Relating to a tenant's right to terminate a residential lease following certain outages of essential utilities.
Impact
The bill aims to provide safeguards for renters, enabling them to take decisive action in the face of significant disruptions caused by severe weather. It seeks to protect residents from remaining financially bound to a lease when they cannot access essential services due to no fault of their own. The implications of this legislation could encourage landlords to ensure that essential utilities are maintained during adverse weather conditions and strengthen tenants' rights across the state.
Summary
House Bill 2184 proposes amendments to the Texas Property Code, specifically introducing new regulations that govern a tenant's right to terminate residential leases in situations where essential utilities are lost due to severe weather events. This legislation defines essential utilities as electricity, natural gas, and water, and provides grounds for tenants to vacate their homes without incurring further financial liability under certain circumstances. The bill stipulates that a tenant can terminate their lease if they notify their landlord in writing of a utility outage and the utility is not restored within 48 hours.
Contention
While the bill is largely viewed as a positive advancement for tenant rights, there may be concerns from landlords regarding the potential for increased financial risks associated with the inability to collect rent during outages. Some stakeholders might argue that the bill places an overly burdensome obligation on property owners to restore utilities or face the threat of losing tenant rental payments. Discussions surrounding the bill could also address how long outages must last before a lease can be terminated, and whether this might affect the relationships between landlords and tenants.
Relating to the establishment of a program administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and certain county housing authorities to incentivize landlords to accept tenants participating in the housing choice voucher program.
Relating to verification of identity and employment authorization in connection with certain contracts for or concerning the conveyance of residential real property and residential leases.