# ESA Letter in Edina, MN: Private Landlords, No Local Complaint Desk

> Edina owns no rental housing, so every ESA request lands with a private manager. What Minn. Stat. § 504B.113 deletes, and why no city body takes your charge.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/minnesota-emotional-support-animal/edina/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-08-11
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 53,564
- Households renting: 27.6%
- 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)

## Edina keeps no housing of its own, and says so out loud

The City of Edina puts it in one sentence on its housing page: "Affordable
housing in Edina is privately owned or managed. The City doesn't own or rent
any affordable housing."

Read that as a renter and you learn where your accommodation request will land.
Not with a public landlord. With a private owner or a management company, every
time, income-restricted unit or full market rate.

Edina had 22,914 occupied homes on the 2020-2024
American Community Survey five-year estimate, 6,328 of them rented, 27.6
percent, almost exactly the 27.8 percent statewide share. The Census Bureau's
Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, counted 53,564 residents on 1 July
2024. An ordinary share of renters, and no municipal counterparty at all.

## The body people still send you to, and why it isn't there

Edina renters get told to take it to the human rights commission. Check the
roster first.

The City's boards, commissions and task forces page lists ten bodies: Arts &
Culture, Community Health, Energy & Environment, Heritage Preservation, the
Human Rights & Engagement Task Force, Parks & Recreation, Planning,
Transportation, Community Task Forces, and the Housing & Redevelopment
Authority. No Human Rights and Relations Commission appears on it. All ten, the
page says, "advise the City Council on various projects and, at times, make
recommendations for its consideration."

The task force entry does not even stay on the City's own website. It redirects
to an outside platform behind a sign-in wall that publishes no duties, no
complaint process and no way to reach anyone.

The predecessor body was advisory too. Edina's Comprehensive Plan records that
"in 1970, the City of Edina established the Human Rights and Relations
Commission (Commission) to promote and help implement its public policy of
nondiscrimination," and that it "is charged with the responsibility to advise
the City Council" on discrimination and human relations. Advise. Never take a
charge.

MDHR agrees: "currently, only the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department and Saint
Paul's Department of Human Rights & Equal Economic Opportunity are authorized"
to investigate and issue findings under city ordinances.

## The HRA on West 50th Street builds housing, not findings

The Edina Housing & Redevelopment Authority is real, and it is the second wrong
turn. The City describes it as "established in 1974 for the purpose of
undertaking urban redevelopment projects and assisting with the development of
affordable housing," with "the members of the City Council serv[ing] as
Commissions of the Board of the HRA." It sits at 4801 W. 50th St. on
952-927-8861.

Its record is buildings: Yorkdale Townhomes, Oak Glen, Summit Point, South
Haven. It does not administer housing choice vouchers for Edina, which is Metro
HRA territory, and it cannot investigate a complaint.

## What a private Edina lease loses the day approval comes through

Minnesota named the support animal in its landlord-tenant chapter rather than
leaving it implied. Minn. Stat. § 504B.113, subd. 1(c) defines one as an animal
providing emotional support that alleviates identified symptoms of a
disability, and one that "does not need to be trained to perform a
specific disability-related task."

Subd. 3(a) is the sentence that costs a private manager money. A landlord "must
not require a tenant with a reasonable accommodation under this section to pay
an additional fee, charge, or deposit for the service or support animal." Subd.
1(f) sets the scope, defining the accommodation as the waiver of a "no-pets
**or pet-fee** policy": a price list is covered, not only a ban.

Liability for damage the animal causes survives. So does your ordinary security
deposit, on which Minnesota sets no dollar ceiling at all, which is why the
fee ban rather than a cap is what protects you. Under Minn. Stat. § 504B.178 it
earns 1 percent simple non-compounded interest and must come back, with that
interest or a written statement of the specific reason for withholding, within
three weeks of the tenancy ending.

One more line to check. Since the 2024 amendment, subd. 3(b) obliges a landlord
who charges pet fees to say in the lease that they cannot be charged for a
support animal, and subd. 3(c) lets a tenant recover fees already paid where
that disclosure was missing.

