89R11927 JBD-D

By: LaHood H.B. No. 4179

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the right of first responders and their dependents to vacate and avoid liability under a residential lease.

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

SECTION 1. Section 92.006(g), Property Code, is amended to read as follows:

(g) A tenant's right to vacate a dwelling and avoid liability under Section 92.016, [or] 92.017, or 92.0171 may not be waived by a tenant or a landlord, except as provided by those sections.

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 92, Property Code, is amended by adding Section 92.0171 to read as follows:

Sec. 92.0171. RIGHT TO VACATE AND AVOID LIABILITY RELATED TO EMPLOYMENT AS FIRST RESPONDER. (a) In this section:

(1) "Dependent," with respect to a first responder, means:

(A) the first responder's spouse;

(B) the first responder's child; or

(C) an individual for whom the first responder provided more than one-half of the individual's support for 180 days immediately preceding an application for relief under this section.

(2) "First responder" has the meaning assigned by Section 78A.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

(b) A tenant who is a first responder or a dependent of a first responder may vacate the dwelling leased by the tenant and avoid liability for future rent and all other sums due under the lease for terminating the lease and vacating the dwelling before the end of the lease term if:

(1) the lease was executed by or on behalf of a person who, after executing the lease or during the term of the lease, becomes employed as a first responder; or

(2) a first responder, while employed as a first responder, executes the lease and after executing the lease receives instructions:

(A) to make a permanent residency change as a condition of continued employment as a first responder; or

(B) to respond to a state of disaster or state of emergency declared by the governor or the president of the United States for a period of not less than 90 consecutive days.

(c) A tenant who terminates a lease under Subsection (b) shall deliver to the landlord or landlord's agent:

(1) a written notice of termination of the lease; and

(2) a copy of an appropriate document providing evidence of the date of the tenant's employment as a first responder if Subsection (b)(1) applies or a copy of the first responder's instructions to make a permanent residency change or respond to a state of disaster or state of emergency if Subsection (b)(2) applies.

(d) Termination of a lease under this section is effective:

(1) in the case of a lease that provides for monthly payment of rent, on the 30th day after the first date on which the next rental payment is due after the date on which the notice under Subsection (c)(1) is delivered; or

(2) in the case of a lease other than a lease described by Subdivision (1), on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice under Subsection (c)(1) is delivered.

(e) A landlord, not later than the 30th day after the effective date of the termination of a lease under this section, shall refund to the residential tenant terminating the lease under Subsection (b) all rent or other amounts paid in advance under the lease for any period after the effective date of the termination of the lease.

(f) Except as provided by Subsection (g), this section does not affect a tenant's liability for delinquent, unpaid rent or other sums owed to the landlord before the lease was terminated by the tenant under this section.

(g) A tenant who terminates a lease under Subsection (b) is released from all liability for any delinquent, unpaid rent owed to the landlord by the tenant on the effective date of the lease termination if the lease does not contain language substantially equivalent to the following:

"Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving employment as a first responder."

(h) A landlord who violates this section is liable to the tenant for actual damages, an amount equal to the amount of one month's rent plus $500, and attorney's fees.

(i) Except as provided by Subsection (j), a tenant's right to terminate a lease before the end of the lease term, vacate the dwelling, and avoid liability under this section may not be waived by a tenant.

(j) A tenant and a landlord may agree that the tenant waives a tenant's rights under this section if the tenant or any dependent living with the tenant moves into housing provided to first responders or other housing within 30 miles of the dwelling. A waiver under this section must be signed and in writing in at least 12-point type in a document separate from the lease. A waiver under this section does not apply if:

(1) the tenant or the tenant's dependent moves into housing owned or occupied by family or relatives of the tenant or the tenant's dependent; or

(2) the tenant and the tenant's dependent move, wholly or partly, because of a significant financial loss of income caused by the tenant's employment as a first responder.

(k) For purposes of Subsection (j), "significant financial loss of income" means a reduction of 10 percent or more of the tenant's household income caused by the tenant's employment as a first responder. A landlord is entitled to verify the significant financial loss of income in order to determine whether a tenant is entitled to terminate a lease if the tenant has signed a waiver under this section and moves within 30 miles of the dwelling into housing that is not owned or occupied by family or relatives of the tenant or the tenant's dependent. For purposes of this subsection, a pay stub or other statement of earnings issued by the tenant's employer is sufficient verification.

SECTION 3. Section 92.0171, Property Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a lease that is entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.