Operative Text
HUD Handbook 4350.3 § 6-10
A. Applicability
1. Pet rule requirements in this paragraph apply to housing for the elderly
and persons with disabilities.
2. These pet rule requirements do not apply to family housing. Those
properties are instead covered by state and local requirements.
3. The regulations apply to household pets only. (See the Glossary.)
4. An owner must not apply house pet rules to assistance animals (see
Glossary for definition of Assistance Animals) and their owners. This
prohibition does not preclude an owner from enforcing state and local
laws, if they apply.
NOTE: An owner must not apply house pet rules to assistance animals
and their owners. However, this prohibition does not preclude the owner
from enforcing state and local health and safety laws, if they apply, nor
does it preclude the owner from requiring that the tenant with a disability
who uses an assistance animal be responsible for the care and
maintenance of the animal, including the proper disposal of the
assistance animal’s waste.
B. Overview
1. Pet rules help maintain a decent, safe, and sanitary living environment for
the tenants in a property through the development of guidelines on the
registration and inoculation of pets, the sanitary disposal of waste, and
the restraint of pets while in common areas. In addition, they help protect
and preserve the physical condition of the property and the owner’s
financial interest in it.
2. Tenants or tenant representatives may submit written comments on the
proposed pet rules to the project owner by the date specified in the notice
of proposed rules. In addition, the owner may schedule one or more
meetings with tenants during the comment period to discuss the proposed
rules. Tenants and tenant representatives may make oral comments on
the proposed rules at these meetings. (See Exhibit 6-5 for more
information on how to develop pet rules.)
3. By developing pet rules, owners ensure that existing and prospective pet
owners know their responsibilities to their pets and neighbors as well as
the property. Pet rules also make existing and potential tenants aware of
their rights while living among pet owners.
C. Key Requirements
1. Owners must not prohibit tenants from having common household pets in
the tenants’ units or discriminate against applicants based on their
ownership of a pet.
2. An applicant may reject an available unit if this unit is close to another unit
with a pet. This action must not negatively affect the family’s application
for occupancy or position on the waiting list to be eligible for the next
available unit. The owner is not obligated at the time the applicant rejects
a unit to provide an alternate unit.
3. Property owners may refuse to register a pet if:
a. The pet is not a common household pet (see Glossary for
definition of Common Household Pet);
b. The keeping of the pet would violate any applicable house rule; or
c. The pet owner fails to provide complete pet registration.
4. Pet rules:
a. Must include the mandatory rules identified in Exhibit 6-4.
Mandatory rules are the obligatory rules that must be prescribed
for inoculations, sanitary standards, pet restraints, registration,
and written notification to a pet owner if an owner refuses to
register a pet.
b. May include additional discretionary rules, but they must be
reasonable. Discretionary rules are the rules that may be
developed by the owner. Tenants must be consulted in
developing discretionary rules, as discussed in Exhibit 6-5.
c. Exhibit 6-4 identifies mandatory pet rules as well as possible
discretionary pet rules.
5. Owners must make sure that pet rules do not conflict with applicable state
or local law or regulations. If such a conflict exists, the state and local law
or regulations apply.
6. For requirements on developing pet rules, see Exhibit 6-5.
7. Owners may modify the rules at any time. When doing so, they must
follow procedures for notice and consultation. (See Exhibit 6-5.)
8. A pet owner violates pet rules when he/she fails to act according to the
mandatory and discretionary rules.
9. When a pet’s conduct or condition causes a threat or nuisance to the
health or safety of the property’s occupants, its owner violates the pet
rules. State and local law determines the criteria for the conduct and
conditions that are a threat or nuisance to the tenants of a property.
Property owners should check with state or local law to find the
appropriate definition for their jurisdiction.
10. In addition to the information presented here, an owner should consult
HUD Handbook 4350.1, Multifamily Asset Management and Project
Servicing, for further information and details relating to pet rules and
regulations.
