74R12909 PAM-F
By Truan S.B. No. 1605
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1605:
By Solomons C.S.S.B. No. 1605
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to security devices for certain rental dwellings;
1-3 providing a penalty.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 92.152, Property Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 Sec. 92.152. Application of Subchapter. (a) This
1-8 subchapter does not apply to:
1-9 (1) a room in a hotel, motel, or inn or to similar
1-10 transient housing;
1-11 (2) <or to> residential housing owned or operated by a
1-12 public or private college or university accredited by a recognized
1-13 accrediting agency as defined under Section 61.003, Education Code;
1-14 (3) <, or to> residential housing operated by
1-15 preparatory schools accredited by the Texas Education Agency, a
1-16 regional accrediting agency, or any accrediting agency recognized
1-17 by the commissioner of education; or
1-18 (4) a temporary residential tenancy created by a
1-19 contract for sale in which the buyer occupies the property before
1-20 closing or the seller occupies the property after closing for a
1-21 specific term not to exceed 90 days.
1-22 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (a), a <A> dwelling to
1-23 which this subchapter applies includes:
1-24 (1) a room in a dormitory or rooming house <not
2-1 excluded by Subsection (a) of this section>;
2-2 (2) a mobile home;
2-3 (3) a single family house, duplex, or triplex; and
2-4 (4) a living unit in an apartment, condominium,
2-5 cooperative, or townhome project.
2-6 SECTION 2. Section 92.153, Property Code, is amended to read
2-7 as follows:
2-8 Sec. 92.153. Security Devices Required Without Necessity of
2-9 Tenant Request. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), (e),
2-10 (f), <and> (g), and (h) and without necessity of request by the
2-11 tenant, a dwelling must be equipped with:
2-12 (1) a window latch on each exterior window of the
2-13 dwelling;
2-14 (2) a doorknob lock or keyed dead bolt on each
2-15 exterior door;
2-16 (3) a sliding door pin lock<, a sliding door handle
2-17 latch, or a sliding door security bar> on each exterior sliding
2-18 glass door of the dwelling<, if construction of the dwelling was
2-19 completed before September 1, 1993, and the calendar date is before
2-20 January 1, 1995>;
2-21 (4) <a sliding door pin lock and> a sliding door
2-22 handle latch or a sliding door security bar on each exterior
2-23 sliding glass door of the dwelling<, if construction of the
2-24 dwelling was completed on or after September 1, 1993, or the
2-25 calendar date is January 1, 1995, or later>; and
2-26 (5) a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each
2-27 exterior door of the dwelling<, if initial construction of the
3-1 dwelling was completed on or after September 1, 1993; and>
3-2 <(6) a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on
3-3 each exterior door of the dwelling, if the calendar date is January
3-4 1, 1995, or later>.
3-5 (b) If the dwelling has French doors, one door of each pair
3-6 of French doors must meet the requirements of Subsection (a) and
3-7 the other door must have:
3-8 (1) a keyed dead bolt or keyless bolting device
3-9 capable of insertion into the doorjamb above the door and a keyless
3-10 bolting device capable of insertion into the floor or threshold,
3-11 each with a bolt having a throw of one inch or more; or
3-12 (2) a bolt installed inside the door and operated from
3-13 the edge of the door, capable of insertion into the doorjamb above
3-14 the door, and another bolt installed inside the door and operated
3-15 from the edge of the door capable of insertion into the floor or
3-16 threshold, each bolt having a throw of three-fourths inch or more.
3-17 (c) A security device required by Subsection (a) or (b) must
3-18 be installed at the landlord's expense.
3-19 (d) Subsections (a) and (b) apply only when a tenant is in
3-20 possession of a dwelling.
3-21 (e) A keyless bolting device is not required to be installed
3-22 at the landlord's expense on an exterior door if:
3-23 (1) the dwelling is part of a multiunit complex in
3-24 which the majority of dwelling units are leased to tenants who are
3-25 over 55 years of age or who have a physical or mental disability;
3-26 (2) a <the> tenant or occupant in the dwelling is over
3-27 55 years of age or has a physical or mental disability; and
4-1 (3) the landlord is expressly required or permitted to
4-2 periodically check on the well-being or health of the tenant as a
4-3 part of a written lease or other written agreement.
4-4 (f) A keyless bolting device is not required to be installed
4-5 at the landlord's expense if a tenant or occupant in the dwelling
4-6 is over 55 years of age or has a physical or mental disability, the
4-7 tenant requests, in writing, that the landlord deactivate or not
4-8 install the keyless bolting device, and the tenant certifies in the
4-9 request that the tenant or occupant is over 55 years of age or has
4-10 a physical or mental disability. The request must be a separate
4-11 document and may not be included as part of a lease agreement. A
4-12 landlord is not exempt as provided by this subsection if the
4-13 landlord knows or has reason to know that the requirements of this
4-14 subsection are not fulfilled.
4-15 (g) <(f)> A keyed dead bolt or a doorknob lock is not
4-16 required to be installed at the landlord's expense on an exterior
4-17 door if at the time the tenant agrees to lease the dwelling:
4-18 (1) at least one exterior door usable for normal entry
4-19 into the dwelling has both a keyed dead bolt and a keyless bolting
4-20 device, installed in accordance with the height, strike plate, and
4-21 throw requirements of Section 92.154; and
4-22 (2) all other exterior doors have a keyless bolting
4-23 device installed in accordance with the height, strike plate, and
4-24 throw requirements of Section 92.154.
4-25 (h) <(g)> A security device required by this section must be
4-26 operable throughout the time a tenant is in possession of a
4-27 dwelling. However, a landlord may deactivate or remove the locking
5-1 mechanism of a doorknob lock or remove any device not qualifying as
5-2 a keyless bolting device if a keyed dead bolt has been installed on
5-3 the same door.
5-4 (i) A landlord is subject to the tenant remedies provided by
5-5 Section 92.164(a)(4) if the landlord:
5-6 (1) deactivates or does not install a keyless bolting
5-7 device, claiming an exemption under Subsection (e), (f), or (g);
5-8 and
5-9 (2) knows or has reason to know that the requirements
5-10 of the subsection granting the exemption are not fulfilled.
5-11 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-12 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-13 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-14 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-15 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-16 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.