Is the military required to follow the fair housing act for emotional support animals?

Military Law Discussions
1

I’m trying to figure out if the military has to follow the Fair Housing Act for emotional support animals while I’m serving and staying in the barracks. I know the policy says no pets, only service animals are allowed on base, but IDK if the Fair Housing Act applies here. Anyone know how this works?

2

I don’t think the Fair Housing Act applies to military housing. The military has its own set of rules, and they’re allowed to restrict animals more than civilian housing can.

3

Jin said:
I don’t think the Fair Housing Act applies to military housing. The military has its own set of rules, and they’re allowed to restrict animals more than civilian housing can.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. The barracks are pretty strict about pets.

4

Jin said:
I don’t think the Fair Housing Act applies to military housing. The military has its own set of rules, and they’re allowed to restrict animals more than civilian housing can.

I asked a lawyer about this, and they said the military can deny emotional support animals even if the FHA might say otherwise. They just have different rules.

5

That’s rough, but you could always try talking to your command? They might have some flexibility depending on your situation.

6

Lennon said:
That’s rough, but you could always try talking to your command? They might have some flexibility depending on your situation.

Yeah, I’ve been thinking of asking. I know the answer won’t be what I want to hear, but it can’t hurt to try, right?

7

The military can be pretty strict about this stuff. If they say no pets, they can make exceptions for service animals, but not usually for emotional support animals.

8

Have you tried looking into moving to civilian housing? The FHA has more power there, and it could be an option if they deny your request for the barracks.

9

Tobin said:
Have you tried looking into moving to civilian housing? The FHA has more power there, and it could be an option if they deny your request for the barracks.

I didn’t think about civilian housing, thanks for mentioning that. I guess I could ask if that’s possible.

10

I’m in the same situation. The military does have more leeway to deny these requests because of base housing rules. It really depends on your command, though.