# ESA Letter in Evanston, WY: The Rights That Stack

> An ESA letter in Evanston rests on three duties at once — W.S. 35-13-201(c), W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii) and federal law. W.S. 40-26-113(b) keeps all three alive.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/wyoming-emotional-support-animal/evanston/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 11,691
- Households renting: 28.7%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): No statutory ceiling at all
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): Varies; no statutory limit
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Closer to Salt Lake City than to its own capital

Evanston sits in the far southwest corner of Wyoming, in Uinta County, hard
against the Utah line, about 80 miles from Salt Lake City and most of the
width of the state away from Cheyenne. The geography shapes the town, not
the law covering an assistance animal in a rental here, which is Wyoming's,
and stacked three deep.

Of **4,526** occupied households, **1,301 ± 209** are rented on the Census
Bureau's 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates: **28.7
percent**, a shade above the **28.2 percent** statewide figure, in a city of
**11,691**. Median gross rent is **$805 ± $105**, well under the **$992**
Wyoming median. Among the twenty Wyoming cities covered in this series,
Evanston ranks tenth on renter households and fifteenth on renter share.

## The quiet sentence in Title 40

A tenant in Evanston who needs an assistance animal is covered by three
separate provisions in three separate places, and one sentence in the
Wyoming Fair Housing Act keeps them from collapsing into one.

**W.S. 40-26-113(b)**, the Act's effect-on-other-law provision, says the chapter "does not affect a
requirement of nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law."

The Act, enacted in 2015 as Title 40, chapter 26, is additive: it did not
repeal what came before it, it is not the exclusive route, and nothing
inside chapter 26 reaches a duty living outside it.

## Layer one: Title 35, where emotional support is named outright

**W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv)** defines "assistance animal" as an animal that "works, provides assistance
or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that
alleviates one (1) or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability."

The second branch carries no training requirement. And the section opens "As used in this
article", which matters, because the housing sentence sits in that same article:

> "A person shall not be discriminated against in the leasing or rental of residential property
> because the person has an assistance animal, which shall be permitted in leased or rented
> residential property in accordance with the federal Fair Housing Act."

That is **W.S. 35-13-201(c)**, and the definition reaches it: an emotional support animal in an
Evanston rental is an assistance animal as Wyoming's own statute uses the word, not by analogy but
by the text. The subsection's second sentence leaves the tenant "liable for any damage done by his
assistance animal to the premises."

## Layer two: the accommodation duty in the state Fair Housing Act

Chapter 26 never mentions animals; it does something more general. **W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii)** makes
discrimination include "a refusal to make a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices
or services if the accommodation may be necessary to afford the individual equal opportunity to use
and enjoy a dwelling."

A no-pets clause in an Evanston lease is a rule; setting it aside for an assistance animal is the
accommodation. **W.S. 40-26-107(b)** reaches the "terms, conditions or privileges" of a rental,
which is where a recurring charge lives. **W.S. 40-26-107(f)** marks the outer edge: no duty where
the tenancy "would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals" or
"would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others." Those are findings about a
particular tenancy.

## Layer three: the federal floor both state provisions point at

**42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)** is the federal reasonable-accommodation duty, and it has applied to
housing in Evanston far longer than either Wyoming provision has existed. The state law ties itself
back to it deliberately: W.S. 35-13-201(c) does not simply permit an assistance animal, but one "in
accordance with the federal Fair Housing Act."

## What happens when one of the three switches off

Here is where W.S. 40-26-113(b) earns its keep, because chapter 26 carries
exemptions.

**W.S. 40-26-110(a)** lifts sections 40-26-103 through -109 for an owner of not more than three
single-family houses renting without a broker and without a prohibited advertisement.
**W.S. 40-26-110(b)** exempts "W.S. 40-26-103 and 40-26-105 through 40-26-109" for a building of not
more than four families where the owner occupies one of them. Both of those ranges contain
40-26-107, the accommodation section itself.

Suppose one of them fits a small Evanston rental. Layer two goes quiet. An
exemption written into chapter 26 is an exemption from chapter 26's
sections. It says nothing about **W.S. 35-13-201(c)**, which sits in Title
35, and it cannot say anything about a federal statute, because that
sentence expressly disclaims any effect there.

Whether the federal duty reaches one particular small landlord is a question
federal law answers on its own terms. One to put to Legal Aid of Wyoming
rather than guess at. The state-law half is plain on the face of the
provisions: an exemption switches off one layer, not three.

## Naming all three in the request

Because the layers stand independently, a request naming only one can be
answered by knocking out one thing. Put all three in the letter.

- **W.S. 35-13-201(c)**, with the definition at **W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv)** quoted, so nobody argues
  about whether an emotional support animal counts under Wyoming law.
- **W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii)**, where the phrase "reasonable accommodation" actually appears in the
  Wyoming statutes.
- **42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)**, the federal duty underneath both.

