# ESA Letter in Sheridan, WY: When the Owner Lives Downstairs

> W.S. 40-26-110(b) lifts the state accommodation duty off an owner-occupied fourplex. A Sheridan ESA letter still has two statutes standing behind it.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 19,813
- Households renting: 37.9%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): No cap; exemption aside
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $25-$50/mo where charged
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## The owner lives downstairs

Picture the building this page is about: four units, and the owner living in
one of them. If that is your tenancy, one subsection of Wyoming law changes
which statutes you are arguing under, and almost nothing written about fair
housing in this state stops to mention it.

Sheridan rents heavily by Wyoming standards. Of **8,601** occupied homes,
**3,258** are rented: **37.9 percent** on the Census Bureau's 2020–2024
American Community Survey five-year estimates, against **28.2 percent** for
the state as a whole, and a share Sheridan holds tied with Wheatland.
Counted in households, this is the **fifth-largest renter market in
Wyoming**, in a city of **19,813**. Median gross rent is **$936**, give or
take **$89**, under the **$992** statewide median, which is not what you
would expect from a town that rents this much.

## Read the number range out loud

**W.S. 40-26-110(b)** lifts part of the Wyoming Fair Housing Act off a particular kind of building.
The part is written as a list of section numbers, and the list is the entire point:

> "W.S. 40-26-103 and 40-26-105 through 40-26-109"

The building it applies to is a dwelling of **not more than four families**
where the owner maintains and occupies one of the units as a residence.

Now count the second half of that range aloud: 105, 106, **107**, 108, 109. **W.S. 40-26-107** is
the disability section. It holds subsection (c)(ii) (discrimination includes "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"), and subsection
(b), the terms-and-conditions provision a monthly pet charge runs into.

So a genuinely owner-occupied Wyoming fourplex sits outside the state Act's
accommodation duty. Not because that duty is thin; on the page it is the
federal standard word for word. Because the legislature wrote a range, and
107 is inside it.

## The section deliberately left out of the list

Look at what the range skips. It opens at 103, jumps straight to 105, and
never names **W.S. 40-26-104**, the advertising bar. That section survives
the exemption untouched. The owner of a Sheridan fourplex can be outside the
accommodation sections and still squarely inside the one governing what a
listing may say.

A range written as "103 and 105 through 109" cannot be an accident. Somebody stepped over one
number on purpose. The exemption is a narrow carve-out, not a general release from the chapter.

## The first statute the exemption cannot reach

**W.S. 40-26-110(b)** sits in Title 40, chapter 26. It exempts sections of Title 40, chapter 26. It
does not, and textually cannot, switch off anything outside its own chapter.

**W.S. 35-13-201(c)** is outside it: "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." Different title, different chapter, different article. The Title 40 exemption never names it
and has no mechanism that could.

The animal that sentence protects is defined at **W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv)** as one that works 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 on that second
branch. And because the definitions section opens "As used in this article," it governs 201(c),
which sits in the same article.

Sentence two of 201(c) deserves the same breath: the tenant "shall be liable for any damage done by
his assistance animal to the premises." A statute that hands you the repair bill expects the animal
to be in the building.

## The second: the federal Act answers only to itself

The federal Fair Housing Act carries exemptions of its own. They were
drafted separately, they turn on their own conditions, and no Wyoming
statute decides how they apply.

That matters in one direction. When a Sheridan owner-occupier answers a request with "I live here,
so I'm exempt," he has made a claim about **W.S. 40-26-110(b)** and nothing else. Whether a federal
exemption reaches the same fourplex is a separate question with its own analysis under federal law,
and the federal accommodation duty at **42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)** is the provision
W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii) was copied from to begin with.

## W.S. 40-26-113(b) says it out loud

Wyoming did not leave any of this to inference. **W.S. 40-26-113(b)** provides that the chapter
"does not affect a requirement of nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law."

One sentence doing two jobs. It confirms that W.S. 35-13-201(c), other state
law, survives everything in chapter 26, exemptions included. And it confirms
the federal Act is untouched by the carve-out. If a letter to a Sheridan
owner-occupier carries a single extra citation, that is a strong candidate
for it.

