Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1086 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Rodriguez of Travis, Bohac H.B. No. 1086
2	2	(Senate Sponsor - Eltife)
3	3	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2013;
4	4	May 3, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
5	5	and Commerce; May 14, 2013, reported favorably by the following
6	6	vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 14, 2013, sent to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to interruption of electric service by a residential
12	12	landlord.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 92.008, Property Code, is amended by
15	15	amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsections (h) through
16	16	(r) to read as follows:
17	17	(b) Except as provided by this section, a [A] landlord may
18	18	not interrupt or cause the interruption of water, wastewater, gas,
19	19	or electric service furnished to a tenant by the landlord as an
20	20	incident of the tenancy or by other agreement unless the
21	21	interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an
22	22	emergency.
23	23	(f) If a landlord or a landlord's agent violates this
24	24	section, the tenant may:
25	25	(1) either recover possession of the premises or
26	26	terminate the lease; and
27	27	(2) in addition to other remedies available under
28	28	law, recover from the landlord an amount equal to the sum of the
29	29	tenant's actual damages, one month's rent plus $1,000 [or $500,
30	30	whichever is greater], reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs,
31	31	less any delinquent rents or other sums for which the tenant is
32	32	liable to the landlord.
33	33	(h) Subject to Subsections (i), (j), (k), (m), and (o), a
34	34	landlord who submeters electricity or allocates or prorates
35	35	nonsubmetered master metered electricity may interrupt or cause the
36	36	interruption of electric service for nonpayment by the tenant of an
37	37	electric bill issued to the tenant if:
38	38	(1) the landlord's right to interrupt electric service
39	39	is provided by a written lease entered into by the tenant;
40	40	(2) the tenant's electric bill is not paid on or before
41	41	the 12th day after the date the electric bill is issued;
42	42	(3) advance written notice of the proposed
43	43	interruption is delivered to the tenant by mail or hand delivery
44	44	separately from any other written content that:
45	45	(A) prominently displays the words "electricity
46	46	termination notice" or similar language underlined or in bold;
47	47	(B) includes:
48	48	(i) the date on which the electric service
49	49	will be interrupted;
50	50	(ii) a location where the tenant may go
51	51	during the landlord's normal business hours to make arrangements to
52	52	pay the bill to avoid interruption of electric service;
53	53	(iii) the amount that must be paid to avoid
54	54	interruption of electric service;
55	55	(iv) a statement providing that when the
56	56	tenant makes a payment to avoid interruption of electric service,
57	57	the landlord may not apply that payment to rent or other amounts
58	58	owed under the lease;
59	59	(v) a statement providing that the landlord
60	60	may not evict a tenant for failure to pay an electric bill when the
61	61	landlord has interrupted the tenant's electric service unless the
62	62	tenant fails to pay for the electric service after the electric
63	63	service has been interrupted for at least two days, not including
64	64	weekends or state or federal holidays; and
65	65	(vi) a description of the tenant's rights
66	66	under Subsection (j) to avoid interruption of electric service if
67	67	the interruption will cause a person residing in the tenant's
68	68	dwelling to become seriously ill or more seriously ill; and
69	69	(C) is delivered not earlier than the first day
70	70	after the bill is past due or later than the fifth day before the
71	71	interruption date stated in the notice; and
72	72	(4) the landlord, at the same time the service is
73	73	interrupted, hand delivers or places on the tenant's front door a
74	74	written notice that:
75	75	(A) prominently displays the words "electricity
76	76	termination notice" or similar language underlined or in bold; and
77	77	(B) includes:
78	78	(i) the date the electric service has been
79	79	interrupted;
80	80	(ii) a location where the tenant may go
81	81	during the landlord's normal business hours to make arrangements to
82	82	pay the bill to reestablish interrupted electric service;
83	83	(iii) the amount that must be paid to
84	84	reestablish electric service;
85	85	(iv) a statement providing that when the
86	86	tenant makes a payment to reestablish electric service, a landlord
87	87	may not apply that payment to rent or other amounts owed under the
88	88	lease;
89	89	(v) a statement providing that the landlord
90	90	may not evict a tenant for failure to pay an electric bill when the
91	91	landlord has interrupted the tenant's electric service unless the
92	92	tenant fails to pay for the electric service after the electric
93	93	service has been interrupted for at least two days, not including
94	94	weekends or state or federal holidays; and
95	95	(vi) a description of the tenant's rights
96	96	under Subsection (j) to avoid interruption of electric service if
97	97	the interruption will cause a person residing in the tenant's
98	98	dwelling to become seriously ill or more seriously ill.
