| 2 | 5 | | |
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| 3 | 6 | | |
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| 4 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 9 | | relating to notice to a prospective residential tenant regarding |
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| 7 | 10 | | flooding and flood insurance. |
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| 8 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 92, Property Code, is |
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| 10 | 13 | | amended by adding Section 92.0132 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 14 | | Sec. 92.0132. NOTICE REGARDING FLOODING AND FLOOD |
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| 12 | 15 | | INSURANCE. (a) A landlord shall provide to a tenant a written |
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| 13 | 16 | | notice substantially equivalent to the following: |
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| 14 | 17 | | "This dwelling may be located in an area of land designated by |
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| 15 | 18 | | the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as susceptible to |
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| 16 | 19 | | flooding. FEMA maintains a flood map service center on its Internet |
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| 17 | 20 | | website that the public may search by address, at no cost, to |
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| 18 | 21 | | determine if a dwelling is located in a flood hazard area. Most |
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| 19 | 22 | | tenant insurance policies do not cover damages or loss incurred in a |
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| 20 | 23 | | flood event. You should seek appropriate insurance coverage that |
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| 21 | 24 | | would cover losses caused by a flood." |
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| 22 | 25 | | (b) The notice required by Subsection (a) must be included |
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| 23 | 26 | | in: |
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| 24 | 27 | | (1) a written lease and printed in underlined or |
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| 25 | 28 | | boldfaced type; or |
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| 26 | 29 | | (2) a separate written document given to the tenant |
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| 27 | 30 | | before execution of the lease. |
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| 28 | 31 | | (c) If a landlord violates this section and a tenant suffers |
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| 29 | 32 | | loss or damage to the tenant's personal property as a result of |
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| 30 | 33 | | flood, the tenant may terminate the lease by providing written |
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| 31 | 34 | | notice of termination to the landlord. |
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| 32 | 35 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 33 | 36 | | a lease entered into on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 34 | 37 | | lease entered into before that date is governed by the law |
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| 35 | 38 | | applicable to the lease immediately before the effective date of |
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| 36 | 39 | | this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
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| 37 | 40 | | purpose. |
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