Texas Occupations Code Title 8, Chapter 1303 - Residential Service Companies

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 1303.001 - Short Title
  This chapter may be cited as the Residential Service Company Act. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1421, Sec. 3, eff. June 1, 2003.
• Texas Section 1303.002 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Commission" means the Texas Real Estate Commission. (2) "Contract holder" means a person who is entitled to receive services from a...
• Texas Section 1303.003 - Applicability Of Insurance Laws
  (a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the insurance laws of this state do not apply to a residential service company. This subsection does...
• Texas Section 1303.0035 - Nonapplicability Of Law Governing Cancellation Of Certain Transactions
  The sale of a residential service contract governed by this chapter is not a good or service governed by Chapter 601, Business & Commerce Code....
• Texas Section 1303.004 - Nonapplicability To Certain Persons
  (a) This chapter does not apply to a person who: (1) manufactures or sells a product or part of a product; and (2) sells, offers...
• Texas Section 1303.005 - Applicability To Certain Agreements
  This chapter does not apply to: (1) a performance guarantee given by: (A) the builder of a residential property; or (B) the manufacturer or seller...

SUBCHAPTER B COMMISSION POWERS AND DUTIES

• Texas Section 1303.006 - Liability For Certain Actions By Agent
  This chapter does not exempt a residential service company from common law or statutory liability for an action taken by the company's agent or representative...
• Texas Section 1303.051 - General Powers And Duties Of Commission; Delegation
  (a) The commission shall administer this chapter and may adopt and enforce rules necessary to implement this chapter. (b) The commission may delegate a power,...
• Texas Section 1303.052 - Fees
  (a) A residential service company must pay to the commission a fee for filing an application for a license or an amendment to the application....

SUBCHAPTER C LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

• Texas Section 1303.053 - Examination Of Residential Service Company
  (a) The commission may examine the affairs of a residential service company as necessary. For the purpose of an examination, the commission may administer an...
• Texas Section 1303.101 - License Required
  (a) A person may not issue a residential service contract or perform or arrange to perform services under a residential service contract unless the person...
• Texas Section 1303.102 - Eligibility
  (a) Notwithstanding any other law of this state, any person may apply to the commission for and obtain a license to issue residential service contracts...
• Texas Section 1303.103 - License Application
  (a) An application for a license under this chapter must be: (1) on a form prescribed by commission rule; and (2) verified by the applicant...
• Texas Section 1303.104 - Approval Of Application Materials
  (a) The commission shall approve or disapprove the application materials in writing as soon as reasonably possible after the date the application materials are submitted....
• Texas Section 1303.105 - Issuance Or Denial Of License
  (a) On receipt of an approved application as provided by Section 1303.104, the commission shall determine whether the applicant has demonstrated the potential ability to...
• Texas Section 1303.106 - License Denial: Appeal To Commission
  (a) To appeal the denial of a license as provided by Section 1303.354, a license applicant must file not later than the 10th day after...

SUBCHAPTER D FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Texas Section 1303.107 - Term Of License
  A license continues in effect as long as the license holder meets the requirements of this chapter or until the license is: (1) suspended or...
• Texas Section 1303.151 - Reserve Required
  A residential service company shall maintain a funded reserve against its liability to provide repair and replacement services under its outstanding residential service contracts written...
• Texas Section 1303.152 - Amount Of Reserve
  (a) The amount of the reserve required by Section 1303.151 is based on the amount of liability remaining under outstanding residential service contracts written in...
• Texas Section 1303.153 - Security Required
  (a) As a guarantee that a residential service company will meet its obligations to its contract holders, the company shall maintain with the commission a...

SUBCHAPTER E GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF LICENSE HOLDER

• Texas Section 1303.154 - Amount Of Security
  (a) An applicant for a new license must provide security in the amount of $25,000. The amount of the security may not be reduced before...
• Texas Section 1303.201 - Notice Of Modification
  A residential service company shall file notice with the commission before the company modifies an operation or document described in Section 1303.103. Added by Acts...