## Who may sign, and the one thing no manager gets to see

Subd. 1(e) draws its closed list by licensing chapter: the Board of Medical
Practice (ch. 147), physician assistants (147A), nurses and psychologists
(148), mental health professionals (148B), social workers (148E), counselors
(148F). Any of those licensed in a different state also qualifies, but only
with an existing treatment relationship already in place. Then the subdivision
closes the shortcut: a licensed professional "does not include any person who
operates primarily to provide certification for a service or support animal."

Subd. 2(a) lets a landlord ask for documentation and forbids it where the
disability or the need is "readily apparent or already known." Subd. 2(b)
confines the document to the disability and its relationship to the need, and
bars requiring access to "medical records or medical providers."

Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, subd. 12 sets the threshold: an impairment that
"materially limits" a major life activity, a record of one, being regarded as
having one, or one "episodic or in remission" that would materially limit when
active — wording broader than the federal "substantially."

## Genuine law that will not decide an Edina request

Minn. Stat. § 256C.025, subd. 4 does mention housing, and does say a person
"shall not be required to pay extra compensation." It reaches someone totally
or partially blind, deaf, or with a physical disability who has a service dog.
A mental-health disability is outside it.

Subd. 5 of that section, added in 2025, extends those rights to a service dog
in training supervised by an Assistance Dogs International or International
Guide Dog Federation accredited organisation, and lets a landlord or a
homeowners association board require written certification from it. It is the
one place in Minnesota law where a housing provider may demand outside
certification, and it has nothing to do with an emotional support animal. There
is no ESA registry here and no card to buy.

Minn. Stat. § 609.833 makes misrepresenting a service animal a petty
misdemeanour, in a place of public accommodation only. In housing the
consequence is civil: § 504B.113, subd. 4 and 5 let a landlord deny the
request.

## One clock, one route, and a choice you never have to make

Because no Edina body takes a charge, the branching decision Minneapolis and
Saint Paul renters face never arises here. Minn. Stat. § 363A.07, subd. 3
provides that filing with one agency "shall preclude the option of filing the
same charge with the other agency." Here there is no other agency to lose.

The clock is real regardless. Minn. Stat. § 363A.28, subd. 3 gives one year to
bring a civil action, file a charge with a local commission, or file a charge
with the commissioner. That year is suspended while a voluntary arbitration,
conciliation, mediation or grievance process runs.

Minn. Stat. § 363A.09, subd. 1(1) reaches a refusal to rent because of
disability; subd. 1(2) reaches a fee imposed on you alone, through "the terms,
conditions or privileges" of the rental; subd. 6 reaches retaliation.

You need not file a charge at all. Minn. Stat. § 363A.33, subd. 1 allows a
civil action "directly to district court" with no exhaustion, subd. 6 gives
either side a jury, and subd. 8(a) says the court "shall order" compensatory
damages "including mental anguish or suffering, in an amount up to three times
the actual damages sustained." Subd. 4 lets the court appoint an attorney. A
federal track runs alongside on its own clock: 42 U.S.C. § 3610(a)(1)(A)(i)
gives HUD a year, under 24 C.F.R. § 100.204.

## Building your list outward from Edina

With nothing local to escalate to, the useful contacts sit beyond the city
line. HOME Line runs a free hotline for Minnesota tenants, the quickest way to
test whether a leasing office quoted you the law or its own policy.
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid's housing programme covers Hennepin County; intake is
1-877-696-6529. A charge itself gets filed with the Minnesota Department of
Human Rights.

Then do the part an Edina renter controls. Put the request in writing, name the
subdivision, and ask for the fee removal in a signed addendum the day approval
is given. With no city landlord above the manager, the paper you keep is the
whole record.

