Emotional support animals are remarkable pets that help individuals with mental disabilities cope with their symptoms through companionship. It may seem like they don’t do as much as service animals, but emotional support animals play a pivotal role in their owner’s life.
From dogs and cats to rare animals like bearded dragons and chinchillas, emotional support animals provide companionship in a unique way. They comfort their owners in challenging times just with their presence. Federal law recognizes the importance of these animals and protects them under specific legislation.
While federal law is there for emotional support animals and service animals, what about state laws? Our article will cover everything to know about Kansas emotional support animal laws. Read to the end to get a comprehensive understanding of the laws governing emotional support animals in Kansas.
What Is an Emotional Support Animal?
An emotional support animal is a pet that provides solace to their owner through companionship. They exist and help their owner suffering from a mental condition like depression or bipolar disorder to cope with their symptoms.
An emotional support animal can be any pet you can have in Kansas. Most think about dogs and cats as ESAs, but birds, ferrets, Guinea pigs, and hamsters can be just as great emotional support animals. Every pet has unique traits that can uphold the duties of emotional support animals.
Furthermore, emotional support animals accomplish their task without any training. As long as you feel comforted by your pet’s presence and you have a diagnosis from a mental healthcare professional, your pet can qualify to become an emotional support animal in Kansas.
However, not every pet can become an emotional support animal right away. You must get an emotional support animal letter from a licensed mental health professional for the law to recognize your pet as an ESA. Without an ESA letter, your pet will be treated as any other pet.
Difference Between ESAs and Service Animals
Emotional support animals and service animals are similar in many ways, but key differences set them apart. While any pet can become your emotional support animal with an ESA letter, only dogs trained to assist an individual with a disability are recognized as service animals.
Some of the common tasks service animals uphold include providing deep pressure therapy to someone experiencing an anxiety attack or creating distractions to prevent the person from causing self-harm. Regardless of the task, they help their owners with a disability in their day-to-day lives.
Since such tasks are beyond what emotional support animals can, the law grants service animals certain exceptions. Service animals are permitted to enter any public space their handler can, including public places with a no-pet policy, whereas emotional support animals don’t.
In some cases, miniature horses who are trained to help their handlers can be an exception. Like service dogs, miniature horses must be trained to assist their owners to get the same public access rights. Also, there are additional requirements, such as being housebroken and kept under the owner’s control.
However, business owners can deny miniature horses if they can’t accommodate the animal’s size, type, and weight. The same applies if the presence of the miniature causes a safety or health risk.
All these set a clear distinction between service animals and emotional support animals. Yet, there’s more for Kansas residents to know about the law, especially for housing and air travel.
A Quick Overview of Kansas Emotional Support Animal Laws
Most states don’t have specific emotional support animal laws. Kansas is not an exception.
However, federal law – the Fair Housing Act, to be more specific – governs the protection of emotional support animals where applicable. Below, you’ll learn all about housing laws for emotional support animals applicable in Kansas.
Kansas Emotional Support Animal Housing Laws
The Fair Housing Act protects individuals with a disability to access fair housing. Individuals with a mental disability rely on their emotional support animals. They are more than just pets, and federal law prevents housing providers from discriminating against tenants with an ESA.
This protection that federal law allows individuals with a mental disability who wish to live with their emotional support animals applies even if the landlord has a no-pet policy. This protection also extends to building-wide no-pet policies and restrictions on type or weight.
However, your landlord may require an ESA letter to verify the status of your emotional support animal. If you can’t present them with a valid emotional support animal, you may be denied housing.
Landlords also have the right to ask for an ESA letter annually. This means you may need your mental health professional to write you a new ESA letter if your landlord doesn’t allow pets and you want to extend the lease.
ESAs in No-Pet Rentals
It isn’t mandatory to inform housing providers before signing a lease. You can let your landlord know after signing the rental agreement. Many individuals choose to do this, as you’re legally allowed to do so, and it’s easier to deal with housing providers that don’t allow pets this way.
If your current lease contains a no-pet clause, you can request reasonable accommodation for your ESA under federal law. An ESA letter will allow your ESA to live with you in a no-pet rental, but you must inform your landlord. You can let them know via email, phone, in person, or any other way as long as you can reach them.
ESAs and University Housing
As with any other housing provider, universities must permit emotional support animals. However, it’s up to the university to decide whether or not to allow emotional support animals in the campus buildings.
For example, Kansas University will happily let your emotional support animal live with you in university housing, but ESAs aren’t permitted outside housing, including campus buildings. This means you can only have your emotional support animal in university housing and not bring them to the campus.
While this is Kansas University’s policy, other universities in the state may allow emotional support animals on the campus, provided with a valid ESA letter. Contact your school to know if they accommodate emotional support animals in campus buildings.
Individuals with a disability who rely on a service animal, such as a psychiatric service dog, are allowed to enter the campus and even attend classes per the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Kansas Laws for Air Travel With an Emotional Support Animal
Because Kansas doesn’t have ESA laws, the Air Carrier Access Act was in place for flying with an emotional support animal. This legislation previously prohibited airlines from denying entry to emotional support animals in the cabin with their owners. It also waived the pet fees charged by airlines.
In late 2020, the Department of Transportation updated the Air Carrier Access Act. Since then, airlines aren’t required to permit emotional support animals in the passenger cabin. Therefore, you’ll need to follow the pet policies of the airline when flying with your emotional support animal from or to Kansas.
How You Can Fly With Your ESA in Kansas
Most airlines permit emotional support animals to fly in the passenger cabin as a carry-on if their carrier size meets their policies. Typically, only house cats and small dogs can fly in the cabin, though. There are dimension requirements for soft and hard-sided carriers, which the ESA will be transported in. Some airlines also have a weight and breed limit.
