# ESA Letter in Passaic, NJ: A No-Pets Lease Is Not the End of It

> Passaic rents 76.2% of its homes, the highest share of any city covered here. What a landlord must prove, what it cannot charge, and the 20-day clock it controls.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 70,722
- Households renting: 76.2%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Capped: 1.5 months' rent
- 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)

## The most-rented city covered anywhere on this site

Passaic is small: an estimated 70,722 people on 1 July 2024, packed into 21,151
occupied homes. Of those, 16,123 are rented. That is 76.2 percent in the
2020-2024 five-year American Community Survey, and it is the highest renter
share of any city covered on this site, ahead of State College,
Pennsylvania at 73.9 percent. Among New Jersey's twenty largest cities, nothing
comes close.

It is not a lonely record. Five of the six most-rented cities covered here are
in New Jersey (Passaic at 76.2 percent, Newark at 75.6, Elizabeth at 74.4,
Paterson at 73.1 and Jersey City at 72.1), with only State College interrupting
the run. Set against a statewide figure of 36.2 percent, and against Middletown
at 14.3 percent, New Jersey spans 61.9 percentage points from top to bottom,
the widest range of any state covered here.

What this means on the ground in Passaic is simple. Almost every housing
conversation in this city is a conversation between a tenant and a landlord.
The lease is the document that governs, and quite often the lease says no
animals.

## A no-pets clause is where the argument starts, not where it ends

The Division on Civil Rights, the agency that enforces New Jersey's
anti-discrimination law, states the position on its own housing page: "if a
resident with a disability shows that keeping an emotional support animal is
necessary to afford them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, the
housing provider must permit the emotional support animal, even if they have a
'no pets' policy, unless they can show that doing so would be an undue burden."

Three moving parts there, and it pays to see them separately. You show a
disability. You show the animal is necessary for equal use and enjoyment of the
home. The landlord, if it wants to say no, has to show undue burden.

DCR's fact sheet adds the procedural half: your provider "must conduct an
individualized assessment of your request." An across-the-board policy applied
without looking at your situation is not an assessment. Nor is a form letter.

What the guidance will not do is promise you an automatic yes, and it says so:
"unlike service or guide animals, ESAs are not automatically exempt from a
housing provider's no-pet policies."

## March 2024: the burden moved

For years this was argued in New Jersey without a definitive answer. Then the
state Supreme Court gave one.

*Players Place II Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. K.P.*, 256 N.J. 472 (2024), was
decided on 13 March 2024 by a unanimous Court, Chief Justice Rabner writing. It
was the first time the Court considered how emotional support animal requests
are handled under the Law Against Discrimination.

The framework it laid down is the one every New Jersey landlord is now working
under. Residents "must show that they have a disability under the LAD and
demonstrate that the requested accommodation may be necessary to afford them an
'equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.'" And then the sentence that
matters most to a tenant in a rented flat: "Housing providers then have the
burden to prove the requested accommodation is unreasonable." Both sides,
the Court added, "should engage in a good-faith, interactive dialogue."

The Court also stripped out the most frequent objection in one flat line:
"Whether the animal has been trained is not a relevant consideration."

That single holding disposes of a lot of what tenants get told. No obedience
course. No task training. No documentation of either.

## Where the duty actually comes from

It is worth knowing the chain, because a landlord who checks the wrong link
concludes there is no duty at all.

The statute, N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g)(2), forbids discrimination on the basis of
disability "in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale, rental, or
lease of any real property." It contains no accommodation requirement and
mentions no animals.

The requirement is in a regulation the Division wrote: N.J.A.C.
13:13-3.4(f)(2), which makes it unlawful to "[r]efuse to make reasonable
accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services … when such
accommodations or modifications may be necessary to afford a person with a
disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling." The Supreme Court
routed emotional support animal requests through that provision. The rule was
readopted effective 13 October 2025 and runs to 13 October 2032.

Statute, then regulation, then the Court applying the regulation. Cite the
middle one.

