Erwin Jackson, the outspoken Tallahassee landlord known for giving information to the feds in previous public corruption investigations at City Hall, is making a victory lap of sorts.
Jackson settled a federal lawsuit in January filed by the Department of Justice over his refusal to allow a former tenant to have an emotional support animal at one of his properties.
In February, his book, “Fighting the Commission of Corruption in Florida’s Capital City,” came out detailing FBI and state ethics investigations into three former Tallahassee mayors, one of whom, Scott Maddox, went to federal prison for bribery.
As part of the settlement with HUD, Jackson agreed to drop his no-pets policy and adopt an assistance animals policy for his Jackson Properties locations allowing tenants to have assistance animals.
The agreement also allowed Jackson to make his own “reasonable” modifications to the new policy, including requiring tenants to take animals off property to go potty.
But he said that’s all out the window now that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new guidance that untrained emotional support animals are not protected under the Fair Housing Act.
“The bottom line … is there is no such thing as an ESA animal,” Jackson said in an interview.
According to a May 22 New York Times article, HUD recently narrowed its definition of assistance animals for the purposes of Fair Housing Act enforcement, a move that could lead to evictions of tenants who rely on emotional support animals.
Previous HUD guidance held that emotional support and assistance animals were not considered “pets” and were allowed in housing. However, under the Trump administration’s new policy, only animals trained to perform specific disability related services would be presumed reasonable.
In January 2025, during the final two weeks of the Biden administration, DOJ filed the complaint against Jackson and two of his companies.
It alleged Jackson violated the civil rights of a Florida State University student with a history of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder by denying her request to allow an emotional support dog at her Greenbriar Garden Homes apartment.
‘I got DOJ’s attention’
According to the complaint, Jackson gave her seven days to remove the dog or face eviction, though she hadn’t actually adopted one. She ended up leaving the apartment several months later — and moving into an apartment that allowed pets — but continued paying rent at Greenbriar before her lease expired.
Jackson, who hired noted Tallahassee attorney Barry Richard to represent him, asserted that college students were exploiting the system by going online and buying ESA certifications for their pets for $150 or $200 after brief interactions with counselors.
He called it a “horrendous scam” in a 2025 interview with the Democrat. HUD, in its memo to housing officials, said “an entire industry has emerged to convert pets into emotional support animals,” the Times reported.
His settlement with DOJ required him to submit regular compliance reports pertaining to assistance animals. He also paid his former tenant $9,750, which he said covered the cost of the rent she paid after she moved out of her apartment.
“Because of her, I got DOJ’s attention, which I’ve been trying to do for eight years,” he said. “I wrote a thank you letter and sent her the check and was glad to do it.”
Jackson said he’s asking DOJ to close its case “because they asked me to keep track of something that they have now said doesn’t exist.” He also said he will continue to allow exceptions to his no-pets policy, such as veterans with trained service animals.
Meanwhile, Jackson distributed copies of his new book to city commissioners during their May 13 meeting. City Attorney Amy Toman said that because Jackson isn’t a lobbyist, the books aren’t a prohibited gift and only have to be reported if over a certain amount.
His book is selling for $20 on Amazon.com. Jackson told commissioners he hopes to distribute 10,000 copies.
“Every new elected city and county commissioner will be getting one of these in the next 20 years,” he said. “I have that lined up in my trust.”
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Erwin Jackson says new HUD rules vindicate emotional support animal fight
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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