You got your ESA letter a year ago. Maybe a little more. Your landlord accepted it then. Now you are renewing your lease, or you are moving, or your landlord is asking for "current" documentation. The question is: do you really need to do this again?
The short answer is: yes, in most cases. The longer answer is below. We will cover when renewal is required, why landlords expect it, what a fresh evaluation actually looks like the second time around, and what to do if your situation has changed in a way that affects whether a renewal is appropriate.
The 12-month convention
There is no specific federal expiration on ESA letters. The Fair Housing Act (42 USC 3604) and HUD's FHEO-2020-01 guidance do not name a calendar date after which a letter becomes invalid. What HUD guidance does say is that a landlord may request "reasonable supporting information" -- which most landlords interpret as documentation reasonably current to the request.
In practice, the convention that has settled across most of the housing industry is 12 months. A letter dated within the last year is generally accepted; a letter dated more than a year ago is generally questioned. Some landlords are stricter (90 days or 6 months); some are more lenient (24 months); but the 12-month mark is the dominant standard.
A few states have codified or constructively codified the 12-month standard. Florida's 760.27 effectively assumes 12-month letters. California's AB 468 framework has settled around the same convention. The states that have specific ESA statutes generally treat 12 months as the soft expiration.
When you should renew
Renew if any of the following apply:
1. Your existing letter is more than 12 months old
This is the most common trigger. If the date on your letter is more than 12 months ago, you should expect any new landlord, condo board, or housing office to ask for fresh documentation. If your existing landlord asks for it on lease renewal, the same applies.
2. You are moving to a new building
Even if your existing letter is fresh (less than 12 months old), a new landlord may have a 6-month or 90-day standard, may want a letter that names them as the recipient, or may want to verify with the issuing clinician. A fresh letter for the new building avoids ambiguity.
3. You are signing a new lease at the same building
Many landlords treat a lease renewal as a new lease for documentation purposes. The accommodation request and supporting documentation often need to be re-submitted with the renewal. A 12-month-old letter that worked for the original lease may not work for the renewal lease. Check with your property manager 60 days before lease renewal date.
4. The animal in your situation has changed
If your previous letter was for a specific animal who is no longer with you (death, rehoming, etc.) and you now have a new animal, the original letter does not apply to the new animal. A fresh evaluation is the right call.
5. Your situation has changed
If your living circumstances, mental-health status, or housing context have materially changed since the original letter, a fresh evaluation makes sense. The letter is supposed to reflect the current clinical picture, not a year-old snapshot.
6. The state has changed (you moved across state lines)
State licensure matters. A clinician licensed in your old state cannot write a valid letter for your new state. If you moved from Florida to Texas, your Florida-clinician letter does not work for Texas housing. A fresh evaluation with a clinician licensed in your new state is required. (Veritas covers 17 states; if you moved between two of them, we can help with the new evaluation.)
When you may not need to renew
There are scenarios where a renewal is not necessary or not the right call:
Your situation no longer supports an ESA letter
If your animal has passed away or is no longer with you, you do not have an ESA to document. If your mental-health picture has changed substantially -- recovery, sustained remission, life circumstances that have shifted -- a renewal may not be clinically appropriate. The honest answer in those cases is to not renew.
You are no longer in housing where the documentation matters
If you bought a home, moved to a pet-friendly building with no fees, or are otherwise in housing where the ESA letter does not solve a real problem, the documentation does not need to be maintained.
You are leaving the U.S. or moving to a context where U.S. housing law does not apply
ESA letters are U.S. federal-law constructs. If you are moving abroad, the U.S. ESA framework may not apply (and the legal landscape in your destination country is a different conversation).
What a renewal evaluation looks like
A renewal evaluation is a full clinical evaluation, not a "rubber stamp" of the previous letter. The reason is straightforward: the clinician is forming a current professional opinion based on your current situation, not endorsing what another clinician concluded a year ago. (And if the original letter was from a $29 online service that did not actually evaluate you, we cannot endorse it on its face anyway.)
The flow is the same as a first evaluation:
- Intake -- name, address, contact, state.
- Payment -- $99 (Veritas does not discount renewals from new evaluations, because the work is the same).
- Clinical questionnaire -- GAD-7, PHQ-9, structured history. The history section asks about the past 12 months, including what has changed.
- Video appointment -- 30 to 45 minutes with a Veritas nurse practitioner licensed in your state.
- Clinical decision -- the clinician reviews and either issues a fresh letter, declines and explains why, or asks for additional information.
- Delivery -- if a letter is issued, you receive a signed PDF within 24 to 48 hours.
