Tacoma is a mid-sized city in Washington with a pretty diverse demographic in pretty much everything, including housing. The city features a broad range of housing options, with high-rise apartments in the downtown area, spacious suburban homes in its family-oriented neighborhoods, and garden-style apartments for its young professionals.
While ample, the Tacoma housing market isn’t always pet-friendly, which makes it difficult to find appropriate housing for thousands of individuals in the city who require their pets not just as companions but to ease their symptoms of a mental health condition. However, if this is documented with an emotional support animal (ESA) letter, tenants can exercise their federal rights to ensure their animals can live with them even in a no-pet housing.
This US Service Animals article will cover how to get an ESA letter in Tacoma for those who are interested in having an emotional support animal. Read on to learn the entire process.
Who Can Qualify for an ESA in Tacoma?
While getting an ESA letter in Tacoma involves a specific process, qualifying for an emotional support animal is the same as in other cities across the United States. You need to receive a formal diagnosis of a psychiatric disability from a licensed mental health professional, along with an ESA letter that documents your diagnosis and the need for an emotional support animal.
When it comes to specific psychiatric disabilities, major ones like anxiety and depression all qualify for an emotional support animal, but if you’re interested in learning more about what qualifies, be sure to read our article on the qualifying disabilities for an ESA.
What Are the Benefits of Having an ESA Letter in Tacoma?
In Tacoma, the biggest benefit of having an ESA letter is to certify that you have a medical need for your animal. With this, your animal cannot be treated the same as pets by your landlord, even if they don’t perform tasks like service animals do. For example, landlords in Tacoma cannot subject your animal to pet size restriction policies because emotional support animals have housing rights under federal laws.
We will discuss the legal housing protections of emotional support animals, along with their benefits, in the coming parts below.
Important Information About ESAs in Tacoma
Tacoma has a very diverse housing market, with high-rises in the downtown to townhouses and duplexes near new developments to single-family houses north of the city. While there’s no doubt that you will find the type of housing you want in Tacoma, it is worth noting that many of the rental listings in the city restrict pets, which makes it difficult for those with an animal by their side to access housing in the city.
However, this isn’t a concern for people with valid ESA letters; emotional support animals have housing rights that enable them to live in otherwise no-pet housing. These housing protections don’t only apply to private landlords and corporations, but also to universities in the city. If you’re a student at the University of Washington Tacoma and are staying in on-campus housing, you can have your ESA live with you.
Facts About ESAs and Pets in Tacoma
Here are some more facts about Tacoma that everyone interested in getting an ESA letter should know.
- According to the Pierce County Mental Health Data, one-in-five people in Tacoma struggle with a mental illness each year.
- Just like many other cities in the US, dogs are the most favored pets and emotional support animals in Tacoma. Naturally, Tacoma has numerous dog parks that owners can use to exercise their dogs in the city.
- The most popular dog breeds in Tacoma are Frenchies, golden retrievers, poodle mixes, and Labrador retrievers.
- With high pet ownership statistics, it is safe to say that Tacoma boasts a pet-friendly community. Many establishments in the city allow well-behaved pets, with some even making exceptions for ESAs.
How to Get an Emotional Support (ESA) Letter in Tacoma
If you want to get an ESA letter, you must do it before you contact a potential landlord or before you approach your current landlord about having your animals be recognized as ESAs. This starts with consulting a mental health professional to speak about your symptoms to receive your diagnosis. After that, you will speak about the possibility of an emotional support animal as part of your treatment, and your mental health provider will then further evaluate your symptoms and condition to decide if an ESA is the right option for you.
If it is, they will write your ESA letter. This is a legal document that essentially recommends an emotional support animal as part of your treatment, which gives your animal legal protections that we will cover in the coming parts below.
While it is a straightforward process, you can simplify it by connecting with a mental health professional in Washington through US Service Animals. Here’s how to get an ESA letter in Tacoma in three simple steps with our help.
- Schedule your consultation.
- Attend the consultation and speak about your symptoms (you can attend the consultation online or by phone).
- Receive your diagnosis and your ESA letter.
Given that mental health provider availability can be scarce in Tacoma and online consultations are legal in Washington, going through this process with US Service Animals is by far the most convenient option for getting an ESA letter.
Do I Have to Get an ESA Letter in Tacoma from a Mental Health Professional in Washington?
Yes, you do need to get your ESA letter from a mental health professional licensed in Washington in order for it to be valid. Otherwise, your ESA letter won’t be valid for use, which can give a landlord a legal reason to reject your emotional support animal.
Emotional Support Animal Tacoma Regulations: What Are the Laws About ESAs in Tacoma?
Emotional support animals have federal protections that give them housing rights, along with other protections that we will cover below. ESA laws in Washington don’t add on top of these protections, making the guidelines for ESAs in Tacoma very easy to understand.
However, the ever-changing nature of ESA laws, both on the federal and state levels, requires owners to keep up with even the slightest changes. Here are the updated ESA laws to note for those interested in getting an ESA letter in Tacoma.
Airline and Travel ESA Laws in Tacoma: Can I Fly With an ESA in Tacoma?
To be able to fly with an ESA in Tacoma, owners must comply with the airline’s pet policies. This is a surprise for many who aren’t updated on the ESA laws, as the changes to the ACAA (Air Carrier Access Act) have undergone significant changes to require emotional support animals to meet airline pet travel requirements.
After this law change, which took effect in January 2021, emotional support animals are also subject to pet travel fees. Even though there have been some airlines that make an exception for ESAs, most major airlines now require emotional support animals to comply with their pet travel policies. If you don’t meet the pet travel requirements, the airline will likely deny your emotional support animal.
