By: Bohac, Alvarado, Thibaut, Allen, Vo H.B. No. 1819
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to minimum habitability standards for multi-family rental
buildings in certain municipalities; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 214, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 214.219 to read as follows:
Sec. 214.219. MINIMUM HABITABILITY STANDARDS FOR
MULTI-FAMILY RENTAL BUILDINGS IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This
section applies only to a municipality with a population of 1.7
million or more.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Multi-family rental building" means a building
that has three or more single-family residential units.
(2) "Unit" means one or more rooms rented for use as a
permanent residence under a single lease to one or more tenants.
(c) A municipality shall adopt an ordinance to establish
minimum habitability standards for multi-family rental buildings,
including requiring maintenance of the proper operating condition
of:
(1) foundations, stairways, walls, floors, ceilings,
and all supporting structures at a level sufficient to bear
reasonably imposed loads without material risk to tenants;
(2) foundations, walls, floors, ceilings, doors, and
windows so that the interior of each unit is reasonably protected
from adverse weather conditions;
(3) signs to identify each unit in a multi-family
residential building and each building in a complex of multi-family
residential buildings, sufficiently legible and conspicuous to
allow emergency personnel to locate a unit at night;
(4) electric circuits and outlets in each unit
sufficient to safely carry the electrical load imposed by the
normal use of lighting and appliances;
(5) approved heating devices capable of maintaining a
minimum inside temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit when the
outside temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit;
(6) plumbing to supply each unit with potable water at
adequate pressure;
(7) water heating devices to supply each unit with a
reasonable amount of water at a minimum temperature of 120 degrees
Fahrenheit;
(8) one or more toilets for each unit or group of
units, located in a manner to afford privacy to the user and
connected to a water source and to a public sanitary sewer system or
to a septic system approved under Chapter 366, Health and Safety
Code;
(9) security devices required by Section 92.153,
Property Code; and
(10) swimming pools, if any, in a manner consistent
with the requirements of Chapter 757, Health and Safety Code.
(d) The municipality shall designate in the ordinance the
method for determining the devices that qualify as approved heating
devices under Subsection (c)(5).
(e) A municipality may establish other standards as
necessary to reduce material risks to the physical health or safety
of tenants of multi-family rental buildings.
(f) A municipality shall establish a program for the
inspection of multi-family rental buildings to determine if the
buildings meet the minimum required habitability standards. The
program shall include inspections under the direction of:
(1) the municipality's building official, as defined
by the International Building Code or by a local amendment to the
code under Section 214.216;
(2) the chief executive of the municipality's fire
department; and
(3) the municipality's health authority, as defined by
Section 121.021, Health and Safety Code.
(g) The owner of a multi-family rental building commits an
offense if the owner violates an ordinance adopted under this
section. An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
Each day the violation continues constitutes a separate offense.
(h) A municipality may impose a civil penalty under Section
54.017 for a violation of this section.
SECTION 2. A municipality shall adopt the minimum
habitability standards required under Section 214.219, Local
Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than December 31,
2009.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.