State-specific requirements still apply. California renewals run on the same AB 468 30-day relationship rule as new evaluations -- though if you have an existing 30+ day relationship with a Veritas California clinician from your prior evaluation, the 30-day clock does not restart. Florida 760.27 requirements similarly accommodate continuing relationships.
A few specific renewal questions
"Can I just have my old letter re-dated?" No. A re-dated letter without a real renewal evaluation is fraudulent documentation -- it represents the clinician's current opinion on something the clinician has not currently evaluated. Reputable practices do not do this. If a service offers to "renew" your letter without an evaluation, that is a red flag.
"What if my situation is essentially the same as last year? Can the renewal be quicker?" The clinician will adjust the conversation to focus on what has and has not changed. If the picture is broadly stable, the conversation can be more efficient than a first evaluation. The clinical evaluation still happens; it is not skipped.
"Will my new letter look the same as my old one?" The format will be similar. The specific date, language, and possibly the clinician's name may differ. The substance reflects the clinician's current opinion at the time of renewal.
"Do I need to use the same provider?" No. You can renew with any practice that has clinicians licensed in your state. Many people return to the same provider for continuity, but switching is fine.
"My landlord is asking for a letter dated within the last 90 days. Is that allowed?" Yes, generally. Landlords have discretion to set reasonable freshness standards within the federal framework. A 90-day standard is on the stricter side but is within the range of what is considered reasonable. The recovery is to do a fresh evaluation; the freshness rule is not a basis for fighting.
"What if I cannot afford the renewal right now?" The Veritas fee is $99. If the cost is a barrier, options include:
- Talking to your landlord about a short extension while you arrange funds.
- Checking if your existing therapist or primary-care clinician (if you have one and they have a 30+ day relationship with you in California or Florida) can write a renewal letter for less or for a sliding scale.
- Looking into local mental-health clinics and community health centers that may offer ESA evaluations on a sliding-scale basis.
- Checking with state-level disability rights organizations that sometimes provide referrals to free or low-cost evaluators.
We do not discount the Veritas evaluation, because the clinician's time is the same regardless of whether it is a renewal or a first evaluation. We mention the alternatives because the honest answer is that $99 is real money and you should know your options.
When the renewal is also a "should I keep doing this?" moment
For some people, the 12-month renewal moment is also a natural moment to reflect on whether the ESA letter is still serving the original purpose. Questions worth sitting with:
- Has the animal continued to play a meaningful role in how you manage day-to-day life?
- Has your housing situation stabilized in a way that makes the documentation less critical?
- Has your mental-health situation changed in ways that warrant a different conversation (more care, different care, no care)?
- Is the renewal happening because you genuinely need it, or because it is on autopilot?
The honest answers may be that yes, the letter is still serving its purpose, and a renewal makes sense. They may also be that things have shifted and the letter is less central than it was. Either answer is fine. The renewal evaluation is the right place to think it through with a clinician.
Bottom line on renewal
- ESA letters are conventionally good for 12 months. Most landlords expect a fresh letter at lease renewal or new-building move-in.
- Renewal requires a real evaluation, not a re-dated copy of the old letter.
- The Veritas renewal evaluation is the same $99 as a new evaluation, with the same clinical process.
- State-specific requirements (California AB 468, Florida 760.27) apply equally to renewals.
- If your situation has changed substantially -- in either direction -- the renewal is the right place to discuss it with a clinician.
- Plan ahead. A 30-day buffer before your lease renewal date is comfortable; a 7-day buffer is tight.
Talk to a Veritas clinician
A licensed nurse practitioner in your state will evaluate whether a renewed ESA letter is clinically appropriate in your situation. The fee is $99 and covers the evaluation itself, not a guaranteed outcome. If the clinician decides a renewal is not the right fit, they will tell you why -- that honest answer is part of what you are paying for.
Educational content only. This post is not a clinical evaluation, not medical advice, and not a substitute for the professional judgment of a licensed clinician. Whether ESA documentation is issued in any individual case is determined solely by the licensed clinician's professional judgment at the time of your evaluation. Reading this article does not create a clinician-patient relationship.
Veritas Behavioral Group, LLC. Licensed clinicians available in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, ID, IL, KS, MA, NV, NM, NY, TX, UT, VT, WA, and WY.
This is not legal advice. Statutes and regulations change, courts interpret them, and your situation has facts this post does not know. For advice about your specific case, consult a licensed attorney in your state. Veritas's founder is a licensed attorney; this blog is not the practice of law and does not create an attorney-client relationship.