Tennessee ESA Letter Online

Tennessee uses the term support animal. Two parallel statutes, Tenn. Code Ann. 66-7-111 in the general leases chapter and 66-28-406 in the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, define it as an animal prescribed or recommended by a healthcare provider to assist with a disability, including emotional support that alleviates identified symptoms. A tenant with a disability may ask for an exception to a no-animal rule, a limit on animals, or a policy that requires payment to keep an animal.

When the disability is not readily apparent or known, the landlord may ask for reliable documentation of the disability and the disability-related need. When the disability is apparent but the need is not, the landlord may ask only about the need. The landlord may verify the documentation but may not obtain confidential medical records, and may deny the request if accurate, reliable documentation is not provided.

The definition of reliable documentation is the part to read twice. It means written documentation from a healthcare provider, or another licensed or qualified source, with actual knowledge of the disability. It expressly excludes documentation from a website whose primary function is to provide a certificate, registration, license or similar document for a service or support animal for a fee. A Tennessee landlord may therefore look closely at where a letter came from and whether the provider actually evaluated the tenant.

Misrepresentation carries two consequences. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-16-304 it is a Class B misdemeanor to knowingly make a fraudulent claim of disability or need, or to give a landlord documentation that falsely describes an animal. The housing statutes also treat it as material noncompliance with the lease, which lets the landlord terminate the tenancy and recover damages including reasonable attorney's fees.

Since HUD's May 22, 2026 memo, the federal agency acts only on complaints involving individually trained animals, although the Fair Housing Act is unchanged. An ESA letter in Tennessee supports a request; it does not guarantee approval. The state statutes above now carry more of the weight.

Tennessee sets no statutory cap on security deposits, so the amount is a matter of the lease. That makes the wording of 66-7-111 and 66-28-406 useful: both allow a tenant to request an exception to a policy that requires payment for an animal. Neither statute sets a specific fee rule, so whether a charge is waived depends on the request and the facts.

Two limits are worth knowing in Chattanooga, Clarksville or anywhere else in the state. The support-animal statutes say a landlord is not liable for injuries caused by an animal allowed as a reasonable accommodation. They also do not apply to public housing owned by a governmental entity to the extent they conflict with federal or state law.