But are all Repairs Equal?
Now, generally speaking, you’re not required to make cosmetic repairs. Your tenants might say, “We don’t like this shade of blue, so we’d like for you to paint this wall with something a little darker.” This is not the kind of “repair” you are required to do.
For the most part, unless somehow it’s part of your lease, so long as the Premises is habitable, you’re fine telling your client, “No” or allowing them to cover the costs (so long as they are willing to change it back whenever they vacate). By default, there’s no obligation to make a repair that isn’t technically a defect on the premises.
But there are certain repairs that the law will require you to handle. Specifically, the law requires that you handle something that it refers to as a defect on the premises that affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant. This provision of the Texas Property Code should appear in your lease. Section 92.056(g) specifically requires the following, “A lease must contain language in underlined or bold print that informs the tenant of the remedies available under this section and Section 92.0561.”
The Texas Property Code and Texas Courts take these sections very seriously. If somebody’s safety or their health is particularly at risk, you have to do something about it. And the courts are not shy about forcing landlords to make good on their obligations to carry out their responsibilities to their tenants.
If you are having difficulty deciding whether or not a defect does in fact affect the health or safety of an ordinary tenant, think about a loved one together with a small child. If it is reasonable to believe that this loved one and/or the child would have their health or safety at risk without this repair, the law says you must address the matter within a reasonable amount of time.
Your Tenants Should Notify You in Writing at the First Sign of a Problem
For all repairs, urgent or otherwise, your lease is the best way you can very specifically, and very carefully outline how your tenants should get in contact with you when the repair is needed. Your residential lease should specify that you must be contacted when a defect appears on the premises. Sometimes tenants “sit” on certain repairs, for example, if there’s a leak coming from the ceiling.
“It’s not that big a deal, just kind of a little mark here and there.”
But your lease should require that you be notified at the instant a defect appears. If there is some kind of a noticeable defect, you the Landlord should be notified so you can prevent it from getting worse. Small leaks grow into huge holes in the ceiling.
If the tenant fails to notify you of a leak in the ceiling, he or she cannot be said to be without fault when the problem gets much worse. These things don’t happen, generally speaking, in one night, so the tenant may be responsible for some of these repairs, and they might end up be on the hook for some of the cost.
However, whether or not your tenant is at all at fault for failure to disclose a defect is a determination for a Court. Your obligation, according to the Texas Property Code, is to get the hole in the ceiling fixed within a reasonable time after being notified of the defect.
If your lease properly identifies the need for immediate notice when a defect occurs, your property is safer. If you have a good phone number or a good email address, even an after-hours number is good to have, to protect you as a landlord.
Emergency Repairs
It is important to recognize there are such things that require immediate attention. Be on alert. The Court does not care that you were really busy one afternoon. If waiting more than 24 hours is unreasonable, the Court could find in a favor of a Tenant who wants to be compensated for economic damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs in a repair and remedy claim against you.
Your Lease should also clearly prohibit the Tenant from making his own repairs. The last thing you need is for a Tenant to claim they did $10,000 worth of repairs and now they want to sue you for compensation. You also have no control over the quality of the repair, and you wouldn’t have any kind of warranty that you might otherwise get from hiring your own repair person.
Know your obligations and the rights of your Tenant. Make sure your lease is clear to the tenant and that you understand it well. Not every repair is an emergency, but every emergency repair is a big enough deal and deserves your full attention.
