Pet deposit vs pet fee vs pet rent, and emotional support animals
A pet deposit is money held against pet damage that you can get back, a pet fee is a one-time charge you don't get back, and pet rent is an extra monthly charge. Only 14 of 51 jurisdictions have a statute that deals with pet charges directly; everywhere else the general security deposit law and your lease decide. Last checked .
The three charges
| Charge | When you pay | Do you get it back? |
|---|---|---|
| Pet deposit | Once, at move-in or when you get the pet | Yes, minus lawful deductions for pet damage. In most states it is part of your security deposit, so the deposit cap and return deadline apply. |
| Pet fee | Once | No. Some states limit or ban nonrefundable fees; check your state below. |
| Pet rent | Every month, with rent | No. Colorado is the only state whose statute caps it. |
What your landlord may charge depends on your state, and the lease has to say it. Look up your state's deposit page: each one has a “Pets” section with the statute behind it.
States with pet-specific rules
| State | Pet deposit | Pet fees and pet rent |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | The general security cap is one month's rent, but the statute expressly lets the landlord take more than that for pets; no dollar limit on the pet portion is set (Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a)). | No statute addresses them. |
| Alaska | On top of the general two-months'-rent cap, a landlord may take an additional pet deposit of up to one month's rent; it may be applied only to damage directly related to the pet (Alaska Stat. § 34.03.070(h)). The general cap doesn't apply where rent exceeds $2,000 a month (§ 34.03.070(a)). | No statute addresses them. |
| Colorado | A landlord may not demand an additional security deposit of more than $300 as a condition of letting a pet live in the unit, and that deposit must be refundable (C.R.S. § 38-12-106(1), added by HB 23-1068, effective Jan. 1, 2024). The statute calls it an additional deposit but doesn't say whether it counts inside the general two-month cap. | Monthly pet rent may not exceed the greater of $35 or 1.5% of the tenant's monthly rent (C.R.S. § 38-12-106(2)). The statute requires the pet deposit to be refundable but does not separately mention nonrefundable pet fees. |
| Delaware | A landlord may require a separate pet deposit of up to one month's rent regardless of lease length, and damage caused by an animal is deducted from the pet deposit first (25 Del. C. § 5514(i)(1)-(2)). | No statute addresses them. |
| Hawaii | On top of the general deposit (capped at one month's rent), the landlord may take an additional pet deposit, agreed with the tenant, of up to one month's rent to cover damage by a pet allowed under the lease. It can't be required from a tenant without a pet (HRS § 521-44(a)(4), (b)). | At the start of the rental agreement a landlord may collect only the first month's rent and the security deposit (which can include the pet deposit), so a separate move-in pet fee isn't allowed (HRS § 521-44(b)). No statute addresses monthly pet rent. |
| Kansas | If the lease allows pets, the landlord may take an additional security deposit of no more than half of one month's rent, on top of the general cap of one month's rent (1.5 months if furnished) (K.S.A. 58-2550(a)). | No statute addresses them. |
| Maryland | Maryland defines a security deposit as any payment of money that protects the landlord against damage to the premises, so a refundable pet deposit falls under the 1-month-rent cap, which counts every deposit for the unit together (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(a)(3), (b)(1)). The statute doesn't mention pet deposits by name. | No statute caps or bans nonrefundable pet fees or monthly pet rent. Since October 1, 2025, a landlord's pet policy must be linked on the property's website and included in the rental application, and it must list any up-front nonrefundable pet fees, refundable pet deposits and monthly pet fees (Real Prop. § 8-210(c), Ch. 489 of 2025). |
| Missouri | Missouri's definition of security deposit expressly excludes money or property labeled as a pet deposit. A pet deposit therefore falls outside the 2-month cap and the return and itemization rules of § 535.300 (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300.8). | No statute addresses them. |
| Nebraska | Security of any kind is capped at one month's rent, except that a separate pet deposit of up to one-fourth of one month's rent may be taken 'when appropriate'. The cap doesn't apply to housing agencies under the Nebraska Housing Agency Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(1)). | No statute addresses them. |
| North Carolina | No separate pet-deposit cap. The statute titled 'Pet deposits' doesn't set an amount for a refundable pet deposit; the general deposit limit is 2 weeks' rent (week-to-week), 1.5 months' (month-to-month) or 2 months' (longer terms) (G.S. 42-53, 42-51(b)). | A landlord may charge a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for pets the tenant keeps (G.S. 42-53). No statute caps or bans monthly pet rent. |
| North Dakota | A separate pet security deposit is allowed on top of the regular deposit, capped at the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent; it's held and returned under the same rules, and can be applied to damage caused by the tenant's pet (N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1(2), (3)(a)). | No statute addresses them. |
