Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5225 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R14393 JBD-D
2	2	By: Alders H.B. No. 5225
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the powers and duties of certain property owners'
10	10	associations.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 209.0061(b), Property Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(b) A property owners' association board shall adopt an
15	15	enforcement policy regarding the levying of fines by the property
16	16	owners' association. The policy must include:
17	17	(1) general categories of restrictive covenants for
18	18	which the association may assess fines;
19	19	(2) a schedule of fines for each category of
20	20	violation; [and]
21	21	(3) information regarding hearings described by
22	22	Section 209.007; and
23	23	(4) a restriction on the association's authority to
24	24	impose fines in unreasonable amounts.
25	25	SECTION 2. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
26	26	Section 209.0066 to read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 209.0066. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY. (a) Except as
28	28	otherwise provided by this section, a property owners' association,
29	29	from one year to the next, may not increase by an unreasonable
30	30	amount an assessment a property owner is required to pay.
31	31	(b) A property owners' association may require a property
32	32	owner to pay an assessment that would otherwise violate Subsection
33	33	(a) if a majority of voters entitled to vote on the matter approve
34	34	the assessment in a vote held as provided for by this chapter or the
35	35	association's dedicatory instruments.
36	36	(c) A property owners' association board shall adopt a
37	37	policy regarding the levying of assessments related to the
38	38	maintenance or improvement of a common area and fees for the use of
39	39	subdivision amenities. The policy must include:
40	40	(1) general categories of restrictive covenants for
41	41	which the association may levy assessments; and
42	42	(2) a schedule of:
43	43	(A) assessments for each category of maintenance
44	44	or improvement and for each common area; and
45	45	(B) fees for the use of subdivision amenities.
46	46	(d) A property owners' association board may not levy an
47	47	assessment for the maintenance or improvement of a common area
48	48	unless a majority of voters entitled to vote on the matter approve
49	49	the board's policy described by Subsection (c) in a vote held as
50	50	provided for by this chapter or the association's dedicatory
51	51	instruments.
52	52	SECTION 3. Section 209.0094, Property Code, is amended by
53	53	adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
54	54	(h) A property owners' association may not file an
55	55	assessment lien if the debt securing the lien consists solely of a
56	56	minor fine.
57	57	SECTION 4. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
58	58	Sections 209.0151 and 209.0152 to read as follows:
59	59	Sec. 209.0151. REGULATION OF AESTHETIC IMPROVEMENTS. A
60	60	property owners' association or, if applicable, an architectural
61	61	review authority, as defined by Section 209.00505(a), may not adopt
62	62	or enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits or
63	63	restricts the owner of a lot on which a residence is located from
64	64	making a minor aesthetic improvement to the residence or the lot,
65	65	including painting the residence a color of the owner's choice,
66	66	constructing fencing around the residence, or improving the
67	67	landscaping on the property, provided the improvements would not
68	68	otherwise violate an applicable building code.
69	69	Sec. 209.0152. REGULATION OF USE OF COMMON AREAS. A
70	70	property owners' association may not adopt or enforce a provision
71	71	in a dedicatory instrument that unreasonably prohibits or restricts
72	72	an owner's use of a common area unless a majority of voters entitled
73	73	to vote on the matter approve the prohibition or restriction in a
74	74	vote held as provided for by this chapter or the association's
75	75	dedicatory instruments.
76	76	SECTION 5. Section 209.016, Property Code, is amended by
77	77	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
78	78	follows:
79	79	(b) A property owners' association may not adopt or enforce
80	80	a provision in a dedicatory instrument that:
81	81	(1) requires a lease or rental applicant or a tenant to
82	82	be submitted to and approved for tenancy by the property owners'
83	83	association; [or]
84	84	(2) requires the following information to be submitted
85	85	to a property owners' association regarding a lease or rental
86	86	applicant or current tenant:
87	87	(A) a consumer or credit report; or
88	88	(B) a lease or rental application submitted by
89	89	the applicant, tenant, or that person's agent to the property owner
90	90	or property owner's agent when applying for tenancy; or
91	91	(3) requires an owner to obtain approval from a
92	92	property owners' association before renting the owner's residence
93	93	as a short-term rental.
94	94	(b-1) In this section, "short-term rental" means a
95	95	residence that is rented wholly or partly for a fee and for a period
96	96	of less than 30 consecutive days.
97	97	SECTION 6. Section 209.0094(h), Property Code, as added by
98	98	this Act, applies only to a lien filed on or after the effective
99	99	date of this Act.
100	100	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.