NOTE: See paragraph 5-10.C.4 for information on expenses for
assistance animals. Expenses for assistance animals are deductible
when calculating a tenant’s annual income, because they may be counted
as medical expenses. However, expenses for common household pets
are not deductible when calculating annual income.
D. Lease Provisions for Pets
1. Leases must:
a. State that tenants are permitted to keep common household pets
in their units subject to pet rules;
b. Incorporate the pet rules by reference;
c. Have language that states that the tenant agrees to comply with
these rules; and
d. State that the tenant agrees to comply with these rules and that a
violation of any of these rules may be grounds for removal of the
pet or termination of the pet owner’s tenancy (or both).
Remember!
The requirements in paragraph 6-10 apply only to properties
developed for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
2. Leases may:
a. Allow the property owner to enter and inspect the premises after
reasonable notice to the tenant and during reasonable hours.
This action is permitted by the lease only if the property owner has
received a signed, written complaint that the conduct or condition
of a pet in the unit constitutes, under applicable state or local law,
a nuisance or a threat to the health or safety of the occupants of
the project or others in the community.
b. Contain language that allows the property owner to enter the
premises to remove a pet that becomes vicious, displays
symptoms of severe illness, or demonstrates other behavior that
may be considered an immediate threat to the health or safety of
the tenants, in the absence of state or local personnel to remove a
pet.
c. Permit the property owner to enter the premises and remove the
pet only if the property owner requests that the pet owner remove
the pet from the project immediately, and the pet owner refuses to
do so. Another situation that allows such action is the case when
the property owner is unable to contact the pet owner to make a
removal request.
E. Procedures When Pet Rules Are Violated
1. If a property owner determines on the basis of clear evidence, supported
by written statements, that a pet owner has violated a pet rule, the
property owner may serve a written notice of a pet rule violation to the pet
owner.
2. The notice must contain:
a. The pet rule(s) alleged to be violated;
b. A brief factual statement of how the pet violation was determined;
c. A statement that the pet owner has 10 days from the effective
date of service of the notice to correct the alleged violation, or to
make a written request for a meeting to discuss it;
d. A statement that the pet owner is entitled to be accompanied by
another person of his/her choice at the meeting; and
e. A statement that the pet owner’s failure to correct the violation,
request a meeting, or appear at a requested meeting may result in
initiation of procedures to terminate the pet owner’s tenancy.
3. Meeting with the tenant.
a. If the pet owner makes a timely request for a meeting to discuss
an alleged pet rule violation, a property owner must establish a
mutually agreeable time and place for the meeting.
b. The meeting must take place no later than 15 days from the
effective date of the notice, unless the property owner agrees to a
later date. As a result of the meeting, the property owner may
give the pet owner additional time to correct the violation.
4. Notice of pet removal. A property owner may issue a notice for the
removal of the pet if:
a. The pet owner and property owner are unable to resolve the pet
rule violation at the meeting; or
b. It is determined that the pet owner has failed to correct the pet rule
violation.
5. Initiation of procedures to terminate a pet owner’s tenancy.
a. The owner must not initiate procedures to terminate a pet owner’s
tenancy based on a pet rule violation, unless:
(1) The pet owner has failed to remove the pet or correct a pet
rule violation within the applicable time period; and
(2) The pet rule violation is sufficient to begin procedures to
terminate the pet owner’s tenancy under the terms of the
lease and applicable regulations.
b. The property owner may initiate procedures at any time in
accordance with the provision of applicable state or local laws. If
the state or local provisions conflict with the 10 days that the pet
owner is given to correct the violation (see subparagraph E.2.c
above), then the timeframe that is most beneficial to the pet owner
must be followed.Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Effective Timeline
Current
Sep 24, 2026
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Related Rules
§ 10-2.9A
Rights of Elderly and Handicapped Tenants to Have Pets
§ 1437z–3
Pet ownership in public housing
§ 1701r–1
Pet ownership in assisted rental housing for the elderly or handicapped