## What Edina landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- A landlord may not charge an additional fee, charge or deposit for an approved service or support animal (Minn. Stat. § 504B.113, subd. 3(a)). Pet rent, pet deposits and one-time pet fees all fall away; liability for actual damage the animal causes does not.
- A landlord may not require a tenant to hand over medical records, give access to medical providers, or supply any other documentation of the disability itself (§ 504B.113, subd. 2(b)). The letter confirms the disability and the need for the animal; it does not open the file.
- Cannot rely on a certificate bought from a registry website. Anyone "who operates primarily to provide certification for a service or support animal" is excluded from the statutory list by name (§ 504B.113, subd. 1(e)), so such a certificate is not documentation from a licensed professional.
- A support animal does not have to be trained to do any task (§ 504B.113, subd. 1(c)(2)). A landlord may not refuse the accommodation for want of training records.
- A landlord may not make declawing or devocalization a condition of keeping an animal, advertise to discourage applicants who refuse, or write the requirement into a lease; such a clause is void and unenforceable (Minn. Stat. § 504B.114).
- Cannot charge for the animal or refuse the accommodation without exposure to a claim of discrimination in the terms, conditions or privileges of a rental under Minn. Stat. § 363A.09, subd. 1(2).
- A landlord may not coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with a tenant for asking (Minn. Stat. § 363A.09, subd. 6).

**Can:**
- A landlord may ask for supporting documentation, but not where the disability or the disability-related need is readily apparent or already known to the landlord (§ 504B.113, subd. 2(a)).
- The letter must come from a licensed professional on the statutory list: a physician, physician assistant, nurse, psychologist, mental health professional, social worker or counselor licensed in Minnesota, or the same professions licensed in another state where there is an existing treatment relationship (§ 504B.113, subd. 1(e)).
- The protection covers a prospective tenant as well as a current one, because "tenant" is defined to include both (§ 504B.113, subd. 1(d)). The request can be made during the application.
- A landlord that charges pet fees at all must disclose in the lease that they cannot be charged for a service or support animal (§ 504B.113, subd. 3(b)), and a tenant who paid because that disclosure was missing may sue to get the money back (subd. 3(c)).
- A security deposit must be returned with one percent annual interest, or a written statement of the specific reason for withholding it furnished, within three weeks of the tenancy ending, and the landlord carries the burden of proving the reason (Minn. Stat. § 504B.178, subds. 2, 3).
- May set an ordinary security deposit at any amount, because Minnesota caps none. That is precisely why the fee ban rather than a dollar ceiling is what protects a tenant with a support animal.
- A tenant who knowingly misrepresents a disability or supplies fraudulent documentation can have the application or the animal request denied, and can face eviction for a lease breach (§ 504B.113, subds. 4-5).

## How to get an ESA letter in Edina

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

- [Minnesota Department of Human Rights, where an Edina charge is filed](https://mn.gov/mdhr/) (state agency)
- [Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Housing (serves Hennepin County)](https://mylegalaid.org/how-we-help/housing/) (legal aid)
- [HOME Line, free Minnesota tenant hotline](https://homelinemn.org/) (tenant org)
- [Edina Housing & Redevelopment Authority, affordable housing development (not a complaint desk)](https://www.edinamn.gov/792/Housing-Redevelopment-Authority) (city agency)

## Frequently asked questions

### Edina used to have a Human Rights and Relations Commission. Can I still file with it?

No. The City's current roster of boards, commissions and task forces lists ten bodies: Arts & Culture, Community Health, Energy & Environment, Heritage Preservation, the Human Rights & Engagement Task Force, Parks & Recreation, Planning, Transportation, Community Task Forces and the Housing & Redevelopment Authority, and no Human Rights and Relations Commission appears among them. The roster's own description of what these bodies do is that they "advise the City Council on various projects and, at times, make recommendations for its consideration." The task force link does not even stay on the city's site; it redirects to an engagement platform behind a sign-in wall with no duties, no complaint process and no contact route. Even the predecessor body was advisory: Edina's Comprehensive Plan records that the Commission established in 1970 "is charged with the responsibility to advise the City Council" on discrimination and human relations. It never took charges.

