability to what you asked for. So spell that
link out, what the animal does for the condition, not the bare fact of a
condition.

## The pet right the county's own handbook skips

One Maryland pet right exists in this county and no other: Real Property § 8-214. It
bites at properties of more than three dwelling units sharing one parcel or location.
Where that holds, a tenant of 60 or older cannot be barred from keeping a household
pet "unless specifically prohibited in writing at the time occupancy took place."
Damage remains yours, and the landlord's reasonable rules on a pet's type, size,
number, waste and behaviour survive.

Now the odd part: that protection never surfaces in the county's own
handbook. Search it for "8-214," for "elderly," for "household pet," and
nothing comes back, though other Real Property sections are cited there by
number. Raise it yourself. And keep its nature straight: age and address,
not disability, and no replacement for an accommodation request.

## What actually carries weight here

Nothing in Maryland registers an emotional support animal. There is no state
list, no certificate with legal force, no ID card any statute recognises.
The State has not made misrepresentation a crime either, which is no
invitation to be casual: a document bought online answers none of the
questions the law actually poses.

Those questions are clinical. Do you meet the disability definition in §
20-701(b), and is the animal needed for you to use and enjoy the home
equally? The County handbook puts the landlord's version of the same test:
verification, from a licensed professional, documenting that the animal is
needed. A current letter from a clinician who has genuinely assessed you
answers both. Make the request in writing, ask for the pet policy to be
excepted, and hold on to a copy.

## What Silver Spring landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- Cannot 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.
- Cannot 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.
- Cannot 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.
- Cannot 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.
- Cannot 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).
- Cannot 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).
- Cannot advertise or offer a rental in terms indicating a preference or limitation based on disability, Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-705(3).
- Cannot 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).
- Cannot 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).
- Cannot 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).
- Cannot 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).
- Cannot 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.
- Cannot 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.

**Can:**
- May 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.
- May 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.

## How to get an ESA letter in Silver Spring

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Silver Spring. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **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)
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 Maryland 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 Silver Spring. (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 Silver Spring

- [Montgomery County Office of Human Rights](https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/office-human-rights) (county agency)
- [Montgomery County Landlord-Tenant Affairs Handbook](https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/department-housing-community-affairs/information-renters/office-landlord-tenant-affairs/landlord-tenant-affairs-handbook) (county agency)
- [Housing Opportunities Commission, Reasonable Accommodation](https://www.hocmc.org/about-us/agency-compliance/fair-housing/reasonable-accommodation/) (county agency)
- [Maryland Legal Aid](https://www.mdlab.org/contact-us/) (legal aid)

## Frequently asked questions

### Silver Spring has no city hall. Where does my ESA housing complaint go?

To the county, or to the state. There is no municipal government here to receive it. This is a census-designated place: it elects no mayor or council, has no municipal code, and is governed by Montgomery County. The county door is the Office of Human Rights in Rockville (21 Maryland Avenue, Suite 330), which answers at 240-777-8450, with TTY at 240-777-8480; its authority is Chapter 27, Article I, and disability is among the grounds for a real estate complaint. The state door is the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, whose intake number is 410-767-8600 and whose first step is a Preliminary Questionnaire. One year applies at either.

### Can my Silver Spring building charge pet rent or a pet deposit for my emotional support animal?

Not after approval of the accommodation. Page 7 of the County's tenant handbook puts an emotional support animal alongside a service animal and says it "is not a pet and cannot be charged pet fees." Page 11 goes further still: pet fees and pet deposits sit on its list of non-refundable charges that a landlord is not to impose, with a note that some condominium by-laws permit them. Two supports carry that outcome: the County's own fee ban, and 24 C.F.R. § 100.204, the federal accommodation rule. Maryland's service-dog statutes are not among them. Damage your animal causes is still yours to pay for.

### A Maryland statute says nobody can be charged extra for an animal. Does it cover my ESA?

Probably not, though knowing the reason is worth a few minutes. The sentence is § 20-706(d), under which a service-dog handler is released from any lease term that forbids dogs and pays no rent or fee for the animal; the catch is the definition at § 20-706(a)(3)(ii), which pushes out any dog that "provides only emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship." A second candidate, Human Services § 7-704(c), sounds even better until § 7-701(g) confines its service animal to one carrying individual training for work or tasks. What is left, and what works, is the accommodation duty at § 20-706(b)(4), which reaches the same result on fees.

### If I file with Montgomery County, do I lose my state complaint?

No, and Silver Spring renters get that protection from both directions. County Code § 27-7(d) requires a complaint within one year and then provides that "[f]iling with any federal or state agency charged with civil rights enforcement constitutes a filing under this article." Running the other way, COMAR 14.03.04.10D(3) accepts a local filing made within that same year as timely for State purposes. Whichever forum you choose first, the other stays open. Ignore any six-month figure you find, under COMAR 14.03.01.03C(1), housing discrimination sits outside that shorter clock.

### The Housing Opportunities Commission is my landlord. Does that change my ESA request?

It adds a policy on top of the law. HOC, the county's housing authority, is headquartered in Silver Spring, and its published reasonable accommodation policy commits to a written decision within 45 days, uses the ADA's definition of disability rather than HUD's, and requires verification connecting the disability to what you are asking for. In practice that means your letter should say what the animal does for the condition, not merely that a condition exists. State law's accommodation duty under § 20-706(b)(4), and the federal regulation, apply on top of it.

### I am 63 and rent an apartment in Silver Spring. Does Maryland give me a right to keep a pet?

Possibly. One provision applies in this county alone. Real Property § 8-214 bites at properties of more than three dwelling units sharing a parcel or location, and there a tenant of 60 or older cannot be barred from keeping a household pet "unless specifically prohibited in writing at the time occupancy took place." Liability for damage stays with you, and the landlord's reasonable rules on a pet's type, size, number, waste and behaviour survive. Two cautions: this turns on your age and your address rather than on disability, and the County's 77-page handbook never mentions it, so you will have to raise it yourself.

### Is the landlord/tenant court on Second Avenue where I take a refused accommodation?

That is not the route for a discrimination claim. Silver Spring does host a landlord/tenant District Court at 8552 Second Avenue (the only one in Montgomery County outside Rockville), and it also has its own Regional Services Center, which is unusual for a place with no government of its own. A refused reasonable accommodation, though, is a fair housing matter: it goes to the county Office of Human Rights, to MCCR, or to HUD. A State court action under § 20-1035 is a separate track, available for two years and no sooner than 130 days after you file.

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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=maryland-emotional-support-animal%2Fsilver-spring