88R7273 PRL-F

By: Vo H.B. No. 1756

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain deposits, fees, or charges required to be provided by a tenant or prospective tenant in connection with a residential lease.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 92.001, Property Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (5-a) to read as follows:

(5-a) "Security deposit" means a security deposit described by Section 92.102.

SECTION 2. Section 92.102, Property Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 92.102. SECURITY DEPOSIT. (a) A security deposit is any advance of money, other than a rental application deposit or an advance payment of rent, that is intended primarily to secure performance under a lease of a dwelling that has been entered into by a landlord and a tenant or to secure payment for damage to or cleaning of the leased premises.

(b) Any deposit that a landlord requires a prospective tenant to provide to the landlord to lease a dwelling or that the lease requires a tenant to provide to the landlord or maintain in effect for all or part of the lease term is presumed to be a security deposit. A fee or charge required by a landlord for damages or cleaning, no matter how designated, is presumed to be a security deposit.

SECTION 3. The change in law made 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 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.