Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3405 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R3340 KBB-F
2	2	By: Bryant H.B. No. 3405
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to repairs made pursuant to a tenant's notice of intent to
8	8	repair and the refund of a tenant's security deposit.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 92.0561(f), Property Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(f) Repairs made pursuant to the tenant's notice must be
13	13	made by an independent [a] company, contractor, or repairman
14	14	[listed in the yellow or business pages of the telephone directory
15	15	or in the classified advertising section of a newspaper of the local
16	16	city, county, or adjacent county at the time of the tenant's notice
17	17	of intent to repair]. If the rental unit is located in a
18	18	municipality requiring the company, contractor, or repairman to be
19	19	licensed, the person or entity performing the repair must be
20	20	licensed in accordance with the municipality's requirements.
21	21	Unless the landlord and tenant agree otherwise under Subsection (g)
22	22	[of this section], repairs may not be made by the tenant, the
23	23	tenant's immediate family, the tenant's employer or employees, or a
24	24	company in which the tenant has an ownership interest. Repairs may
25	25	not be made to the foundation or load-bearing structural elements
26	26	of the building if it contains two or more dwelling units.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 92.107, Property Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	Sec. 92.107. TENANT'S FORWARDING ADDRESS. (a) The
30	30	landlord is not obligated to return a tenant's security deposit or
31	31	give the tenant a written description of damages and charges until
32	32	the tenant provides [gives] the landlord a written statement of the
33	33	tenant's forwarding address for the purpose of refunding the
34	34	security deposit.
35	35	(b) A tenant may satisfy the requirement of Subsection (a):
36	36	(1) by providing the statement in accordance with the
37	37	lease; or
38	38	(2) regardless of the lease terms, by:
39	39	(A) hand-delivering the statement to the
40	40	landlord or landlord's property manager if rent has been paid in
41	41	that manner; or
42	42	(B) sending the statement to the landlord or
43	43	landlord's property manager or to an address where the tenant has
44	44	paid rent under the lease by:
45	45	(i) first class mail;
46	46	(ii) certified mail, return receipt
47	47	requested;
48	48	(iii) registered mail; or
49	49	(iv) any other delivery service that
50	50	provides delivery tracking information.
51	51	(c) A tenant who complies with Subsection (b) has satisfied
52	52	the requirement of Subsection (a), even if the landlord fails to
53	53	claim or refuses delivery of the written statement of the tenant's
54	54	forwarding address.
55	55	(d) The tenant does not forfeit the right to a refund of the
56	56	security deposit or the right to receive a description of damages
57	57	and charges merely for failing to give a forwarding address to the
58	58	landlord.
59	59	SECTION 3. Section 92.109(d), Property Code, is amended to
60	60	read as follows:
61	61	(d) A landlord is presumed to have acted in bad faith if the
62	62	landlord [who] fails either to return a security deposit or to
63	63	provide a written description and itemization of deductions on or
64	64	before the 30th day after the date the tenant has both:
65	65	(1) surrendered [surrenders] possession; and
66	66	(2) satisfied the requirement of Section 92.107(a) [is
67	67	presumed to have acted in bad faith].
68	68	SECTION 4. Section 94.107, Property Code, is amended to
69	69	read as follows:
70	70	Sec. 94.107. TENANT'S FORWARDING ADDRESS. (a) A landlord
71	71	is not obligated to return a tenant's security deposit or give the
72	72	tenant a written description of damages and charges until the
73	73	tenant provides [gives] the landlord a written statement of the
74	74	tenant's forwarding address for the purpose of refunding the
75	75	security deposit.
76	76	(b) A tenant may satisfy the requirement of Subsection (a):
77	77	(1) by providing the statement in accordance with the
78	78	lease; or
79	79	(2) regardless of the lease terms, by:
80	80	(A) hand-delivering the statement to the
81	81	landlord or landlord's property manager if rent has been paid in
82	82	that manner; or
83	83	(B) sending a statement to the landlord or
84	84	landlord's property manager or to an address where the tenant has
85	85	paid rent under the lease by:
86	86	(i) first class mail;
87	87	(ii) certified mail, return receipt
88	88	requested;
89	89	(iii) registered mail; or
90	90	(iv) any other delivery service that
91	91	provides delivery tracking information.
92	92	(c) A tenant who complies with Subsection (b) has satisfied
93	93	the requirement of Subsection (a), even if the landlord fails to
94	94	claim or refuses delivery of the written statement of the tenant's
95	95	forwarding address.
96	96	(d) The tenant does not forfeit the right to a refund of the
97	97	security deposit or the right to receive a description of damages
98	98	and charges merely for failing to give a forwarding address to the
99	99	landlord.
100	100	SECTION 5. Section 94.109(d), Property Code, is amended to
101	101	read as follows:
102	102	(d) A landlord is presumed to have acted in bad faith if the
103	103	landlord [who] fails either to return a security deposit or to
104	104	provide a written description and itemization of deductions on or
105	105	before the 30th day after the date the tenant has both:
106	106	(1) surrendered [surrenders] possession; and
107	107	(2) satisfied the requirement of Section 94.107(a) [is
108	108	presumed to have acted in bad faith].
109	109	SECTION 6. Section 94.157(g), Property Code, is amended to
110	110	read as follows:
111	111	(g) Repairs made based on a tenant's notice must be made by
112	112	an independent [a] company, contractor, or repairman [listed at the
113	113	time of the tenant's notice of intent to repair in the yellow or
114	114	business pages of the telephone directory or in the classified
115	115	advertising section of a newspaper of the municipality or county in
116	116	which the manufactured home community is located or in an adjacent
117	117	county]. If the rental unit is located in a municipality requiring
118	118	the company, contractor, or repairman to be licensed, the person or
119	119	entity performing the repair must be licensed in accordance with
120	120	the municipality's requirements. Unless the landlord and tenant
121	121	agree otherwise under Subsection (i), repairs may not be made by the
122	122	tenant, the tenant's immediate family, the tenant's employer or
123	123	employees, or a company in which the tenant has an ownership
124	124	interest. Repairs may not be made to the foundation or load-bearing
125	125	structural elements of the manufactured home lot.
126	126	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
127	127	a lease entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of
128	128	this Act. A lease entered into or renewed before the effective date
129	129	of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
130	130	effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
131	131	that purpose.
132	132	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.