ESA letter for housing: a doctor’s letter for your landlord
A letter from a GMC-registered UK doctor to send with your request to keep an emotional support animal in a rented home. It explains the health reason. It does not oblige your landlord to say yes.
- Written and signed by a GMC-registered UK doctor
- Goes with your written pet request to a private landlord or letting agent
- Explains why the animal matters to your health
- Covers up to two pets: dog, cat or other
- Full refund if a doctor cannot issue a letter on clinical grounds
£49 · No appointment needed · UK-registered doctors
£49
What your letter contains
- Your name and the animal it relates to
- Confirmation that the animal supports your mental health
- Doctor’s name, GMC number, signature and date
- Issued on headed paper as a PDF
MedicalCert reviews across all its services, not only ESA letters.
The short answer. An ESA letter for housing is a letter from a doctor, sent with your request to keep an emotional support animal in a rented home. If you rent privately in England, your landlord must answer a written pet request within 28 days and must not unreasonably refuse it. The letter explains why the animal matters to your health. It is evidence, not a legal requirement.
What a housing letter does, and what it does not
Your landlord decides whether you can keep an animal. The letter’s job is to make sure they decide with the full picture: that a doctor has reviewed your health and confirms the animal supports your mental health.
It does: give your landlord written, signed evidence of the health reason; give you something to point to if you later need to show the request was reasonable.
It does not: require any landlord to accept it; turn your animal into an assistance dog; replace the written request itself. In England that request is what the law actually asks for.
How to use it with your landlord
For a private tenancy in England, since 1 May 2026.
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1
Write your request
Put it in writing and describe the animal: species, and anything the landlord would reasonably want to know. That is all the Renters’ Rights Act requires. How to ask your landlord for a pet.
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2
Attach the letter
Send the signed PDF with your request, by email or through your agent’s portal. Keep a copy of both, with the date you sent them.
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3
Wait for a written answer
Your landlord must give or refuse consent in writing within 28 days, or within 7 days of any further information they reasonably ask for. The full timeline and what counts as a reasonable refusal.
If you do not rent privately in England
The Renters’ Rights Act pet rule covers private assured tenancies in England. A letter can still support a request anywhere else, but the rules behind it differ.
- Council or housing association tenants. The Act excludes social housing. Ask your landlord what their pet policy is and what evidence they want. What council policies say.
- Scotland. Private tenants currently need the landlord’s written consent, which the Scottish Government says is up to the landlord. A new “not unreasonably refused” rule has been passed but is not yet in force.
- Wales. There is no statutory right to keep a pet. Welsh Government guidance says a pets term should let you ask and the landlord should not unreasonably refuse.
- Northern Ireland. Your tenancy agreement governs.
What the letter says
The doctor who reviews your answers writes the letter for you. It names you and the animal or animals it covers (up to two), confirms the doctor’s view that the animal supports your mental health, and carries the doctor’s name, GMC number, signature and date. It is valid for 12 months.
Price
£49, paid once. If the doctor cannot issue a letter on clinical grounds, you get a full refund. Once a letter has been written and sent, it cannot be refunded. Where medically appropriate, most letters are issued the same day or by 9am the next day. More about the letter.
Common questions
Does my landlord have to accept my ESA letter?
No. No landlord has to accept a letter as such. What the law requires, for a private tenancy in England, is that the landlord answers your written pet request within 28 days and does not unreasonably refuse it. The letter is evidence that supports your request.
Can my landlord ask for more information?
Yes. Within the 28 days your landlord can reasonably ask for more information about the pet. Their deadline then becomes 7 days after you provide it. If you do not provide it, they do not have to decide.
Can I send the letter to my letting agent?
Yes. The letter is a signed PDF, so you can email it to your landlord or agent, or attach it to their online form, alongside your written request.
Will an ESA letter help with council or housing association housing?
It can support a request, but the Renters’ Rights Act pet rule does not apply: the Act excludes social housing. Your tenancy agreement and your landlord’s pet policy decide. Ask them what evidence they want.
I am about to sign a new tenancy. When should I send the letter?
Before the animal moves in. Raise it with the landlord or agent while you are agreeing the tenancy, and make your written request. The letter is valid for 12 months from the date it is signed.
Sources. The legal and clinical facts on this page were checked against these primary sources on 25 September 2026. Law and landlord, university and airline policies change, so check the source before you rely on it.
Get your ESA letter for housing
A GMC-registered UK doctor reviews your request online and, where appropriate, writes a letter to send with your pet request. £49, paid once.
Start your requestReviewed by a GMC-registered doctor. Full refund if a letter cannot be issued on clinical grounds.