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Texas Property Code - Section 92.0561. Tenant's Repair And Deduct Remedies

Legal Research Home > Texas Laws > Property Code > Texas Property Code - Section 92.0561. Tenant's Repair And Deduct Remedies

§ 92.0561. TENANT'S REPAIR AND DEDUCT REMEDIES.  (a) If 
the landlord is liable to the tenant under Section 92.056(b), the 
tenant may have the condition repaired or remedied and may deduct 
the cost from a subsequent rent payment as provided in this section.
	(b)  The tenant's deduction for the cost of the repair or 
remedy may not exceed the amount of one month's rent under the lease 
or $500, whichever is greater.  However, if the tenant's rent is 
subsidized in whole or in part by a governmental agency, the 
deduction limitation of one month's rent shall mean the fair market 
rent for the dwelling and not the rent that the tenant pays.  The 
fair market rent shall be determined by the governmental agency 
subsidizing the rent, or in the absence of such a determination, it 
shall be a reasonable amount of rent under the circumstances.
	(c)  Repairs and deductions under this section may be made as 
often as necessary so long as the total repairs and deductions in 
any one month do not exceed one month's rent or $500, whichever is 
greater.
	(d)  Repairs under this section may be made only if all of the 
following requirements are met:
		(1)  The landlord has a duty to repair or remedy the 
condition under Section 92.052, and the duty has not been waived in 
a written lease by the tenant under Subsection (e) or (f) of Section 
92.006.
		(2)  The tenant has given notice to the landlord as 
required by Section 92.056(b)(1), and, if required, a subsequent 
notice under Section 92.056(b)(3), and at least one of those 
notices states that the tenant intends to repair or remedy the 
condition.  The notice shall also contain a reasonable description 
of the intended repair or remedy.
		(3)  Any one of the following events has occurred:                            
			(A)  The landlord has failed to remedy the backup 
or overflow of raw sewage inside the tenant's dwelling or the 
flooding from broken pipes or natural drainage inside the dwelling.
			(B)  The landlord has expressly or impliedly 
agreed in the lease to furnish potable water to the tenant's 
dwelling and the water service to the dwelling has totally ceased.
			(C)  The landlord has expressly or impliedly 
agreed in the lease to furnish heating or cooling equipment;  the 
equipment is producing inadequate heat or cooled air;  and the 
landlord has been notified in writing by the appropriate local 
housing, building, or health official or other official having 
jurisdiction that the lack of heat or cooling materially affects 
the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.
			(D)  The landlord has been notified in writing by 
the appropriate local housing, building, or health official or 
other official having jurisdiction that the condition materially 
affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.
	(e)  If the requirements of Subsection (d) of this section 
are met, a tenant may:
		(1)  have the condition repaired or remedied 
immediately following the tenant's notice of intent to repair if 
the condition involves sewage or flooding as referred to in 
Paragraph (A) of Subdivision (3) of Subsection (d) of this section;
		(2)  have the condition repaired or remedied if the 
condition involves a cessation of potable water as referred to in 
Paragraph (A) of Subdivision (3) of Subsection (d) of this section 
and if the landlord has failed to repair or remedy the condition 
within three days following the tenant's delivery of notice of 
intent to repair;
		(3)  have the condition repaired or remedied if the 
condition involves inadequate heat or cooled air as referred to in 
Paragraph (C) of Subdivision (3) of Subsection (d) of this section 
and if the landlord has failed to repair the condition within three 
days after delivery of the tenant's notice of intent to repair;  or
		(4)  have the condition repaired or remedied if the 
condition is not covered by Paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of 
Subdivision (3) of Subsection (d) of this section and involves a 
condition affecting the physical health or safety of the ordinary 
tenant as referred to in Paragraph (D) of Subdivision (3) of 
Subsection (d) of this section and if the landlord has failed to 
repair or remedy the condition within seven days after delivery of 
the tenant's notice of intent to repair.
	(f)  Repairs made pursuant to the tenant's notice must be 
made by a company, contractor, or repairman listed in the yellow or 
business pages of the telephone directory or in the classified 
advertising section of a newspaper of the local city, county, or 
adjacent county at the time of the tenant's notice of intent to 
repair.  Unless the landlord and tenant agree otherwise under 
Subsection (g) of this section, repairs may not be made by the 
tenant, the tenant's immediate family, the tenant's employer or 
employees, or a company in which the tenant has an ownership 
interest.  Repairs may not be made to the foundation or load-bearing 
structural elements of the building if it contains two or more 
dwelling units.
	(g)  A landlord and a tenant may mutually agree for the 
tenant to repair or remedy, at the landlord's expense, any 
condition of the dwelling regardless of whether it materially 
affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.  However, the 
landlord's duty to repair or remedy conditions covered by this 
subchapter may not be waived except as provided by Subsection (e) or 
(f) of Section 92.006.
	(h)  Repairs made pursuant to the tenant's notice must be 
made in compliance with applicable building codes, including a 
building permit when required.
	(i)  The tenant shall not have authority to contract for 
labor or materials in excess of what the tenant may deduct under 
this section.  The landlord is not liable to repairmen, 
contractors, or material suppliers who furnish labor or materials 
to repair or remedy the condition.  A repairman or supplier shall 
not have a lien for materials or services arising out of repairs 
contracted for by the tenant under this section.
	(j)  When deducting the cost of repairs from the rent 
payment, the tenant shall furnish the landlord, along with payment 
of the balance of the rent, a copy of the repair bill and the receipt 
for its payment.  A repair bill and receipt may be the same 
document.
	(k)  If the landlord repairs or remedies the condition or 
delivers an affidavit for delay under Section 92.0562 to the tenant 
after the tenant has contacted a repairman but before the repairman 
commences work, the landlord shall be liable for the cost incurred 
by the tenant for the repairman's trip charge, and the tenant may 
deduct the charge from the tenant's rent as if it were a repair 
cost.

Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 650, § 6, eff. Aug. 28, 1989.  
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1205, § 12, eff. Jan. 1, 
1998.

Last modified: August 11, 2007