Date it, ask for a decision in writing, and describe what the animal does
for an identified symptom rather than what it means to you. Avoid the word
"pet" anywhere in the document: a pet is precisely what a no-pets rule may
exclude.

## The fee argument travels on the same three layers

A flat pet deposit takes a larger bite out of Evanston's $805 median than
out of Cheyenne's $1,118, and Wyoming caps deposits at nothing at all,
**W.S. 1-21-1207** requires only that a rental agreement state any
nonrefundable portion, and that written notice be given when the deposit is
taken.

The words "pet" and "animal" appear nowhere in Wyoming's Residential Rental
Property Act, W.S. 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211, so there is no pet-deposit
rule with an assistance-animal exception carved into it. The charge comes
off through the layers instead: 40-26-107(b) for a monthly premium,
40-26-107(c)(ii) for a deposit imposed as policy, the federal duty beneath
both. Actual damage stays with the tenant, exactly as W.S. 35-13-201(c)
says.

## If the answer in Evanston is no

Evanston has a public housing authority, less ordinary here than it sounds:
Wyoming 211's housing-authority directory lists six for the whole state:
Cheyenne, Casper, Jackson/Teton, Rock Springs, Hanna and Evanston. The
Evanston Housing Authority appears there at 155 Apache Drive, Suite A,
Evanston, WY 82930, (307) 789-2381. It has no website of its own, so that
directory entry is where to check the details.

A discrimination complaint is different. **W.S. 40-26-102(a)(viii)** defines the Act's
"enforcing authority" as a Wyoming agency or nonprofit that HUD has accepted, and in January 2025
the Wyoming Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reported that the Governor
"has not yet assigned enforcement authority of the Wyoming Fair Housing Act to any state or local
entity." Wyoming residents, the same report found, "are required to submit their complaint to the
HUD's Denver Regional Office in the neighboring state of Colorado." The state route needs no agency
at all: **W.S. 40-26-139(a)** allows a civil action
in district court not later than the second year after the occurrence or termination of the
practice, with nothing to exhaust first.

## Three statutes, one request

Every layer asks the same two things of a document. W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv)
describes a disability, and an animal that alleviates one or more
**identified** symptoms or effects of it. Identified means somebody
qualified made a finding.

If a licensed professional already treats you, ask them first. That letter
carries a treatment history behind it, and asking costs nothing. The
friction deserves naming: Wyoming's specialist mental-health capacity thins
out quickly away from Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie, and Evanston is a long
way from all three; new-patient waits run into weeks; and a clinician who
has seen you twice may properly decide they cannot make a disability finding
on that much contact. That is not obstruction. It is someone declining to
write past what they know.

Where that route is closed or too slow, a licensed evaluation is the same
assessment arranged on purpose. A licensed provider determines whether a
disability exists and whether this animal answers an identified part of it,
then records both findings, or says they will not, which is a real ending
and part of why documentation from a genuine assessment holds up. A
certificate bought without an assessment does the opposite: it puts the
tenant, not the seller, on the wrong side of **W.S. 35-13-203(b)**, a
misdemeanor for knowingly and intentionally misrepresenting an animal as an
assistance animal to obtain rights under the article.

Three statutes protect an Evanston tenancy at once. One request, properly
evidenced, invokes them all.

## What Evanston landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- Cannot 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 a dwelling: W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii).
- Cannot discriminate in the leasing or rental of residential property because the person has an assistance animal, W.S. 35-13-201(c). Wyoming defines that animal to include one that provides emotional support, at W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv).
- Cannot treat an assistance animal as a pet for the purpose of a deposit or a monthly charge. Wyoming's landlord-tenant statute says nothing about animals at all, so the charge comes off under W.S. 40-26-107(b) and (c)(ii) and 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f) rather than under a deposit rule.
- Cannot discriminate in the terms, conditions or privileges of a rental, or in the services and facilities provided with it, because of disability: W.S. 40-26-107(b). This is the provision that reaches recurring pet rent.
- Cannot require training, certification or registration of an assistance animal. W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv)'s emotional-support branch has no training element, and no Wyoming registry exists.
- Cannot interfere with the rights in W.S. 35-13-201(a) through (c), doing so is a misdemeanor under W.S. 35-13-203(a), with a fine of up to $750.
- Cannot keep a deposit without delivering a written itemization within thirty days of termination, or fifteen days after receiving the renter's new mailing address, whichever is later: W.S. 1-21-1208(a).
- Cannot take a nonrefundable deposit silently. W.S. 1-21-1207 requires the rental agreement to state that a portion is nonrefundable and requires written notice when it is taken.

