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House Bill 3101 |
House Author: Anchia et al. |
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Effective: 1-1-08 |
Senate Sponsor: Carona |
House Bill 3101 amends the Property Code to expand a residential tenant's rights and remedies. The bill prohibits a landlord from intentionally preventing a tenant who is delinquent in paying rent from entering the leased premises by means of changing the door locks on the door to the tenant's individual unit unless the landlord's right to change the locks because of failure to timely pay rent is placed in the lease. The bill prohibits a landlord who changes the locks or otherwise prevents a tenant from entering the tenant's unit from changing the locks or otherwise preventing a tenant from entering a common area of the residential rental property. The bill increases the civil penalty that a tenant may recover from the landlord for a violation of related provisions to one month's rent plus $1,000, rather than $500, in addition to other expenses and fees. The bill prohibits a landlord from changing the locks while the tenant or other legal occupant is in the dwelling or more than once during a rental payment period. The bill restricts a landlord to requesting from a tenant, as a precondition for parking privileges, only the make, model, color, year, license number, and state of registration of the vehicle to be parked in a specific space or common parking area. The bill prohibits a landlord from charging a late fee for failing to pay rent except under specific conditions and makes a landlord liable to a penalty for a violation. The bill requires a landlord that has an on-site management or superintendent's office to provide tenants a telephone number that will be answered 24 hours a day for reporting emergencies related to a condition that materially affects a tenant's physical health or safety. The bill requires a lease to contain conspicuous notice that informs the tenant of the remedies available relating to repairs to the unit. The bill requires the landlord to make available to the applicant a printed notice of the landlord's selection criteria and grounds for which an application is denied and it requires some form of acknowledgement on the tenant's part indicating the notice was made available, the absence of which is a rebuttable presumption that the notice was not made available.