How many emotional support animals are you allowed to have? Are you allowed to have more than one emotional support animal (ESA)? Can a person have multiple animals at home registered as emotional support animals?

These questions are fairly common for owners who have multiple animals. After all, why make only one of your pets an emotional support animal if you can do this for all of them?

Here are the facts on owning multiple service animals.

The law is very clear when it comes to owning multiple service animals.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) recognizes that some individuals may require the assistance of multiple animals throughout their daily routine. This information can be found in the FAQ section of the ADA.

However, the ADA also acknowledges the fact that there are situations where having multiple animals accompany the owner is problematic. This is the case in crowded areas or if the owner has small living quarters.

What about emotional support animals? (Can you have more than one?)

The ADA does not give a specific number for how many emotional support animals an owner can have. However, the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) is more specific about the “no pets” rule.

Under the FHAA, landlords are expected to accommodate tenants with emotional support animals. They must be extended the same rights as regular tenants, meaning those without pets. Thus, they are not permitted to discriminate against them in any way. Tenants with emotional support animals must be allowed to enjoy full use of the property and its amenities.

Since a specific number is not given, the question becomes how many emotional support animals is reasonable? This is really left up to the owner because they must be able to honestly determine this. The animal’s welfare and living conditions must be taken into consideration.

So if an owner is renting out a small room in an multi-bedroom apartment, it really would not be practical to have more than one emotional support animal. The size of the emotional support animal must also be taken into consideration as well.

In reality, there are also financial considerations that must be taken into account. Food, grooming, and veterinary expenses all must be taken into consideration. An owner must be responsible and know that they can afford to provide these needs before they go out and buy an animal.

So how many emotional support animals are you allowed to have? The answer is that there is no legally stated numeric cut off. This is a decision that is left up to the discretion of the owner.