**Can:**
- May hold the tenant liable for damage the assistance animal actually does to the premises, W.S. 35-13-201(c) says so expressly. That is a bill for real damage, not a charge in advance.
- May take a further thirty days to return a deposit if there is damage to the unit, making sixty days lawful in that case, W.S. 1-21-1208(a).
- May decline 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, W.S. 40-26-107(f).
- May be outside the Wyoming Fair Housing Act's disability duty if the building holds four families or fewer and the owner lives in one of them, W.S. 40-26-110(b) exempts sections 40-26-105 through 40-26-109. W.S. 35-13-201(c) and the federal Act are not switched off by it.
- May charge a nonrefundable pet deposit to a tenant with an ordinary pet, with no cap in dollars or months, provided it is disclosed. Wyoming sets no deposit ceiling anywhere.

## How to get an ESA letter in Evanston

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

- [Wyoming 211 - Housing Authority directory](https://search.wyoming211.org/search?query=BH-8300.3000&query_label=Housing+Authority&query_type=taxonomy) (housing directory)
- [Legal Aid of Wyoming - Housing](https://www.lawyoming.org/housing) (legal aid)
- [City of Evanston](https://www.evanstonwy.org/) (city government)
- [Uinta County](https://www.uintacountywy.gov/) (county government)

## Frequently asked questions

### Which laws should an Evanston request letter actually name?

Three, because three apply at the same time. W.S. 35-13-201(c) in Title 35 bars discrimination in the leasing or rental of residential property because the person has an assistance animal, and W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv) defines that animal to include one providing emotional support. W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii) in the Wyoming Fair Housing Act makes a refusal to make a reasonable accommodation a discriminatory practice. And 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B) is the federal duty underneath both. Name all three: a request built on one of them can be answered by knocking out one thing.

### My Evanston landlord says the Fair Housing Act does not apply to him. Is that the end of it?

Not on the state-law side. The Wyoming Fair Housing Act does carry exemptions - W.S. 40-26-110(a) for an owner of not more than three single-family houses renting without a broker or a prohibited advertisement, and W.S. 40-26-110(b) for a building of not more than four families where the owner lives in one. Both of those exempt ranges include W.S. 40-26-107. But W.S. 40-26-113(b) says the chapter "does not affect a requirement of nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law." An exemption from chapter 26 is an exemption from chapter 26's sections. W.S. 35-13-201(c) is in Title 35 and is untouched by it.

### Does Wyoming law cover an emotional support animal by name, or only a trained one?

By name, and with no training requirement on that branch. W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv) defines an assistance animal as one that works, provides assistance or performs tasks for a person with a disability, "or provides emotional support that alleviates one (1) or more identified symptoms or effects of a person's disability." The section opens "As used in this article," and W.S. 35-13-201(c) - the leasing and renting sentence - is in that same article, so the definition reaches housing directly rather than by analogy.

### Can an Evanston landlord charge a pet deposit or monthly pet rent for an assistance animal?

The fee argument here is a fair-housing argument, not a landlord-tenant one. Wyoming sets no deposit cap anywhere in its statutes, and the words pet and animal never appear in the Residential Rental Property Act, so there is no deposit rule carrying an assistance-animal carve-out. The charge comes off under W.S. 40-26-107(b), which reaches the terms, conditions and privileges of a rental, under W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii), and under the federal duty at 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B). A tenant still owes for actual damage: W.S. 35-13-201(c) says so in its second sentence.

### Is there ever a lawful reason to refuse the request?

Yes, and the statute is narrow about it. W.S. 40-26-107(f) removes the duty where the tenancy "would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals" or "would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others." Those are conclusions about a specific tenancy, reached on evidence. A landlord who has not made that finding, and who is not covered by an exemption, is looking at W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii) and at W.S. 35-13-201(c)'s instruction that the animal shall be permitted.

### Is there a housing authority in Evanston?

Yes, which is not the case in most of Wyoming. Wyoming 211's housing-authority directory lists six across the whole state - Cheyenne, Casper, Jackson/Teton, Rock Springs, Hanna and Evanston. The Evanston Housing Authority is listed there at 155 Apache Drive, Suite A, Evanston, WY 82930, phone (307) 789-2381. It has no website of its own, so the 211 directory entry is the place to check the listing before going in. Note that a housing authority administers housing programs; it is not an enforcement body for a discrimination complaint.

### If the answer is no, who in Wyoming handles the complaint?

No Wyoming agency does. The Act hands every complaint function to an "enforcing authority" that W.S. 40-26-102(a)(viii) says must be accepted by HUD, and none ever has been - a point the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' Wyoming Advisory Committee put on the record in January 2025, noting that complaints from this state travel to HUD's Denver Regional Office instead. So the one-year clock in W.S. 40-26-118 points at an empty desk. What an Evanston tenant uses is the court: two years under W.S. 40-26-139, with no requirement to file anywhere first.

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