The Alta Vista Neighborhood Association has a Landlord Committee. This committee has done periodic inspections of the neighborhood and identified properties that have a negative outward appearance that relates to deferred maintenance. Each property is then addressed in one of several ways. The property owner is contacted with a simple postcard that calls the problem to the attention of the owner and requests that the owner fix the problem. Another avenue that is used is contacting the City directly with the use of calling 311 or contacting the Code Compliance officer for our neighborhood to address the problem with the property owner.
It has recently been called to our attention that there are properties in our neighborhood that have major problems that cannot be seen from the outside and that some of these properties are being rented to individuals who might not know their rights as a tenant. The following are some of the rights that tenants have in Texas:
Minor Repairs: A landlord does not have to make minor repairs unless the landlord agreed to make these repairs.
Major Repairs: The warranty of habitability requires the landlord to make reasonable efforts to repair any condition that materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant. If a landlord fails to follow this law, the tenant may be entitled to withhold rent and have the repairs made, get rent reduction and a penalty of one month's rent plus $500.00, or to terminate the lease and move out.
Other repairs involving backup of raw sewage or flooding on the inside of the apartment from broken pipes or the lack of water, heating or cooling (if the landlord had promised these items) are repairs that the landlord is responsible for. However, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing of the problems and that the problems are affecting the tenant's health and safety. The rent must be paid up to date at the time of the notice. The landlord, by law, has a reasonable period of time to make the repairs. If the landlord refuses or fails to make the repairs within a reasonable period of time, the tenant must send another written notice to the landlord advising the landlord that the tenant will terminate the lease, fix it or bring civil action against the landlord. If the tenant has to hire an attorney, the landlord will have to pay the tenant’s attorney’s fees if the tenant wins.
Security: A landlord is not liable to provide security except for locks on doors and windows, lights in common areas and fences and latches at pools.
Smoke Detectors: A landlord is liable to install a smoke detector and the number and placement will depend on the size and design of the apartment. The smoke detector must be in working order when the tenant first moves in. After that, it is the tenant's responsibility to change the batteries and to notify the landlord if the detector is in need of repair.
The above is a summary of some of the areas of tenant's rights taken from Professor Richard M. Alderman's “People's Lawyer, Know Your Rights.” For more information on that article go to www.peopleslawyer.net/tenant.html.
Should you have a concern about a particular property that you would like the Landlord Committee to check out, please feel free to call the Alta Vista Hot Line at 736-HELP (736-4357) and leave a message with the address and the problem and we will do our best to check it out.
It has recently been called to our attention that there are properties in our neighborhood that have major problems that cannot be seen from the outside and that some of these properties are being rented to individuals who might not know their rights as a tenant. The following are some of the rights that tenants have in Texas:
Minor Repairs: A landlord does not have to make minor repairs unless the landlord agreed to make these repairs.
Major Repairs: The warranty of habitability requires the landlord to make reasonable efforts to repair any condition that materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant. If a landlord fails to follow this law, the tenant may be entitled to withhold rent and have the repairs made, get rent reduction and a penalty of one month's rent plus $500.00, or to terminate the lease and move out.
Other repairs involving backup of raw sewage or flooding on the inside of the apartment from broken pipes or the lack of water, heating or cooling (if the landlord had promised these items) are repairs that the landlord is responsible for. However, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing of the problems and that the problems are affecting the tenant's health and safety. The rent must be paid up to date at the time of the notice. The landlord, by law, has a reasonable period of time to make the repairs. If the landlord refuses or fails to make the repairs within a reasonable period of time, the tenant must send another written notice to the landlord advising the landlord that the tenant will terminate the lease, fix it or bring civil action against the landlord. If the tenant has to hire an attorney, the landlord will have to pay the tenant’s attorney’s fees if the tenant wins.
Security: A landlord is not liable to provide security except for locks on doors and windows, lights in common areas and fences and latches at pools.
Smoke Detectors: A landlord is liable to install a smoke detector and the number and placement will depend on the size and design of the apartment. The smoke detector must be in working order when the tenant first moves in. After that, it is the tenant's responsibility to change the batteries and to notify the landlord if the detector is in need of repair.
The above is a summary of some of the areas of tenant's rights taken from Professor Richard M. Alderman's “People's Lawyer, Know Your Rights.” For more information on that article go to www.peopleslawyer.net/tenant.html.
Should you have a concern about a particular property that you would like the Landlord Committee to check out, please feel free to call the Alta Vista Hot Line at 736-
