89R11927 JBD-D
By: LaHood H.B. No. 4179
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the right of first responders and their dependents to
vacate and avoid liability under a residential lease.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 92.006(g), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(g) A tenant's right to vacate a dwelling and avoid
liability under Section 92.016, [or] 92.017, or 92.0171 may not be
waived by a tenant or a landlord, except as provided by those
sections.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 92, Property Code, is
amended by adding Section 92.0171 to read as follows:
Sec. 92.0171. RIGHT TO VACATE AND AVOID LIABILITY RELATED
TO EMPLOYMENT AS FIRST RESPONDER. (a) In this section:
(1) "Dependent," with respect to a first responder,
means:
(A) the first responder's spouse;
(B) the first responder's child; or
(C) an individual for whom the first responder
provided more than one-half of the individual's support for 180
days immediately preceding an application for relief under this
section.
(2) "First responder" has the meaning assigned by
Section 78A.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(b) A tenant who is a first responder or a dependent of a
first responder may vacate the dwelling leased by the tenant and
avoid liability for future rent and all other sums due under the
lease for terminating the lease and vacating the dwelling before
the end of the lease term if:
(1) the lease was executed by or on behalf of a person
who, after executing the lease or during the term of the lease,
becomes employed as a first responder; or
(2) a first responder, while employed as a first
responder, executes the lease and after executing the lease
receives instructions:
(A) to make a permanent residency change as a
condition of continued employment as a first responder; or
(B) to respond to a state of disaster or state of
emergency declared by the governor or the president of the United
States for a period of not less than 90 consecutive days.
(c) A tenant who terminates a lease under Subsection (b)
shall deliver to the landlord or landlord's agent:
(1) a written notice of termination of the lease; and
(2) a copy of an appropriate document providing
evidence of the date of the tenant's employment as a first responder
if Subsection (b)(1) applies or a copy of the first responder's
instructions to make a permanent residency change or respond to a
state of disaster or state of emergency if Subsection (b)(2)
applies.
(d) Termination of a lease under this section is effective:
(1) in the case of a lease that provides for monthly
payment of rent, on the 30th day after the first date on which the
next rental payment is due after the date on which the notice under
Subsection (c)(1) is delivered; or
(2) in the case of a lease other than a lease described
by Subdivision (1), on the last day of the month following the month
in which the notice under Subsection (c)(1) is delivered.
(e) A landlord, not later than the 30th day after the
effective date of the termination of a lease under this section,
shall refund to the residential tenant terminating the lease under
Subsection (b) all rent or other amounts paid in advance under the
lease for any period after the effective date of the termination of
the lease.
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (g), this section does
not affect a tenant's liability for delinquent, unpaid rent or
other sums owed to the landlord before the lease was terminated by
the tenant under this section.
(g) A tenant who terminates a lease under Subsection (b) is
released from all liability for any delinquent, unpaid rent owed to
the landlord by the tenant on the effective date of the lease
termination if the lease does not contain language substantially
equivalent to the following:
"Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the
lease early in certain situations involving employment as a first
responder."
(h) A landlord who violates this section is liable to the
tenant for actual damages, an amount equal to the amount of one
month's rent plus $500, and attorney's fees.
(i) Except as provided by Subsection (j), a tenant's right
to terminate a lease before the end of the lease term, vacate the
dwelling, and avoid liability under this section may not be waived
by a tenant.
(j) A tenant and a landlord may agree that the tenant waives
a tenant's rights under this section if the tenant or any dependent
living with the tenant moves into housing provided to first
responders or other housing within 30 miles of the dwelling. A
waiver under this section must be signed and in writing in at least
12-point type in a document separate from the lease. A waiver under
this section does not apply if:
(1) the tenant or the tenant's dependent moves into
housing owned or occupied by family or relatives of the tenant or
the tenant's dependent; or
(2) the tenant and the tenant's dependent move, wholly
or partly, because of a significant financial loss of income caused
by the tenant's employment as a first responder.
(k) For purposes of Subsection (j), "significant financial
loss of income" means a reduction of 10 percent or more of the
tenant's household income caused by the tenant's employment as a
first responder. A landlord is entitled to verify the significant
financial loss of income in order to determine whether a tenant is
entitled to terminate a lease if the tenant has signed a waiver
under this section and moves within 30 miles of the dwelling into
housing that is not owned or occupied by family or relatives of the
tenant or the tenant's dependent. For purposes of this subsection,
a pay stub or other statement of earnings issued by the tenant's
employer is sufficient verification.
SECTION 3. Section 92.0171, Property Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to a lease that is entered into or renewed on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.