## What can be charged, and the section that fools people

On money, DCR's guidance is short: a housing provider "cannot require you to
pay an additional security deposit or pet fee, or obtain additional renter's
insurance, in exchange for allowing you to keep an ESA," although it "may
require you to pay for any actual damage the animal causes."

That is guidance the Supreme Court adopted, not a statute. The distinction
matters because New Jersey has a statute that looks like it does the job and
does not. N.J.S.A. 10:5-29.2, headed "Housing accommodations," entitles a
person with a disability to "full and equal access to all housing
accommodations," says they "shall not be required to pay extra compensation,"
and disapplies no-pets lease clauses. Every word of it is limited to a service
or guide dog, and both are defined by training. It is the wrong authority for
an emotional support animal, and quoting it invites a landlord to point out why.

Whatever your building charges as a regular security deposit is separately
capped by N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2: an owner "may not require more than a sum equal
to 1 1/2 times 1 month's rental."

## City Hall cannot help with this one

Passaic publishes eleven boards and commissions: among them the Alcoholic
Beverage Control board, the Housing Authority Commissioners, the Planning
Board, the Redevelopment Agency, Rent Leveling and the Zoning Board of
Adjustment. A city with its own rent leveling body has no civil rights or human
relations commission, and Passaic County has none either.

That is the norm, not an oversight. N.J.S.A. 10:5-10 lets a mayor appoint a
local commission on civil rights, and the powers it grants stop at goodwill,
conciliation, recommendations and public education. Investigating a complaint
is nowhere in the list. HUD's roster of certified fair housing partner agencies
confirms the same picture from the federal side: New Jersey's entry names a
state agency and no localities at all.

Two doors, then, and both are outside Passaic:

- **NJ Division on Civil Rights.** The online intake system is NJBIAS, at
  bias.njcivilrights.gov; the phone line is 1-833-NJDCR4U (833-653-2748). Newark
  hosts the Northern Regional Office, 31 Clinton Street.
- **HUD.** The fair housing complaint line is 1-800-669-9777.

Northeast New Jersey Legal Services takes Passaic County matters, along with
Bergen and Hudson, and lists housing among its practice areas.

## Three deadlines, and one of them belongs to your landlord

N.J.S.A. 10:5-18 sets the state clock: a complaint "must be so filed within 180
days after the alleged act of discrimination." There is no longer housing
version of it in New Jersey.

HUD's clock is a year, under 42 U.S.C. § 3610(a)(1)(A)(i). That is not foreign
law bolted on, N.J.S.A. 10:5-9.2 says the LAD is meant to let the Division
"qualify as a 'certified agency'" under the federal Fair Housing Amendments
Act. If six months have slipped past you, ask HUD before you assume it is over.

The third clock is unusual and cuts both ways. N.J.S.A. 10:5-16 provides that
once the director finds probable cause, "in a housing discrimination complaint
only, any party" may elect to have the claim decided in Superior Court instead
of before the agency, and the election "shall be made not later than 20 days
after receipt of the finding of probable cause." Any party means your landlord
too. A finding in your favour at the agency can be followed within three weeks
by a move into court that you did not choose.

## Retaliation, and the letter that carries the weight

In a city where three quarters of households rent, the reason people do not
complain is usually fear of what follows. New Jersey addresses that head-on:
N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(d) makes it unlawful to take reprisals against anyone who has
filed a complaint, testified, sought legal advice about their rights under the
Act, or assisted in a proceeding. DCR repeats it in plain language on the fact
sheet: "No one can retaliate against you for reporting LAD violations, filing a
discrimination complaint, or exercising other rights under the LAD."

As for what to send your landlord, DCR has drawn that line too:
"[d]ocumentation obtained from the Internet that does not come from a treating
healthcare professional generally will not be sufficiently reliable to support
the need for an ESA." Training is irrelevant, purchased paperwork is not
reliable, and the thing that works is a current letter from the professional
who treats you.