For those with an ESA that can be transported in a carrier that meets the airline’s rules, you can fly with them in the passenger cabin. If not, your ESA can only fly as a checked animal in the cargo compartment. This is usually the only option for those with an ESA that doesn’t meet the requirements set by the airline.
While it can be a scary experience, it’s safe for pets to fly in the cargo compartment. Just like in the passenger cabin, the cargo compartment has temperature and pressure control. Pets are also not handled the same as luggage. Cargo compartments have pet areas where they are handled with care by baggage handlers at airports.
Whether your ESA flies as a carry-on or as a checked animal, you’ll also need to pay a pet fee to the airline. It typically ranges between $100 and $250 each way, depending on the route and the airline. Service animals are exempt from such pet fees.
Pet-Friendly Airlines in Kansas
The following is a list of pet-friendly airlines that accept emotional support animals, either as a carry-on or checked animal, with regular flights to/from Kansas.
- American Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
The above might be a short list, but it only includes airlines with daily flights to/from Kansas state. You may also find other airlines with less frequent flights that allow pets.
Also, it’s important to note that the pet fees and requirements for both pets flying as carry-on and checked animals may vary between airlines. Before booking your ticket, check the pet policies to ensure you won’t have problems flying with your emotional support animal in Kansas.
How to Get an ESA Letter in Kansas?
Getting an ESA letter in Kansas is the same as in any other state. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on getting an ESA letter that includes everything you need to know.
1) Schedule an Appointment With an LMHP
Only a licensed mental health professional, be it a therapist or psychiatrist can write an emotional support animal letter. To get one for your pet, you must schedule an appointment and attend an evaluation session to discuss your symptoms.
During each session, it’s critical to be honest about your symptoms to help your mental healthcare professional determine if an ESA is right for you. Writing an ESA letter is ultimately up to your LMHP.
Therefore, there’s no guarantee that you will get an ESA letter. Your therapist may not find an emotional support animal suitable for you considering your symptoms. If your LMHP decides that an ESA is right for you, they will write an ESA letter.
Although Kansas doesn’t have such rules, states like California require individuals who seek to get an ESA letter to establish a client-provider relationship with their LMHP for at least 30 days before writing an ESA letter.
This means California residents need to start their sessions for at least a month before their LMHP can legally write an ESA letter. Take this into consideration if you plan on moving to California and need a new ESA letter.
2) Adopt a Pet
If you don’t have a pet but your LMHP determined that an emotional support animal is a good option, you’ll obviously need to adopt one. When adopting a pet as an emotional support animal, consider everything that goes into the ownership.
Most people with a mental condition benefit from the presence of an affectionate animal. Some also prefer a low-maintenance pet, like a hamster or tortoise.
Those who want a dog or cat should research what breed would suit their life. Since dogs and cats demand a lot of care from their owners, finding the right breed for your lifestyle and available time is critical in adopting an appropriate emotional support dog or cat.
3) Get Your ESA Letter
Emotional support animal letters include basic information about your pet, such as their type. Once you adopt a pet, you can give the details to your licensed mental health professional to complete your ESA letter.
After this process, you’re all set and can use your emotional support animal letter when needed. There are ESA registries that will include your emotional support animal in their database. Although going through such services isn’t mandatory, you may be able to garner benefits like access to a legal team knowledgeable about ESA law.
Kansas ESA FAQs
Below, we’ll answer some of the commonly asked questions about emotional support animal laws in Kansas.
Can I Use a Kansas-Issued ESA Letter in Other States?
No, you can’t use a Kansas-issued ESA letter in other states. Your ESA letter must be written by a mental healthcare professional who is licensed in your state of residence. So, if you move to another state, you’ll have to get a new ESA letter written by a professional licensed in that state.
Can Landlords Deny ESA Letter in Kansas?
For the most part, landlords can’t deny an emotional support animal letter written by a licensed mental health professional. A landlord can only deny an emotional support animal if the presence of the pet causes a health or safety risk.
In some cases, landlords may legally deny ESAs if their presence causes undue hardship, such as property damage or disturbance to other residents.
Can You Charge a Pet Fee or Deposit for an ESA in Kansas?
The Fair Housing Act clearly prohibits landlords from charging pet fees or deposits for emotional support animals. As ESAs are considered not pets, tenants aren’t required to pay anything extra. However, landlords may charge the tenant if there’s damage caused to the property by the emotional support animal.
Are ESAs Allowed in Kansas Stores and Restaurants?
In line with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Kansas only gives service animals public access rights. While some Kansas stores and restaurants make exceptions for emotional support animals, they aren’t required by federal or state law. As an ESA owner in Kansas, you must follow the pet policies of the businesses you’re entering.
Wrapping up ESA Laws in Kansas
Like many other states, Kansas doesn’t have specific emotional support animal laws. However, this doesn’t mean individuals with a mental disability who have emotional support animals aren’t protected in Kansas.
The Fair Housing Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act prevent landlords from discriminating against those who wish to rent a property with their emotional support animals. With an ESA letter, you can request accommodation for your emotional support animal to live with you in Kansas.
Other than housing, emotional support animals don’t get wider protection like service animals. This goes for their public access rights and air travel rules. Business owners in Kansas can legally deny access to an emotional support animal. For flying with an ESA from or to Kansas, you’ll need to follow the airline’s pet policy, which we’ve detailed above.
While emotional support animals aren’t covered as broadly as service animals, getting an ESA letter from your licensed mental health professional is a worthwhile process for those with a psychiatric disability. You and your emotional support animal won’t be subject to no-pet policies or other limitations, such as weight or breed restrictions.