## Who actually qualifies for this exemption

The subsection sets conditions, and they are conditions of fact rather than
of paperwork.

The dwelling has to be one "of not more than four families." The owner has to **maintain and
occupy** one of those units **as a residence**, present-tense living there, not ownership plus a
spare key. A five-unit building is not in the subsection. Neither is a fourplex whose owner lives
across town, nor one held by an entity that lives nowhere at all.

Wyoming has a separate small-owner exemption at **W.S. 40-26-110(a)**, built around single-family
houses and how often they may be rented. Different test, different conditions, not the one an
owner-occupied fourplex relies on, and not a general "I'm a small landlord" defence.

## What this changes about the request you send

Less than you would fear, and the less is worth stating precisely.

You still ask in writing, for a change to a named rule, and you still say
what the animal does for you. What changes is the authority underneath the
ask. Against a large Sheridan complex, W.S. 40-26-107(c)(ii) is the natural
first citation. Against a genuinely owner-occupied fourplex it may be off
the table, and the request rests instead on W.S. 35-13-201(c), on the
federal duty, and on W.S. 40-26-113(b) holding the two together.

One more thing to have in hand. Wyoming caps a rental deposit at nothing,
anywhere in its statutes, and the words "pet" and "animal" appear nowhere in
the Residential Rental Property Act at W.S. 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211.
There is no landlord-tenant provision to argue a fee under. Every charge
argument in Sheridan is a fair-housing argument, which is why knowing which
fair-housing statute you are standing on is not an academic question.

## Where a Sheridan renter goes for help

There is no Sheridan Housing Authority; the office does not exist, and
Wyoming 211's directory lists six public housing authorities statewide, none
of them here. Vouchers in this county run through the **Cheyenne Housing
Authority**, which operates a Housing Choice Voucher office covering
Sheridan County, reachable at (307) 674-9343. **Wyoming Independent Living**
keeps a center in Sheridan. **Volunteers of America Northern Rockies** works
housing services across this corner of the state, and **Legal Aid of
Wyoming** runs a housing programme.

On enforcement, expect distance. Wyoming has no entity accepted as an
"enforcing authority" under **W.S. 40-26-102(a)(viii)**, so a discrimination
complaint originating in Sheridan is filed with HUD's Region VIII office in
Denver, Colorado.

## Two statutes the exemption cannot reach

Both of them want the same thing from you, and it is not a certificate.

**W.S. 35-13-205(a)(iv)** wants two conclusions on the record. Somebody qualified has to have
identified symptoms or effects of a disability, and to have concluded that this animal alleviates
one or more of them. Until both sit on paper, no argument about 40-26-110(b) ever gets started.

Ask the clinician who already treats you before anyone else, cheapest call,
usually the best document. What tends to follow deserves saying. This
state's specialist mental-health capacity sits in Cheyenne, Casper and
Laramie and thins fast beyond them, a first appointment in Sheridan County
can be a long wait, and a provider with two visits behind them may decline
to certify a disability rather than commit to something they cannot yet
support. That is an honest answer, not a brush-off.

Where it leaves you without a document, a licensed evaluation supplies the
same clinical judgment by appointment. A licensed professional examines both
propositions, records them when the assessment holds, and refuses when it
does not. Anyone promising the outcome before looking is selling the thing
**W.S. 35-13-203(b)** makes a misdemeanor when it is done knowingly and
intentionally.

The owner living downstairs can take W.S. 40-26-107 off the table. He cannot
take Title 35 off it, and he cannot take the federal Act off it. What he can
do is ask what your animal does for you, and that answer has to exist before
he asks.

