# ESA Letter in Springfield, OR: If It Isn't Written, It Isn't Owed

> Oregon requires deposits and fees to appear in the written rental agreement. In a market of informal landlords, that rule does more work than any other.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 61,182
- Households renting: 45%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Barred as accommodation
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $25-$40/mo for pets
- Breed/weight limits common: sometimes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Eugene's affordable half

Springfield rents 11,345 of its 25,210 occupied homes, 45.0 percent on the
2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate, eight points above the
36.7 percent Oregon figure. Median gross rent is **$1,258**, the second-lowest of
the state's twenty largest cities behind Grants Pass, and $267 below the statewide
$1,525.

The 2024 Census estimate puts the city at 61,182, tenth in Oregon. Springfield
sits across the Willamette from Eugene and functions as its cheaper half: a great
many households who work or study in Eugene live here because of that $267.

What comes with the price is a different kind of landlord. Springfield's stock is
older, smaller and far more likely to be owned by an individual than by a
management company: single houses, converted duplexes, manufactured homes on
private lots. Deals get done on a handshake and a one-page agreement. Deposits are
collected in cash or by transfer without a breakdown. Charges appear at move-out
that nobody mentioned at move-in.

Oregon has statutes for exactly this, and they are unusually blunt.

## Two sentences worth memorising

The first is about deposits. ORS 90.300(3):

> "A written rental agreement, if any, must list a security deposit paid by a
> tenant or required by a landlord."

The second is about everything else. ORS 90.302(1):

> "A landlord may not charge a fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an
> anticipated landlord expense and may not require the payment of any fee except
> as provided in this section. **A fee must be described in a written rental
> agreement.**"

That last sentence is the one that matters most in an informal market. It is not
conditional on the fee being unreasonable, or excessive, or aimed at your animal.
A fee that is not described in a written rental agreement is not a fee Oregon
permits, and the argument ends there without anybody having to characterise
anyone's motives.

Note the honest limit on the first sentence. "**If any**", Oregon does not compel
a written rental agreement in every tenancy. What it says is that where there is
one, the deposit has to be in it. A genuinely verbal tenancy does not fall outside
the world; it means the deposit rule has less to bite on, while the fee rule in
90.302(1) still requires a written agreement before any fee is owed at all.

## Why this matters more than the animal rule

For most Springfield tenants with an assistance animal, the fight is not going to
be about ORS 659A.145. It is going to be about a number.

The animal rule itself is straightforward. ORS 90.300(4): a landlord "may not
charge a tenant a pet security deposit for keeping a service animal or companion
animal that a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation
under fair housing laws." Clear enough.

But an individual landlord with no written pet policy does not charge you a "pet
deposit." They quote a deposit of $1,400 where the previous tenant paid $900, and
call it a deposit. Nothing is labelled. Nothing is itemised. There is no line
called "pet" for the statute to strike out.

Which is why the test under 90.300(4) is comparative rather than numerical.
Oregon does not cap security deposits. What it forbids is a deposit that is larger
**because of** the animal. And ORS 659A.145(2)(c) says the same thing from the
other side, barring "any distinction or restriction against a purchaser in the
price, terms, conditions or privileges relating to the ... rental, lease or
occupancy of real property" because of a disability.

A comparison needs two figures. So get the first one.

## Ask for the number before you mention the animal

This is the single most useful practical step in a Springfield tenancy, and it
costs nothing.

Before disclosing the animal, ask the landlord to confirm the rent and the deposit
in writing. A text message is enough. It is an entirely ordinary request that no
honest landlord refuses, and it produces the figure everything else gets measured
against.

Then make the accommodation request, in writing, and see what the number does. If
it does not move, you have an ordinary tenancy. If it moves, you have a document
showing precisely when and by how much, which is the difference between a
grievance and a case.

Keep the same habit at the end. If charges appear at move-out, separate the two
questions rather than arguing them together. **Is this a fee Oregon permits, and
was it described in a written rental agreement?**. That is ORS 90.302. **Was it
applied to me because of the animal?**. That is ORS 659A.145(2)(c). The first
question is often enough on its own, and it does not require you to prove anything
about what the landlord was thinking.

## Two things Springfield landlords get wrong in good faith

**"Training."** Oregon's trained-animal definition sits in ORS 659A.143(1)(a),
opens with the words "As used in this section," and governs places of public
accommodation and access to state government services. Housing is ORS 659A.145,
which contains no animal definition and no training requirement. A landlord who
has read about service dogs on a federal website has read about a different law
and a different kind of place.

**"I'm not a real landlord."** ORS 659A.145 has no owner-occupied exemption and no
small-landlord exemption in its text. The only exemptions in ORS 659A.421, the
section supplying its definitions, concern sex where bath or bedroom facilities
would necessarily be shared, and familial status in housing for older persons.
Neither touches disability. Someone renting out the house they grew up in is
inside the statute in exactly the way a management company is, and usually has no
idea.

Neither of these is usually malice. Both are worth correcting in writing, calmly,
early, because a landlord who did not know is often perfectly willing once they
do, and a written exchange is also the record you would need if they are not.

