ESA letters across Texas cities

How the three layers stack

Think of fair housing protection in Texas as layers. The federal Fair Housing Act sits at the bottom and applies everywhere. HUD enforces it, and since May 22, 2026 HUD has weighed requests for untrained ESAs one at a time instead of presuming they must be granted.

The Texas Fair Housing Act is the next layer. Property Code §301.025(c)(2) treats a refusal to accommodate a disability reasonably as discrimination, and the Civil Rights Division at the Texas Workforce Commission enforces it. The statute doesn't mention animals, and HUD's 2026 memo didn't amend it.

Some cities add a third layer: a local ordinance and an office that can take complaints. None of these local laws creates ESA-specific rules. They give you another place to turn, and sometimes protect extra characteristics.

The five cities at a glance

Each city page covers that city's office, local renting patterns, nearby campuses, airports and the county crisis line. Here's the short version.

• Houston: a city fair housing hotline that refers residents to HUD, TWC or a nonprofit; no local enforcement agency
• San Antonio: a Fair Housing Program that tries informal resolution and mediation, then refers to HUD
• Dallas: City Code Chapter 20A and a Fair Housing Division that investigates and conciliates
• Austin: an Office of Civil Rights that also covers student status and source of income
• Fort Worth: a Human Relations Ordinance, a commission on HUD's partner list, and HUD's regional office in town

City limits decide the local layer

A city ordinance only reaches housing inside that city. Plano, Irving, Arlington, Round Rock, Katy and Converse are separate municipalities, even when the mailing address or the commute says otherwise. If you rent in a suburb, the state and federal layers still protect you fully; only the local option changes.

One complaint, one agency

TWC says a complaint can't be filed with both TWC and HUD, and state law lets TWC defer a complaint to a city HUD has certified. In practice, choose the agency that fits best and stick with it. TWC's deadline is one year from what happened, and Texas law separately gives you two years to go to court on your own.

Before any complaint, put your request in writing with your letter attached and keep every reply. Most disagreements end at that stage.

The evaluation is the same everywhere

Every evaluation is a brief video or phone appointment, so where you live in Texas doesn't change the process. Each letter lists the clinician's credential, license number and the state that granted it. A letter naming one or two animals is $129, three or more is $199, and nothing is charged unless a letter is actually written. When things feel too heavy, 988 answers calls and texts at any hour, and 911 is the number for emergencies.