By: Creighton S.B. No. 1783
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to a fee collected by a landlord in lieu of a security
  deposit.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 92, Property
  Code, is amended by adding Section 92.111 to read as follows:
         Sec. 92.111.  FEE IN LIEU OF SECURITY DEPOSIT. 
         (a)  If a security deposit is required by a residential
  lease, the landlord may choose to offer the tenant an option to pay
  a fee in lieu of a security deposit;
         (b)  If the tenant decides to pay a fee in lieu of a security
  deposit, an agreement to collect a fee in lieu of a security deposit
  must be in writing and signed by the landlord or their legal
  representative and the tenant;
         (c)  A fee in lieu of a security deposit may be a recurring
  monthly fee, or payable upon any schedule and in any amount that the
  landlord and tenant choose;
         (d)  A fee collected under this section may be used to
  purchase insurance coverage for damages and charges for which the
  tenant is legally liable under the lease or as a result of breaching
  the lease.
         (e)  A fee collected under this section is not a security
  deposit as defined by Section 92.102.
         SECTION 2.  Section 92.111, Property Code, as added by this
  Act, applies only to a lease entered into or renewed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. A lease entered into or renewed before
  the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed
  immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.