# ESA Letter in Mills, WY: Two Statutes, One Leased Lot

> Wyoming's rental act excludes a mobile home lot. W.S. 40-26-102(a)(vii) includes one. An ESA letter in Mills matters more on leased ground, not less.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 4,584
- Households renting: 24.9%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): No Wyoming statutory ceiling
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): Set in the lease, uncapped
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Four hundred and sixty households, and every one of them rents

Mills sits on the western edge of Casper, in Natrona County, and it holds
the smallest rental market of the twenty Wyoming cities covered here. The
Census Bureau's 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates put
**460 renter-occupied homes** in town, give or take 127, fewer than any
other city on the list. Out of 1,847 occupied households in a population of
4,584, that works out to a **24.9 percent** renter share against **28.2
percent** statewide, eighteenth of the twenty.

Price does not follow size. The median gross rent estimate here is
**$1,073**, plus or minus $75, above the **$992** Wyoming median and
third-highest of the twenty. Only six of those cities rent above the state
figure, and this is one.

Small market, high price, and, for anyone who owns the home and rents the
ground beneath it, two Wyoming statutes that answer the same question in
opposite directions.

## The same tenant, defined twice

Wyoming has one statute about renting and another about discrimination in
housing. They do not share a vocabulary, and on one particular tenancy they
part company outright.

**W.S. 1-21-1201(a)(iv)**, in the Residential Rental Property Act, defines a "residential rental
unit" as a renter's principal place of residence: "**excluding a mobile home lot** or recreational
property rented on an occasional basis."

**W.S. 40-26-102(a)(vii)**, in the Wyoming Fair Housing Act, defines "dwelling" so that it
"**includes a lot leased for the purpose of placing on the lot a transportable home**."

One writes the leased lot out by name. The other writes it in by name. A
Wyoming tenant on leased ground is outside one Act and inside the other at
the same moment, and which is which decides where the argument has to be
made.

## What the exclusion takes away

Start with the subtraction. If the tenancy is ground rather than a unit, the
Residential Rental Property Act's machinery does not reach it:

- **W.S. 1-21-1208(a)**, the deposit section: balance and written itemization within thirty days
  of termination or fifteen days after the owner has the renter's new mailing address, whichever is
  later, extended by another thirty days where there is damage.
- **W.S. 1-21-1207**, which requires a rental agreement to state whether any part of a deposit is
  nonrefundable and requires written notice when the deposit is taken.
- **W.S. 1-21-1202(a)**, the habitability duty: safe, sanitary, fit for human habitation, with
  operational electrical, heating and plumbing systems and hot and cold running water unless the
  parties agree otherwise in writing.

None of that was ever an assistance-animal provision. Neither "pet" nor "animal" occurs anywhere in
W.S. 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211, so nothing about an animal leaves with the exclusion. It still
matters: nothing in a Wyoming lot tenancy can be argued from the rental act.

## What the Fair Housing Act hands back

Now the inclusion. Because W.S. 40-26-102(a)(vii) puts the leased lot inside the definition of
"dwelling," everything the Wyoming Fair Housing Act does for a dwelling it does for that lot.

That starts with **W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii)**, which makes discrimination out of "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-animals
rule on the property is a rule. The accommodation is an exception to it. The lot is a dwelling
because the definition says the word.

It brings **W.S. 40-26-107(b)** with it: the terms, conditions and
privileges of a rental, and the services and facilities that go with it,
which is where a recurring animal charge lands. And it brings the boundary
at **W.S. 40-26-107(f)**: no duty where the tenancy would be a direct threat
to the health or safety of other individuals, or would cause substantial
physical damage to the property of others.

## The provision that never used either definition

There is a third statute, and it answers to neither Act's dictionary. **W.S. 35-13-201(c)** says 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."

Residential property. Not "residential rental unit." Title 35 sets its own terms and is not limited
by the Residential Rental Property Act's definitions at all, so the carve-out in W.S. 1-21-1201(a)(iv)
has nothing here to bite on.

**W.S. 40-26-113(b)** closes the loop from the other direction: the Fair Housing Act chapter "does
not affect a requirement of nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law." Whatever Title 35
requires, Title 40 leaves standing beside it.

## The animal Wyoming names outright

**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**."

That second branch is the emotional support animal, written into Wyoming law by description, with
no training attached to it. And because the definitions section opens "As used in this article," it
governs W.S. 35-13-201(c) in the same article, the leasing sentence itself. Underneath both sits
the federal duty at **42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)**.

## Why the request carries more weight on a lot, not less

Put the two definitions together and the practical conclusion is not the
discouraging one. On a leased lot the landlord-tenant statute is thin: no
itemization deadline, no disclosure rule, no habitability section. The
statute that still travels with the tenant is the fair-housing one, and the
fair-housing statute works through a request.

So the accommodation request is not one option among several here. It is the
mechanism. Put it in writing, name **W.S. 40-26-102(a)(vii)** first because
the definition is the whole point, then **W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii)**, **W.S.
35-13-201(c)** and the federal provision, and attach documentation from a
licensed professional. Keep a dated copy. Wyoming has no agency holding a
file on your behalf.

Read the second sentence of W.S. 35-13-201(c) while you are in there: the tenant "shall be liable
for any damage done by his assistance animal to the premises or facilities." Liability after the
fact. Not a price for permission.

## Where a Mills renter turns

Mills has no housing authority of its own. The **Casper Housing Authority**,
at 140 East K Street, is the nearest of Wyoming's six public housing
authorities; whether it is the right office for a particular household is a
question to put to it directly rather than assume. The **Town of Mills** and
**Natrona County** are the local government contacts, and **Legal Aid of
Wyoming** takes housing matters statewide.