| Oregon | A pet deposit is a security deposit, which must be refundable; Oregon has no statewide deposit cap. During the first year a landlord can't add a new or larger deposit, except one tied to an agreement to allow a pet (ORS 90.100(45), 90.300(5)(a)). | A landlord may charge only the fees ORS 90.302 lists, and a move-in pet fee isn't one of them. After a written warning, the law allows small noncompliance fees for repeatedly keeping an unauthorized pet capable of causing damage or for not cleaning up pet waste outside the unit (ORS 90.302(3)(b)). No statute caps pet rent; rent covers occupancy by the tenant and any permitted pet (ORS 90.100(41)). |
| Virginia | A refundable pet deposit is a 'security deposit' by definition (Va. Code § 55.1-1200), so it counts toward the cap: a landlord may not take a security deposit, however denominated, above two months' periodic rent (§ 55.1-1226(A)). | No Virginia statute caps or bans nonrefundable pet fees or monthly pet rent; the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act's only pet reference is the pet deposit in the security-deposit definition (§ 55.1-1200). |
| West Virginia | No separate pet deposit cap, and West Virginia has no general deposit cap. A security deposit is any refundable deposit securing the rental agreement or as security for damages (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1(14)), so a refundable pet deposit is treated as a security deposit. | A pet fee is excluded from the 'security deposit' definition only if the parties expressly agree in writing that it is nonrefundable (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1(14)); otherwise it is treated as part of the deposit. No statute caps pet rent. |
No pet-specific rule (37)
The general deposit law and the lease decide. Each state's page explains how its deposit cap applies.
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Service animals and emotional support animals
The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to refuse a reasonable change to rules or policies that a person with a disability needs to use and enjoy their home (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) (Fair Housing Act, reasonable accommodations)). HUD's regulation gives the classic example: a landlord with a no-pets policy must let a blind tenant live with a seeing eye dog (24 C.F.R. § 100.204 (HUD regulation, reasonable accommodations)).
What HUD changed (2025-2026)
- September 17, 2025: HUD withdrew its 2013 and 2020 assistance-animal notices (HUD FHEO, Notice of the Withdrawal of FHEO Guidance Documents (Sept. 17, 2025)). The 2020 notice had told landlords that emotional support animals are not pets and that pet fees can't be charged for them.
- May 22, 2026: HUD's fair housing office said it will find a violation, and recommend charges, only when the animal is individually trained to do work or tasks directly related to the person's disability. It borrowed that test from the ADA's service-animal definition, which says emotional support or comfort alone isn't a task (28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (ADA definition of service animal)). Requests to waive pet rules for untrained emotional support animals are no longer treated as presumptively reasonable, though the animal doesn't have to be a dog (HUD FHEO, Enforcement Guidance: Assessing Requests for the Use of an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation (May 22, 2026)).
What did not change
- The Fair Housing Act and HUD's regulation are the same. The May 2026 memo is enforcement guidance for HUD staff, not a new rule; HUD says it plans formal rulemaking later.
- You can still sue in federal or state court within 2 years, whatever HUD decides about a complaint (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A) (two years to sue)).
- State law still applies. These 32 states have their own rule limiting pet charges for assistance or service animals in rentals: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin. Some of them cover support animals that aren't trained; each state's page says which.
What it means for you
- Trained service animal: asking your landlord to waive a no-pets rule is still presumptively reasonable under HUD's new standard.
- Emotional support animal: HUD will rarely take up your complaint now, and one federal court cited in the memo held that waiving a general pet fee for an emotional support animal wasn't required (Henderson v. Five Properties, E.D. La. 2025). Your state's law may protect you more; check your state's page.
- Ask in writing, keep copies, and if a landlord refuses, a local fair housing group or legal aid office can tell you whether state law helps.
Sources
- 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) (Fair Housing Act, reasonable accommodations) Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- 24 C.F.R. § 100.204 (HUD regulation, reasonable accommodations) Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- HUD FHEO, Notice of the Withdrawal of FHEO Guidance Documents (Sept. 17, 2025) Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- HUD FHEO, Enforcement Guidance: Assessing Requests for the Use of an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation (May 22, 2026) Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (ADA definition of service animal) Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- 42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A) (two years to sue) Retrieved October 20, 2026.
- State rules: the statute cited in each state's “Pets” section.
Legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.