Tex. Prop. Code § 94.159 · Subchapter D. PREMISES CONDITION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIRS
TENANT'S JUDICIAL REMEDIES.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A tenant's judicial remedies under Section 94.156 shall include:
(1) an order directing the landlord to take reasonable action to repair or remedy the condition;
(2) an order reducing the tenant's rent, from the date of the first repair notice, in proportion to the reduced rental value resulting from the condition until the condition is repaired or remedied;
(3) a judgment against the landlord for a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500;
(4) a judgment against the landlord for the amount of the tenant's actual damages; and
(5) court costs and attorney's fees, excluding any attorney's fees for a cause of action for damages relating to a personal injury.
(b) A landlord who knowingly violates Section 94.003 by contracting with a tenant to waive the landlord's duty to repair under this subchapter shall be liable to the tenant for actual damages, a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $2,000, and reasonable attorney's fees. For purposes of this subsection, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the landlord acted without knowledge of the violation. The tenant shall have the burden of pleading and proving a knowing violation. If the lease is not in violation of Section 94.003, the tenant's proof of a knowing violation must be clear and convincing. A mutual agreement for tenant repair under Section 94.157(i) is not a violation of Section 94.003.
(c) The justice, county, and district courts have concurrent jurisdiction of an action under Subsection (a), except that the justice court may not order repairs under Subsection (a)(1).
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 801, Sec. 1, eff. April 1, 2002.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.94.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 a03f530655c893fd063c0824757b5767b3e3c4d2b97b6311996b6458ed542314
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Prop. Code § 94.159. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Property Code
- Tex. Prop. Code § 94.156LANDLORD LIABILITY AND TENANT REMEDIES; NOTICE AND TIME FOR REPAIR.Printed as Section 94.159 | Sections 94.159(a)(1)
- Tex. Prop. Code § 94.158LANDLORD AFFIDAVIT FOR DELAY.Printed as Section 94.159 | Section 94.159(a)(3)
- Tex. Prop. Code § 94.253NONRETALIATION.Printed as Section 94.159
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