## What Passaic landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- A landlord may not refuse because the animal is untrained. The Supreme Court's words are "[w]hether the animal has been trained is not a relevant consideration."
- A landlord may not condition the accommodation on a doctor's order for the animal. The Court held that the LAD "does not require that an ESA be prescribed by a mental health professional."
- Cannot demand that the animal cure or eliminate the disability. The necessity test is symptom-level: "the question is whether the accommodation will alleviate at least one symptom of the disability, not whether the accommodation will cure or eliminate the disability" (Players Place II).
- Cannot treat a weight limit, size limit or breed rule as a trump card. The pet policy is the thing the accommodation is an exception to. The association in Players Place II had a thirty-pound cap and the resident’s dog weighed sixty-three pounds.
- A landlord may not charge an additional security deposit or a pet fee, and may not require additional renter's insurance, in exchange for allowing an ESA, Division on Civil Rights guidance, adopted by the Supreme Court. The same guidance preserves the landlord's right to charge "for any actual damage the animal causes."
- A landlord may not make any written or oral inquiry or record about the disability of a prospective tenant or occupant, unless a government agency requires the information and the landlord says so clearly (N.J.A.C. 13:13-3.3).
- A landlord may not take reprisals against a tenant for opposing a practice forbidden by the LAD, for seeking legal advice about it, or for filing a complaint (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(d)).
- Total security may not exceed one and a half months' rent (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2), and any additional security collected during the tenancy is capped at 10 percent of the current deposit per year. A refundable pet deposit sits inside that ceiling.

**Can:**
- A landlord or condominium association must assess an emotional support animal request under N.J.A.C. 13:13-3.4(f)(2), and once the tenant shows a disability and that the animal may be necessary for an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling, the burden shifts: the housing provider has "the burden to prove the requested accommodation is unreasonable" (Players Place II, 256 N.J. 472 (2024)).
- Must "engage in a good-faith, interactive dialogue" while the request is considered, as both sides are expected to. A landlord who simply stops responding is not following the framework the Court set out.
- A landlord may deny only on an individualised assessment. The test is "whether allowing an ESA would fundamentally alter the housing provider's operations or impose an undue financial or administrative burden" (Players Place II; DCR ESA fact sheet, point 4).
- May still apply a no-pets policy where the accommodation analysis does not support an exception. An ESA is not automatically admitted. DCR says "unlike service or guide animals, ESAs are not automatically exempt from a housing provider’s no-pet policies." The categorical no-pets override at N.J.A.C. 13:13-3.4(c) and the statutory fee exemption at N.J.S.A. 10:5-29.2 are for trained guide and service dogs.
- Where the disability or the need for the animal is not obvious or already known, a landlord may request reliable documentation from the tenant's treating health care professional, but "cannot require that your request be in writing or that you submit documentation in a specific format" (DCR ESA fact sheet, point 3).
- The deposit must come back within 30 days of the tenancy ending, itemised, with the tenant's share of interest; a wrongly withheld deposit is recoverable at double, with costs and possible fees (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1).
- May charge pet rent and pet fees to tenants generally, because no New Jersey statute caps or bans them for anyone. The protection for an assistance animal comes from N.J.A.C. 13:13-3.4(e) and from DCR guidance the Supreme Court adopted, not from a fee statute.
- Is outside the Law Against Discrimination when renting one unit in an owner-occupied two-family house, or a room in the owner’s own one-family home (N.J.S.A. 10:5-5(n)), unless the housing is publicly assisted, which includes any building financed by a federally insured or guaranteed loan (10:5-5(m)).

## How to get an ESA letter in Passaic

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

- [Northeast New Jersey Legal Services (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic)](https://www.nnjls.org/) (legal aid)
- [NJBIAS, file a civil rights complaint with NJ DCR](https://bias.njcivilrights.gov/en-US/) (state agency)
- [DCR fact sheet: Emotional Support Animals in Housing](https://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Fact_ESA.pdf) (guidance)
- [HUD Fair Housing, contact the New York Regional Office (covers NJ)](https://www.hud.gov/contactus/fairhousing) (federal agency)