### Can the Edina Housing and Redevelopment Authority help if a landlord refused my support animal?

Not with a discrimination complaint. The City describes the HRA as "established in 1974 for the purpose of undertaking urban redevelopment projects and assisting with the development of affordable housing," and notes that "the members of the City Council serve as Commissions of the Board of the HRA." It has facilitated projects including Yorkdale Townhomes, Oak Glen, Summit Point and South Haven, and it sits at 4801 W. 50th St., 952-927-8861, with Affordable Housing Development Manager Stephanie Hawkinson at 952-833-9578. That is a development and finance office. It does not investigate housing discrimination, it does not issue findings, and it is not the agency that administers housing choice vouchers for Edina. That is Metro HRA. Your charge goes to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights or straight to district court under Minn. Stat. § 363A.33, subd. 1.

### Edina says it doesn't own any affordable housing. Who am I actually asking?

A private party, always. The City states flatly that "affordable housing in Edina is privately owned or managed" and that "the City doesn't own or rent any affordable housing." There is no municipal landlord here with a public grievance procedure sitting behind the leasing office. That does not weaken your rights, Minn. Stat. § 504B.113 binds private landlords by its terms, but it does change the practical shape of the request. There is no internal appeal above the management company, so put the request in writing, name the subdivision you are relying on, and date everything. The escalation from a private refusal is external: the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, or a civil action.

### The management company approved my animal but kept billing pet rent. Is that allowed?

No. Minn. Stat. § 504B.113, subd. 3(a) says a landlord "must not require a tenant with a reasonable accommodation under this section to pay an additional fee, charge, or deposit for the service or support animal." A monthly per-animal amount is a charge, whatever the billing system calls it. Approval and billing are handled by different people at most management companies, which is why this survives an approval so often. Ask for a signed addendum removing the line rather than a verbal promise, and keep the ledger showing it was charged after approval, under Minn. Stat. § 363A.09, subd. 1(2) a charge imposed on you alone goes to the "terms, conditions or privileges" of the rental.

### Does the fee ban protect me before I have signed an Edina lease?

Yes. Minn. Stat. § 504B.113, subd. 1(d) defines "tenant" to include a prospective tenant, so the protection attaches while you are still an applicant. That matters in a city where the leasing decision belongs entirely to a private company. Minn. Stat. § 363A.09, subd. 1(1) makes refusing to rent because of disability unlawful, and subd. 1(3) reaches discriminatory advertisements, application forms and inquiries, so a pet-policy question on an application that screens you out is itself reachable. Subd. 6 of the same section bars coercing, intimidating, threatening or interfering with anyone exercising these rights.

### Is there any organisation whose certificate a Minnesota landlord is entitled to demand?

There is exactly one situation, and it is not yours. Minn. Stat. § 256C.025, subd. 5, added in 2025, covers a service dog in training supervised by an organisation accredited by Assistance Dogs International or the International Guide Dog Federation, and it lets a landlord or a homeowners association board require written certification from that organisation. Nothing comparable exists for an emotional support animal. Minn. Stat. § 504B.113, subd. 1(e) points the other way entirely: a licensed professional "does not include any person who operates primarily to provide certification for a service or support animal." A site selling an Edina-ready certificate is selling a document the statute defines out of existence.

### My landlord asked to see my therapy records before deciding. Do I have to send them?

No. Minn. Stat. § 504B.113, subd. 2(b) states that a landlord "must not require the tenant to disclose or provide access to medical records or medical providers or provide any other information or documentation of a person's physical or mental disability." A landlord's entitlement stops at documentation from a licensed professional confirming two things: that a disability exists, and how it connects to the need for this animal. Subd. 2(a) narrows it further: where the disability or the disability-related need is "readily apparent or already known" to the landlord, documentation must not be required at all. If a private manager keeps pushing, that request is worth writing down with a date, because you have one year under Minn. Stat. § 363A.28, subd. 3.

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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=minnesota-emotional-support-animal%2Fedina