What none of them is, is a fair-housing enforcement agency. Wyoming has designated none, and the
Wyoming Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reported in January 2025 that
residents "are required to submit their complaint to the HUD's Denver Regional Office in the
neighboring state of Colorado." The court route is separate: **W.S. 40-26-139** allows a civil
action in district court within two years, with nothing to exhaust first.

## What has to be in your hand before any of it works

The accommodation duty does not operate on a bare request. W.S.
35-13-205(a)(iv) asks for two things to be established: that a disability
exists, and that this animal alleviates one or more **identified** symptoms
or effects of it. Identified means named and specific, by someone licensed
to name them.

If a clinician already treats you, begin there. They hold the history, and
that makes their documentation the strongest version of this record
available. Then weigh what the route costs. Wyoming's specialist
mental-health capacity thins out beyond Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie, a
first appointment can sit weeks away, and a provider who has met you twice
may say, reasonably, that they are not positioned to make a disability
finding. That is professional judgment, and it leaves the two findings still
unmade.

A licensed evaluation is that same assessment booked deliberately rather
than hoped for. A licensed professional works out whether a disability
exists, whether this animal answers an identified part of it, and issues
documentation where the assessment supports it. Sometimes it does not, and
the evaluation says so. That possibility is what separates the document from
a certificate sold off a web form, which establishes neither finding, and
which **W.S. 35-13-203(b)** makes a misdemeanor where someone knowingly and
intentionally uses it to claim rights under the article.

## Same lot, two statutes

The rental act steps back from a leased lot. The fair-housing act steps onto
it and calls it by name. For a tenant who owns the home and rents the
ground, that is the entire map: the protection that stays is the duty to
accommodate, and the duty to accommodate runs on paper.

Two statutes, one lot. Get the document right and only one of them still has
anything to say.

## What Mills 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 Mills

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Mills. 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 Mills. (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 Mills

- [Town of Mills](https://www.millswy.gov/) (city government)
- [Natrona County](https://www.natronacounty-wy.gov/) (county government)
- [Casper Housing Authority](https://www.chaoffice.org/) (local housing authority)
- [Legal Aid of Wyoming - Housing](https://www.lawyoming.org/housing) (legal aid)

## Frequently asked questions

### I own my home and rent the lot it sits on. Does Wyoming's rental act cover me?

Not on its own terms. W.S. 1-21-1201(a)(iv) defines a "residential rental unit" as a principal place of residence, "excluding a mobile home lot or recreational property rented on an occasional basis." That exclusion takes the Residential Rental Property Act's machinery off a lot tenancy - the deposit itemization deadlines in W.S. 1-21-1208(a), the nonrefundable-portion disclosure in W.S. 1-21-1207, and the habitability duty in W.S. 1-21-1202(a). It is a narrow exclusion about one Act, not a statement that a lot tenant has no rights.

### Then which Wyoming statute does reach a leased lot?

The Wyoming Fair Housing Act, and it says so by name. W.S. 40-26-102(a)(vii) defines "dwelling" so that it "includes a lot leased for the purpose of placing on the lot a transportable home." Once the lot is a dwelling, W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii)'s duty to make a reasonable accommodation applies to it, along with W.S. 40-26-107(b) on the terms, conditions and privileges of the rental. Two statutes, opposite answers, same tenant - and the one that still travels is the fair-housing one.

### Does W.S. 35-13-201(c) apply to a lot too, or only to an apartment?

It uses its own words. W.S. 35-13-201(c) bars discrimination "in the leasing or rental of residential property because the person has an assistance animal," and says the animal "shall be permitted in leased or rented residential property in accordance with the federal Fair Housing Act." That phrase is "residential property," not "residential rental unit," and Title 35 is not limited by the Residential Rental Property Act's definitions. W.S. 40-26-113(b) adds that the Fair Housing Act chapter "does not affect a requirement of nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law."

### Does Wyoming law count an emotional support animal, or only a trained one?

It counts one by description. 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." No training appears on that second branch. Because the definitions section opens "As used in this article," it governs W.S. 35-13-201(c) in the same article - the sentence about leasing and renting.

### Can a Mills landlord charge a deposit or monthly fee for an assistance animal?

Not as the price of the accommodation. Wyoming caps no deposit anywhere in its statutes, and there is no state limit on a monthly animal charge, so a Mills lease may set high numbers for a pet. An assistance animal is not a pet for this purpose: W.S. 40-26-107(b) reaches the terms, conditions and privileges of a rental, W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii) covers a policy that has to bend, and 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) sits underneath both. W.S. 35-13-201(c) still makes the tenant liable for damage the animal actually does.

### Is there a housing authority in Mills?

No. The Casper Housing Authority at 140 East K Street is the nearest of Wyoming's six public housing authorities, and whether it is the right office for a particular household is a question to put to it directly rather than assume from the map. The Town of Mills and Natrona County are the local government contacts. Legal Aid of Wyoming handles housing matters statewide and is the place to start on a lot-tenancy question, since the applicable statute is not the obvious one.

### If a Mills landlord refuses the accommodation, what happens next?

The state's answer runs through a court, not an agency. W.S. 40-26-139 allows a civil action in district court not later than the second year after the occurrence or termination of the practice, and subsection (c) makes it available without exhausting anything first. W.S. 40-26-140 puts actual and punitive damages, fees and costs on the table, and W.S. 40-26-143 runs fees to the prevailing party in either direction - worth reading before filing, not after. Wyoming has designated no fair-housing enforcing authority, so there is no state agency alternative.

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