## And the thing all of it rests on

Underneath the paperwork argument sits an unpaperworked fact. ORS 90.300(4)
protects an animal a tenant requires as an accommodation; ORS 659A.145(2)(g)
asks whether one may be necessary because of a disability. Oregon lists no
professions, maintains no registry and prescribes no form, so the substance
carries the entire load.

If you have a therapist, counsellor or prescriber, ask them first. They know your
history, the assessment is largely done, and it costs nothing beyond the
appointment. Lane County's real constraint is capacity, several-month waits are
ordinary on the Springfield side of the river, and some practices decline housing
documentation as policy.

Where it is not open, a licensed evaluation is the same examination arranged for
the purpose. A clinician licensed in Oregon considers whether a disability is
present and whether this animal accommodates it, and issues a finding either
way. A guaranteed approval is a receipt, not a finding.

In a market that runs on handshakes, having something real written down is most of
the advantage. The determination is the one document that makes the deposit
question a legal question rather than a negotiation with somebody who owns two
houses and has never been asked before.

## What Springfield landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- May not refuse to make a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services where it is necessary to give a disabled tenant equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling: ORS 659A.145(2)(g). A no-pets policy is a rule, and the accommodation is an exception to it.
- May not charge a pet security deposit for a service animal or companion animal the tenant requires as a reasonable accommodation, ORS 90.300(4), which names the companion animal in the statute itself.
- May not charge any fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated expense, and may charge only the fees ORS 90.302 lists, each described in a written rental agreement.
- May not make a distinction or restriction against a renter in the price, terms, conditions or privileges of the tenancy because of disability: ORS 659A.145(2)(c).

**Can:**
- May still charge a noncompliance fee for failure to clean up a service or companion animal's waste from common areas, but only after a written warning notice, only for a second or later occurrence within a year, and capped at $50 under ORS 90.302(3).
- May still hold the tenant liable for damage the animal actually does, and may still take an ordinary security deposit, provided it is not larger because of the animal.
- Faces a disparate-impact claim under ORS 659A.425 where a facially neutral policy hits disabled tenants harder than tenants generally, weighed against the policy's business purpose and any less discriminatory alternative.

## How to get an ESA letter in Springfield

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

- [Homes for Good](https://homesforgood.org/) (housing authority)
- [Fair Housing Council of Oregon](https://www.fhco.org/) (fair housing nonprofit)
- [Legal Aid Services of Oregon](https://lasoregon.org/) (legal aid)
- [Oregon Housing and Community Services, Renter Resources](https://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/housing-assistance/Pages/renter-resources.aspx) (state agency)

## Frequently asked questions

### My landlord took a deposit but nothing is written down. Is that lawful?

ORS 90.300(3) provides that "a written rental agreement, if any, must list a security deposit paid by a tenant or required by a landlord." The words "if any" matter: Oregon does not compel a written agreement in every tenancy, but where there is one, the deposit has to be in it. A deposit collected outside a written agreement that has one is a deposit the statute says should have been listed, and that is a useful thing to be able to say.

### Can a fee be charged if it is not in my lease?

No. ORS 90.302(1) is explicit: "A landlord may not charge a fee at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated landlord expense and may not require the payment of any fee except as provided in this section. A fee must be described in a written rental agreement." Both halves apply: the fee has to be one the section permits, and it has to be written down. An undocumented charge fails on the second point without needing an argument about the first.

### Can a Springfield landlord charge a pet deposit for my assistance animal?

No. ORS 90.300(4) provides that a landlord "may not charge a tenant a pet security deposit for keeping a service animal or companion animal that a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation under fair housing laws." An ordinary security deposit stays lawful (Oregon sets no cap on it), but it may not be larger because of the animal, and where there is a written agreement it must be listed in it.

### How would I show that my deposit went up because of the animal?

The test is comparative, so the evidence is comparative. What was the deposit quoted as before the animal was mentioned, and what was it after? A listing, a text message, an application form or an earlier draft of the lease does that work. Where a landlord keeps no paper at all, ask for the deposit figure in writing before disclosing the animal. That is a request nobody can reasonably refuse and it makes the comparison possible.

### Does my animal need training to qualify in Springfield?

No. Oregon put the training language in ORS 659A.143 and fenced it there. That section governs public accommodations; ORS 659A.145 governs real property transactions, and it contains no animal definition and no training standard.

### My landlord owns two houses and does everything informally. Are they covered by fair housing law?

Not under state law. ORS 659A.145 contains no threshold and no owner-occupancy provision. Its definitions come from ORS 659A.421, whose only two exemptions concern shared bath or bedroom facilities between unrelated people of opposite sex, and familial status in older-persons housing. Disability is in neither.

### What do I do if charges appear at move-out that were never mentioned?

Separate the two questions. Whether the charge is permitted at all is ORS 90.302, was it a fee the section allows, and was it described in a written rental agreement. Whether it was targeted at the animal is ORS 659A.145(2)(c), which bars a distinction in "the price, terms, conditions or privileges" because of a disability. A complaint to the Bureau of Labor and Industries under ORS 659A.820(2) must be filed within one year of the practice.

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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=oregon-emotional-support-animal%2Fspringfield