SUBCHAPTER F RESIDENTIAL SERVICE CONTRACTS

• Texas Section 1303.202 - Annual Report
  (a) Not later than April 1 of each year, each residential service company shall file with the commission a report covering the preceding calendar year....
• Texas Section 1303.251 - Evidence Of Coverage
  (a) Each contract holder residing in this state is entitled to evidence of coverage under a residential service contract. The residential service company that issued...
• Texas Section 1303.252 - Contents Of Evidence Of Coverage
  (a) Evidence of coverage under a residential service contract must contain a clear and complete statement, if the evidence is a contract, or a reasonably...
• Texas Section 1303.253 - Schedule Of Charges
  (a) A residential service company may not use in conjunction with a residential service contract a schedule of charges for services covered under the contract...
• Texas Section 1303.254 - Remedies Not Waived; Notice
  (a) A contract holder does not waive under a residential service contract a remedy that the holder may have under another law against another person....

SUBCHAPTER G PROHIBITED PRACTICES

• Texas Section 1303.255 - Cancellation Of Contract
  A residential service company may not cancel a residential service contract during the initial term for which the contract is issued unless: (1) the contract...
• Texas Section 1303.301 - False Or Deceptive Statements Prohibited
  (a) A residential service company may not cause or permit the use of: (1) a false or misleading advertisement or solicitation; or (2) any deceptive...
• Texas Section 1303.302 - Certain Conditional Sales Of Property Prohibited
  (a) A seller of a residential property or the buyer's or seller's agent may not condition the sale of the property on the buyer's purchase...
• Texas Section 1303.303 - Certain Charges Without Consent Prohibited
  Unless a homeowner, lessor, or renter consents in writing, a residential service company or the company's agent may not knowingly charge the homeowner, lessor, or...

SUBCHAPTER H DISCIPLINARY ACTION AND OTHER PROCEDURES

• Texas Section 1303.304 - Certain Payments By Residential Service Company Prohibited
  (a) A residential service company may not directly or indirectly pay, as an inducement or compensation for the issuance, purchase, or acquisition of a residential...
• Texas Section 1303.351 - Disciplinary Powers Of Commission
  The commission may suspend or revoke a license issued to a residential service company under this chapter if the commission determines that a ground for...
• Texas Section 1303.352 - Grounds For Disciplinary Action
  (a) The commission may discipline a residential service company under Section 1303.351 if the continued operation of the company would be hazardous to its contract...
• Texas Section 1303.3525 - Hearing
  (a) The commission may authorize the State Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct a hearing and enter a final decision in a proceeding under Section...
• Texas Section 1303.353 - Duties After License Revocation
  (a) Immediately after the effective date of an order revoking a residential service company's license, the company: (1) shall wind up its affairs; (2) may...
• Texas Section 1303.354 - Judicial Review
  (a) A person who is adversely affected by a rule or decision of the commission may file in a district court in Travis County a...
• Texas Section 1303.355 - Administrative Penalty
  (a) The commission may impose an administrative penalty as provided by Subchapter O, Chapter 1101, on a person who violates this chapter or a rule...

SUBCHAPTER I PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 1303.356 - Temporary Suspension
  (a) The presiding officer of the commission shall appoint a disciplinary panel consisting of three commission members to determine whether a person's license to practice...
• Texas Section 1303.401 - Hazardous Financial Condition Of Residential Service Company
  (a) If the financial condition of a residential service company indicates that its continued operation may be hazardous to its contract holders or creditors or...
• Texas Section 1303.402 - Appointment Of Receiver
  (a) If in the commission's opinion the continued operation of a residential service company would be hazardous to its contract holders or the public, the...
• Texas Section 1303.403 - Injunctive Relief
  (a) The commission may bring an action in the name of the state in a district court of Travis County for a restraining order, injunction,...
• Texas Section 1303.404 - Civil Penalty
  (a) A person who violates this chapter is liable for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $2,500 for each violation or $50,000...
• Texas Section 1303.405 - Deceptive Trade Practice
  A violation of this chapter is actionable by a consumer as a deceptive trade practice under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code. Added...
• Texas Section 1303.406 - Criminal Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) wilfully violates this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter; or (2) knowingly makes...
• Texas Section 1303.407 - Additional Penalty
  A residential service company that engages in business in violation of this chapter shall pay $100 for each day the company continues to write new...

Last modified: September 28, 2016