Housing Accommodation Process:

Disability Resources works with students experiencing barriers and limitations to access due to a documented disability. DR approves and ensures implementation of academic, housing, and dietary accommodations, by using the process below and in coordination with Housing & Residence Life (H&RL)

Requesting Housing Accommodations

1. Complete the Request for Accommodations Form and select Housing. 
2. Student completes page 1-2 of Housing Accommodation Request Form. If you would like to meet with DR staff to discuss your request, email [email protected].
3. Student submits the form to their health care provider to complete and return. The form serves as documentation of diagnosed disability and limitations/impact of disability condition and the role of the requested accommodation in reducing or eliminating limitations/areas of impact. (pages 3-5)
   • Complete forms are submitted to DR via email or fax to UMD DR Housing Accommodation Committee: [email protected]
   • UMD Housing Accommodation Committee will review request and communicate a decision, which may include:
     • approval and next steps
     • request for more information
     • denial
4. Approved requests will be communicated via email to student’s UMD email and Housing Residence Life to coordinate and implement accommodations. 
5. *** If you are requesting an accommodation for an Emotional Support Animal, there are additional requirements/steps (see below). 
    

Emotional Support Animal Requests

Begin these steps once you have already completed the housing accommodation steps above and have received notice that your request is “moving toward approval.” These steps are required before an animal is brought to campus.

• Student submits ESA Agreements to be kept on file with student, Housing & Residence Life, & Disability Resources. Agreements include:
  • Release of Information Form
  • DR contacts roommates & H&RL. All roommates must agree to share their residence hall/apartment with an ESA. If all roommates do not consent, then the student will be offered alternative room assignments pending availability.
  • Resident Responsibilities for ESA form
• Veterinary visit records; vet visit 30 days prior to placement documenting:
  • up to date vaccinations
  • absence of external parasites (fleas and mites)
  • routine deworming complete
  • record of spay/neutering, when possible given the species
• Disability Resources reviews ESA agreements/records, confirms roommate agreement.
• Disability Resources communicates final approval to the student, at which point the ESA can be brought to campus.
• Students whose request is denied are invited to meet with Disability Resources staff for further details related to the denial of their request. Students do reserve the right to appeal an accommodation decision, and to submit additional supporting documentation related to their request. 

**Please note:

• Absent exceptional circumstances, DR attempts to provide a response to the ESA request within 30 business days of receiving information from a reliable professional provider.
• Only one Emotional Support Animal or service animal can reside in a campus housing unit (dorm or apartment).
• Disability Resources staff review the need for ESA with the student annually.
• If Housing & Residence Life determines it is necessary to remove the ESA due to violations of Resident Responsibilities, Housing & Residence Life first consults with DR.
• Please review the UMN Animals on Campus Policy for more information. Disability Resources handles all accommodation requests on an individualized, case-by-case basis
• Disability Resources discourages paying individuals found on websites for certificates or template letters.  As per the guidance document by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):
  • "Some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee.
  • **In HUD's experience, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal".

If you have any additional questions about the housing accommodation request process at UMD, please contact [email protected]