## What Sheridan 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 Sheridan

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

- [Wyoming Independent Living - Sheridan Center](https://www.wilr.org/centers/sheridan-center) (disability services)
- [Cheyenne Housing Authority - Housing Choice Voucher offices](https://www.cheyennehousing.org/contact-us) (local housing authority)
- [Volunteers of America Northern Rockies](https://www.voanr.org/) (housing services)
- [Legal Aid of Wyoming - Housing](https://www.lawyoming.org/housing) (legal aid)

## Frequently asked questions

### My Sheridan landlord lives in my building. Does the Wyoming Fair Housing Act still cover my assistance animal?

Probably not, if the building really is owner-occupied. W.S. 40-26-110(b) exempts "W.S. 40-26-103 and 40-26-105 through 40-26-109" for a dwelling of not more than four families where the owner maintains and occupies one of the units as a residence. Count that second range: 105, 106, 107, 108, 109. W.S. 40-26-107 is the disability section, so its reasonable-accommodation duty at (c)(ii) is inside the exemption. That is a statement about one chapter of Title 40, not about your rights generally - W.S. 35-13-201(c) and the federal Fair Housing Act are elsewhere and are unaffected.

### Which section survives W.S. 40-26-110(b), and why does that matter?

W.S. 40-26-104, the advertising bar. The exemption's range is written as "40-26-103 and 40-26-105 through 40-26-109" - it starts at 103, skips 104, and picks up again at 105. A range drafted that way is deliberate, and it tells you the carve-out is a narrow one rather than a general release from the chapter. An owner-occupier of a Sheridan fourplex can be outside the accommodation sections and still fully inside the section governing what the listing may say.

### What two statutes does the owner-occupied exemption fail to reach?

W.S. 35-13-201(c) and the federal Fair Housing Act. The first is in Title 35, a different title from the Title 40 chapter the exemption operates on, and it says a person "shall not be discriminated against in the leasing or rental of residential property because the person has an assistance animal." A Title 40 exemption has no mechanism to switch it off. The second has exemptions of its own, separately drafted, which must be assessed on their own terms under federal law - whether one applies to a particular Sheridan building is not answered by any Wyoming statute.

### Is there anything in the Wyoming Act that confirms this?

Yes, and it is a single sentence. W.S. 40-26-113(b) provides that the chapter "does not affect a requirement of nondiscrimination in any other state or federal law." That confirms both halves at once: W.S. 35-13-201(c) is other state law and survives everything in chapter 26, exemptions included, and the federal Act is untouched by the carve-out. If a request letter to a Sheridan owner-occupier carries one extra citation, this is a strong candidate.

### Does every small landlord in Sheridan get this exemption?

No. W.S. 40-26-110(b) has conditions of fact. The dwelling must be one "of not more than four families," and the owner must maintain and occupy one of the units as a residence - present-tense living there, not ownership plus a spare key. A five-unit building is not in the subsection, and neither is a fourplex whose owner lives across town. There is a separate small-owner exemption at W.S. 40-26-110(a) built around single-family houses and how often they may be rented; it is a different test with different conditions, and the two should not be blended into a general small-landlord defence.

### Can an owner-occupier charge pet rent for my assistance animal in Sheridan?

The usual answer runs through W.S. 40-26-107(b), which covers the terms, conditions or privileges of a rental, and that section is inside the exemption's range. Wyoming has no deposit cap and no pet provision at all in its Residential Rental Property Act, W.S. 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211, so there is no landlord-tenant rule to fall back on either. What remains is W.S. 35-13-201(c), which says an assistance animal "shall be permitted in leased or rented residential property in accordance with the federal Fair Housing Act," together with the federal duty at 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B). Note that 201(c) also makes the tenant liable for damage the animal does.

### Is there a Sheridan Housing Authority, and where does a complaint go?

There is no Sheridan Housing Authority - it does not exist, and Wyoming 211 lists six public housing authorities statewide, none here. Housing Choice Vouchers in this county are run by the Cheyenne Housing Authority, which operates a voucher office covering Sheridan County at (307) 674-9343. For a discrimination complaint, Wyoming has no entity accepted as an "enforcing authority" under W.S. 40-26-102(a)(viii), so complaints originating in Sheridan are filed with HUD's Region VIII office in Denver, Colorado. The state-law alternative is a civil action in district court under W.S. 40-26-139, with no exhaustion requirement.

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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=wyoming-emotional-support-animal%2Fsheridan