99	99	(i) Unless a dangerous condition exists or the tenant
100	100	requests disconnection, a landlord may not interrupt or cause the
101	101	interruption of electric service under Subsection (h) on a day:
102	102	(1) on which the landlord or a representative of the
103	103	landlord is not available to collect electric bill payments and
104	104	reestablish electric service;
105	105	(2) that immediately precedes a day described by
106	106	Subdivision (1); or
107	107	(3) on which:
108	108	(A) the previous day's highest temperature did
109	109	not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted
110	110	to remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours according to
111	111	the nearest National Weather Service reports; or
112	112	(B) the National Weather Service issues a heat
113	113	advisory for a county in which the premises is located or has issued
114	114	such an advisory on one of the two preceding days.
115	115	(j) A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption
116	116	of electric service under Subsection (h) of a tenant who, before the
117	117	interruption date specified in the notice required by Subsection
118	118	(h)(3), has:
119	119	(1) established that the interruption will cause a
120	120	person residing in the tenant's dwelling to become seriously ill or
121	121	more seriously ill by having a physician, nurse, nurse
122	122	practitioner, or other similar licensed health care practitioner
123	123	attending to the person who is or may become ill provide a written
124	124	statement to the landlord or a representative of the landlord
125	125	stating that the person will become seriously ill or more seriously
126	126	ill if the electric service is interrupted; and
127	127	(2) entered into a deferred payment plan that complies
128	128	with Subsection (l).
129	129	(k) If a tenant has established, in accordance with
130	130	Subsection (j), the circumstances necessary to avoid electric
131	131	service interruption under that subsection, the landlord may not
132	132	interrupt or cause the interruption of the tenant's electric
133	133	service under Subsection (h) before:
134	134	(1) the 63rd day after the date those circumstances
135	135	are established; or
136	136	(2) an earlier date agreed to by the landlord and the
137	137	tenant.
138	138	(l) A deferred payment plan for the purposes of this section
139	139	must be in writing. The deferred payment plan must allow the tenant
140	140	to pay the outstanding electric bill in installments that extend
141	141	beyond the due date of the next electric bill and must provide that
142	142	the delinquent amount may be paid in equal installments over a
143	143	period equal to at least three electric service billing cycles.
144	144	(m) A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption
145	145	of electric service under Subsection (h) to a tenant who receives
146	146	energy assistance for a billing period during which the landlord
147	147	receives a pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other
148	148	notification that the energy assistance provider is forwarding
149	149	sufficient payment to continue the electric service.
150	150	(n) If a delinquent electric bill is paid, or a deferred
151	151	payment plan is entered into, during normal business hours, the
152	152	landlord shall reconnect the tenant's electric service within two
153	153	hours of payment or entry into the deferred payment plan.
154	154	(o) A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption
155	155	of electric service under Subsection (h) for any of the following
156	156	reasons:
157	157	(1) a delinquency in payment for electric service
158	158	furnished to a previous tenant;
159	159	(2) failure to pay non-electric bills, rent, or other
160	160	fees;
161	161	(3) failure to pay electric bills that are six or more
162	162	months delinquent; or
163	163	(4) failure to pay an electric bill disputed by the
164	164	tenant, unless the landlord has conducted an investigation as
165	165	required by the particular case and reported the results in writing
166	166	to the tenant.
167	167	(p) A landlord who provides notice in accordance with
168	168	Subsection (h) may not apply a payment made by a tenant to avoid
169	169	interruption of electric service or reestablish electric service to
170	170	rent or any other amounts owed under the lease.
171	171	(q) The landlord may not evict a tenant for failure to pay an
172	172	electric bill when the landlord has interrupted the tenant's
173	173	electric service under Subsection (h) unless the tenant fails to
174	174	pay for the electric service after the electric service has been
175	175	interrupted for at least two days, not including weekends or state
176	176	or federal holidays.
177	177	(r) Subject to this subsection, a reconnection fee may be
178	178	applied if electric service to the tenant is disconnected for
179	179	nonpayment of bills under Subsection (h). The reconnection fee
180	180	must be computed based on the average cost to the landlord for the
181	181	expenses associated with the reconnection, but may not exceed $10.
182	182	A reconnection fee may not be applied unless agreed to by the tenant
183	183	in a written lease that states the exact dollar amount of the
184	184	reconnection fee. A fee may not be applied to a deferred payment
185	185	plan entered into under this section.
186	186	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
187	187	to an electric bill that becomes delinquent on or after the
188	188	effective date of this Act. An electric bill that becomes
189	189	delinquent before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
190	190	law applicable to the delinquency immediately before the effective
191	191	date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
192	192	purpose.
193	193	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
194	194	* * * * *