From the 89th – Landlord/Tenant Bills TMHA Opposes

Tags: Advocacy

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 7:40:57 AM

HB 577 by Bucy

  • Increases notice to vacate on evictions from 3 to 14 days

HB 798 by Walle & SB 882 by Cook

  • Massive landlord/tenant law reform, includes nearly every pro-tenant provisions compiled from bills over the last 3 sessions
  • Imposes right to cure, expanding notice to vacate, sealed prior eviction records from background screening, changes maximum late fee calculations, repair and tenant deduct changes, and removes the 6mth timeline for valid landlord retaliation claims

HB 410 by Rosenthal

  • Restriction on pet deposits

HB 1063 by Bhojani

  • Cities to provide legal services for certain tenants in evictions
  • Post-COVID experience and other states that have similar laws dramatically slows down eviction courts/dockets and every eviction is contested to draw out as much time even if the tenant has no ability or intention of paying rent

HB 1099 by Cole

  • New duty for landlord to provide and maintain HVAC with lease breaking as remedy

HB 1184 by Hinojosa

  • Prohibits rental increases during rental application process

HB 1185 by Hinojosa

  • Limits rent increased when leases are renewed only when the landlord can have and prove new capital improvements
  • Lots of costs can increase for a property owner that are not capital improvements – insurance, taxes, utility costs, etc.

HB 1299 by Vo

  • Changes status quo on deposits, fees and charges for a residential lease

HB 1369 by Jones, V; HB 2223 by Collier,

  • All of these are more eviction record sealing bills
  • Landlords want all possible available information to make a decision to rent or not rent
  • A person’s prior eviction record is a factor, even if they were not evicted (for example if the record shows a consistent history of not paying rent until an eviction suit is filed over and over and over on a tenant, even if they do pay and non-suit the case that is information a future landlord will want to know)

HB 1711 by Collier

  • Adds five day notice to cure (both nonpayment and rules violations)

HB 2184 by Meza

  • Allows a tenant to terminate their lease if the utilities go out for 48 hours.

HB 2900 by Simmons

  • Requires landlords to guarantee HVAC heating (up to 85 degrees) and cooling (down to 65 degrees)
  • Cooling down on a 100+ degree day down to 65 degrees can be difficult, and bill provides liability if landlord fails on this proposed duty

HB 2903 by Simmons

  • Modify current law on landlords’ duty to repair conditions with lots of “traps” in steps any of which are missed trigger liability

HB 2907 by Simmons

  • Requires both authorization and reauthorization to use pictures or likeness of residence and authorization is limited to the term of the lease
  • This bill adds civil penalties and could be problematic for promotion materials or websites if there are pictures of residents and then they leave or their lease expires.