Can I Live Anywhere With an ESA in Tacoma?
The answer to whether or not you can live anywhere in Tacoma is partially yes. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Washington housing laws don’t limit emotional support animals to specific types of properties. They can live in any type of housing, including but not limited to apartments, duplexes, townhouses, single-family homes, and condos. A housing provider in Tacoma cannot deny an ESA because of the property type.
The only instance when a landlord can reject an emotional support animal because of the property if the type of rental doesn’t suit the ESA, like an emotional support goat in a studio apartment, which would fall under undue hardship. Landlords can also deny an ESA if they only rent a few units and the property is owner occupied. We cover what this means in the exceptions section below.
Can I Bring My ESA to Work With Me in Tacoma?
Yes, you can bring your ESA to work with you in Tacoma, provided your employer allows this. In addition to housing protections, emotional support animals don’t have rights when it comes to employment. A workplace doesn’t have to consider an emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation as they do for service animals – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is very clear about this.
Therefore, you can have your animal with you at work in Tacoma only if your employers permit them, which is far more likely to happen in jobs that are in an office environment than in anything else.
What Exceptions Are There to ESA Laws in Tacoma?
The exceptions to the ESA laws are mainly related to housing. Emotional support animals don’t have endless housing rights, which can result in an ESA denied housing.
For example, a landlord must allow an emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation unless doing so would cause undue hardship, like having an emotional support goat in an apartment with hardwood flooring risks significant property damage that’s beyond normal wear and tear. Similarly, a landlord can deny an ESA if allowing the animal would require them to purchase additional insurance that would be a significant cost. However, in any of these situations, the burden of proof is on the landlord, not the tenant.
It should also be noted that any ESA who poses a threat of safety can be legally denied by a landlord. This includes animals who are destructive or aggressive.
There are also instances where the Fair Housing Act doesn’t apply, which is far more straightforward than any undue hardship claims. If your landlord is a religious organization or a club that only houses members, they don’t have to follow the FHA. Similarly, owner-occupied properties with four or fewer dwellings and single-family homes rented without using an agent are also exempt from following the Fair Housing Act guidelines.
Do I Need to Renew My ESA Letter Every Year in Tacoma?
Tacoma residents who wish to keep the legal rights given to their ESAs must renew their letters every year to keep them updated. This is a legal requirement, as mental health professionals in Washington cannot write ESA letters for an indefinite period of time. When it is time, we remind you to renew your ESA letters, so you don’t always have to keep track of when it is time to renew your letter.
Do I Have to Register My ESA in Tacoma?
You don’t have to register your ESA in Tacoma because it isn’t a requirement. Contrary to popular belief, emotional support animals only need an ESA letter; they don’t need to be registered anywhere to have their legal status. Nonetheless, you can do this at your own will, which can be beneficial, depending on your circumstances.
At US Service Animals, we’re proud to operate the largest online database of emotional support animals and service animals, not just in Washington but in the entire country. Those who registered their ESAs with us get an ESA certification for their animals, which certifies their registration and gives them a unique registration number that can be used by anyone to verify their status on our website.
On top of these, registered ESA owners also have access to our in-house legal support team to help with their rights in case they stumble upon an overly strict landlord, which can happen in cities like Tacoma. Learn more about other benefits of registration and get the process started for your animal by completing our ESA registration form.
Public Access Tacoma ESA Laws: Where Can You Take Your ESA in Tacoma?
Emotional support animals in Tacoma don’t have public access. They must comply with the pet policies in order to enter places like restaurants, cafes, and stores. The ADA gives this right only to service animals trained to assist their handlers with a disability-related task, including dogs trained for psychiatric disabilities like anxiety and PTSD.
Even though this means inside of restaurants and grocery stores are a no-go for emotional support animals, there are countless pet-friendly places to enjoy with a well-behaved animal by your side, an ESA or not. Tacoma boasts a high number of restaurants, cafes, bars, stores, and malls that allow animals in their premises.
How to Get a Psychiatric Service Dog in Tacoma?
Despite Tacoma’s pet-friendly setting, a psychiatric service dog, also known as a PSD, can be worth it for those who would benefit from a dog that performs disability-related tasks. For example, if you suffer from dissociation, you can have a PSD that performs tactile stimulation to bring you to the present moment. A PSD’s ability to actively help their handlers makes them an asset like no other. Plus, they have public access rights that enable them to enter pretty much anywhere with you.
As for getting a psychiatric service dog in Tacoma, you can do it by buying a fully trained dog, hiring a professional to train your dog, or training your dog yourself. While the first two options are convenient, they are the costliest. A fully trained PSD can have a price tag of up to $25,000, whereas private sessions for PSD work are between $120 and $200 in Tacoma.
If you have the availability and are ready to commit yourself to training your own psychiatric service dog, US Service Animals can help with the process, just like ESA letters. Complete our PSD training consultation form to see if a psychiatric service dog is for you first. From there, you can start training your dog to become a PSD with the step-by-step video lessons we provide.
How to Get an ESA Letter in Other Cities in Washington
Get an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) Letter in Tacoma Today
Our article explained how to get an ESA letter in Tacoma and reviewed the ESA laws that everyone interested in going through the process should know. With everything you’ve learned in this article, you should be ready to get your ESA letter. Schedule your risk-free consultation to get the ball rolling and connect with a mental health provider licensed in Washington right away to receive your formal diagnosis and then your letter.