By: Rodriguez of Travis, Bohac H.B. No. 1086
(Senate Sponsor - Eltife)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2013;
May 3, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
and Commerce; May 14, 2013, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 14, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to interruption of electric service by a residential
landlord.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 92.008, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsections (h) through
(r) to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by this section, a [A] landlord may
not interrupt or cause the interruption of water, wastewater, gas,
or electric service furnished to a tenant by the landlord as an
incident of the tenancy or by other agreement unless the
interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an
emergency.
(f) If a landlord or a landlord's agent violates this
section, the tenant may:
(1) either recover possession of the premises or
terminate the lease; and
(2) in addition to other remedies available under
law, recover from the landlord an amount equal to the sum of the
tenant's actual damages, one month's rent plus $1,000 [or $500,
whichever is greater], reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs,
less any delinquent rents or other sums for which the tenant is
liable to the landlord.
(h) Subject to Subsections (i), (j), (k), (m), and (o), a
landlord who submeters electricity or allocates or prorates
nonsubmetered master metered electricity may interrupt or cause the
interruption of electric service for nonpayment by the tenant of an
electric bill issued to the tenant if:
(1) the landlord's right to interrupt electric service
is provided by a written lease entered into by the tenant;
(2) the tenant's electric bill is not paid on or before
the 12th day after the date the electric bill is issued;
(3) advance written notice of the proposed
interruption is delivered to the tenant by mail or hand delivery
separately from any other written content that:
(A) prominently displays the words "electricity
termination notice" or similar language underlined or in bold;
(B) includes:
(i) the date on which the electric service
will be interrupted;
(ii) a location where the tenant may go
during the landlord's normal business hours to make arrangements to
pay the bill to avoid interruption of electric service;
(iii) the amount that must be paid to avoid
interruption of electric service;
(iv) a statement providing that when the
tenant makes a payment to avoid interruption of electric service,
the landlord may not apply that payment to rent or other amounts
owed under the lease;
(v) a statement providing that the landlord
may not evict a tenant for failure to pay an electric bill when the
landlord has interrupted the tenant's electric service unless the
tenant fails to pay for the electric service after the electric
service has been interrupted for at least two days, not including
weekends or state or federal holidays; and
(vi) a description of the tenant's rights
under Subsection (j) to avoid interruption of electric service if
the interruption will cause a person residing in the tenant's
dwelling to become seriously ill or more seriously ill; and
(C) is delivered not earlier than the first day
after the bill is past due or later than the fifth day before the
interruption date stated in the notice; and
(4) the landlord, at the same time the service is
interrupted, hand delivers or places on the tenant's front door a
written notice that:
(A) prominently displays the words "electricity
termination notice" or similar language underlined or in bold; and
(B) includes:
(i) the date the electric service has been
interrupted;
(ii) a location where the tenant may go
during the landlord's normal business hours to make arrangements to
pay the bill to reestablish interrupted electric service;
(iii) the amount that must be paid to
reestablish electric service;
(iv) a statement providing that when the
tenant makes a payment to reestablish electric service, a landlord
may not apply that payment to rent or other amounts owed under the
lease;
(v) a statement providing that the landlord
may not evict a tenant for failure to pay an electric bill when the
landlord has interrupted the tenant's electric service unless the
tenant fails to pay for the electric service after the electric
service has been interrupted for at least two days, not including
weekends or state or federal holidays; and
(vi) a description of the tenant's rights
under Subsection (j) to avoid interruption of electric service if
the interruption will cause a person residing in the tenant's
dwelling to become seriously ill or more seriously ill.
(i) Unless a dangerous condition exists or the tenant
requests disconnection, a landlord may not interrupt or cause the
interruption of electric service under Subsection (h) on a day:
(1) on which the landlord or a representative of the
landlord is not available to collect electric bill payments and
reestablish electric service;
(2) that immediately precedes a day described by
Subdivision (1); or
(3) on which:
(A) the previous day's highest temperature did
not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted
to remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours according to
the nearest National Weather Service reports; or
(B) the National Weather Service issues a heat
advisory for a county in which the premises is located or has issued
such an advisory on one of the two preceding days.
(j) A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption
of electric service under Subsection (h) of a tenant who, before the
interruption date specified in the notice required by Subsection
(h)(3), has:
(1) established that the interruption will cause a
person residing in the tenant's dwelling to become seriously ill or
more seriously ill by having a physician, nurse, nurse
practitioner, or other similar licensed health care practitioner
attending to the person who is or may become ill provide a written
statement to the landlord or a representative of the landlord
stating that the person will become seriously ill or more seriously
ill if the electric service is interrupted; and
(2) entered into a deferred payment plan that complies
with Subsection (l).
(k) If a tenant has established, in accordance with
Subsection (j), the circumstances necessary to avoid electric
service interruption under that subsection, the landlord may not
interrupt or cause the interruption of the tenant's electric
service under Subsection (h) before:
(1) the 63rd day after the date those circumstances
are established; or
(2) an earlier date agreed to by the landlord and the
tenant.
(l) A deferred payment plan for the purposes of this section
must be in writing. The deferred payment plan must allow the tenant
to pay the outstanding electric bill in installments that extend
beyond the due date of the next electric bill and must provide that
the delinquent amount may be paid in equal installments over a
period equal to at least three electric service billing cycles.
(m) A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption
of electric service under Subsection (h) to a tenant who receives
energy assistance for a billing period during which the landlord
receives a pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other
notification that the energy assistance provider is forwarding
sufficient payment to continue the electric service.
(n) If a delinquent electric bill is paid, or a deferred
payment plan is entered into, during normal business hours, the
landlord shall reconnect the tenant's electric service within two
hours of payment or entry into the deferred payment plan.
(o) A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption
of electric service under Subsection (h) for any of the following
reasons:
(1) a delinquency in payment for electric service
furnished to a previous tenant;
(2) failure to pay non-electric bills, rent, or other
fees;
(3) failure to pay electric bills that are six or more
months delinquent; or
(4) failure to pay an electric bill disputed by the
tenant, unless the landlord has conducted an investigation as
required by the particular case and reported the results in writing
to the tenant.
(p) A landlord who provides notice in accordance with
Subsection (h) may not apply a payment made by a tenant to avoid
interruption of electric service or reestablish electric service to
rent or any other amounts owed under the lease.
(q) The landlord may not evict a tenant for failure to pay an
electric bill when the landlord has interrupted the tenant's
electric service under Subsection (h) unless the tenant fails to
pay for the electric service after the electric service has been
interrupted for at least two days, not including weekends or state
or federal holidays.
(r) Subject to this subsection, a reconnection fee may be
applied if electric service to the tenant is disconnected for
nonpayment of bills under Subsection (h). The reconnection fee
must be computed based on the average cost to the landlord for the
expenses associated with the reconnection, but may not exceed $10.
A reconnection fee may not be applied unless agreed to by the tenant
in a written lease that states the exact dollar amount of the
reconnection fee. A fee may not be applied to a deferred payment
plan entered into under this section.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an electric bill that becomes delinquent on or after the
effective date of this Act. An electric bill that becomes
delinquent before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law applicable to the delinquency immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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