## Frequently asked questions

### Passaic is the most-rented city on this site. Does that change how a request goes?

It changes the odds that your landlord has seen one before, not the rule. With 16,123 of 21,151 occupied homes rented (76.2%, higher than any other city covered here and higher than any of New Jersey's twenty largest), almost every housing conversation in Passaic is between a tenant and a landlord. Larger buildings often have a standing pet policy and someone to send the request to. Smaller ones may have neither. Either way the same regulation applies: N.J.A.C. 13:13-3.4(f)(2) requires reasonable accommodations in "rules, policies, practices or services" where they may be necessary for equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

### My building bans animals outright. What actually has to happen next?

An individualized look at your situation. The Division on Civil Rights states that "if a resident with a disability shows that keeping an emotional support animal is necessary to afford them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, the housing provider must permit the emotional support animal, even if they have a 'no pets' policy, unless they can show that doing so would be an undue burden." Its fact sheet adds that the provider "must conduct an individualized assessment of your request." And the necessity test is more modest than people expect, the New Jersey Supreme Court framed it as "whether the accommodation will alleviate at least one symptom of the disability, not whether the accommodation will cure or eliminate the disability."

### Can a Passaic landlord add a pet fee or pet deposit for the animal?

Not for an approved emotional support animal. DCR's guidance is that a provider "cannot require you to pay an additional security deposit or pet fee, or obtain additional renter's insurance, in exchange for allowing you to keep an ESA," but "may require you to pay for any actual damage the animal causes." Note where that comes from. New Jersey has no statute banning pet fees; the section that reads as though it does, N.J.S.A. 10:5-29.2, protects only a service or guide dog, each defined by training. For an ESA, the authority is DCR's guidance as adopted by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2024, and that is how to put it to a landlord.

### Is there a City of Passaic office that handles this?

No. The city lists eleven boards and commissions: Alcoholic Beverage Control, Library Board of Trustees, Historic Preservation Commission, Housing Authority Commissioners, Parking Authority, Passaic Valley Water Commission, Planning Board, Redevelopment Agency, Rent Leveling, Urban Enterprise Zone and Zoning Board of Adjustment. Rent Leveling handles rent, not discrimination, and there is no civil rights or human relations commission on the list. Passaic County has none either, and HUD's fair housing partner roster shows a New Jersey state agency with no local entries. File with the Division on Civil Rights through bias.njcivilrights.gov or 1-833-NJDCR4U (833-653-2748); the Northern Regional Office is at 31 Clinton Street, Newark. HUD's line is 1-800-669-9777.

### What if my landlord punishes me for asking or for filing?

That is a separate violation. N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(d) makes it unlawful to take reprisals against a person because they opposed a practice forbidden by the Act, sought legal advice about their rights under it, shared information with a government entity, or filed a complaint, testified or assisted in a proceeding. DCR repeats the point in plain words on its ESA fact sheet: "No one can retaliate against you for reporting LAD violations, filing a discrimination complaint, or exercising other rights under the LAD." If the retaliation is a rent increase, a notice, or a sudden enforcement of a rule nobody applied before, write down the dates, the 180-day clock in N.J.S.A. 10:5-18 runs from the act.

### My landlord says my letter doesn't count because I got it online. Is that right?

It depends entirely on who wrote it. DCR's fact sheet says that "[d]ocumentation obtained from the Internet that does not come from a treating healthcare professional generally will not be sufficiently reliable to support the need for an ESA." The target is the source, not the delivery method. A letter emailed by a clinician who treats you is documentation from a treating health care professional. What fails is a document produced by someone who has never assessed you. The same guidance also limits the landlord: it "cannot require that your request be in writing or that you submit documentation in a specific format."

### Should I ask before the animal moves in?

Where you can, yes, the New Jersey Supreme Court said so directly. Residents "who act on their own run the risk of losing the animal if they cannot make the required showing later," and "[w]hen possible, it is preferable to engage in a collaborative conversation in advance." The Court also expects both sides to "engage in a good-faith, interactive dialogue," which is easier to evidence when there is a request on record and a reply, or a silence, following it. None of that means an animal already living with you is unprotected; it means the strongest version of the request is the one made early and in writing.

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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=new-jersey-emotional-support-animal%2Fpassaic