Recent Blog on Topic
Landlord Tenant Litigation
At Carpenter & Associates, we handle all aspects of landlord tenant issues and litigation.
Eviction:
A suit for eviction in Texas is known as a Forcible Detainer. Texas law requires an exact procedure to be followed exactly as outlined in the law, and believe it or not, many landlords fail to meet this requirement. Even when they do, there are affirmative defenses available in some situations to prevent you from being evicted. If you are facing a notice to vacate, or a suit for eviction, it is always best to call an attorney for advice, to see if there is some way to stop the process in its tracks, or even just give you a little more time to find a new place to go.
Security Deposit Return:
Texas law requires any residential landlord to send you a letter “itemizing” any deductions from the security deposit you paid within 30 days of you moving out, returning your keys, and providing a forwarding address. If you’ve done all three of these things, and it’s been longer than 30 days since they happened without receiving your deposit back, or a letter from your landlord telling you why you aren’t getting your deposit back, you may have a case for failure to return your security deposit. If you received a letter, but it’s not itemized, or if your letter itemizes exorbitant fees for items, i.e. $75 for a light bulb, then you also may have a claim against your landlord.
Damage Disputes:
If you received a large bill from your landlord after you moved out that doesn’t make sense, lists really high fees for items that shouldn’t cost that much, or bills you for items that you did not damage, or pre-existed you, you might have reason to dispute the charges against you to avoid a negative credit reporting.
Failure to Repair Conditions Affecting your Health and Safety:
If you have a condition that is endangering your physical health and safety, then you may have a claim for failure to repair and remedy in your rental home, if you follow the correct procedure in reporting the issues to your landlord, your rent is current at all times during those reports, and certain periods of time have passed where your landlord failed to take diligent effort to fix the issue. Mold, pests, security issues related to the locks on your doors, and water that doesn’t reach 120 degrees are a few examples of these types of issues. Surprisingly, Texas law does not require the landlord to actually fix the issue, but merely to take “diligent” effort to do so. So, these cases are more successful in situations where your landlord is making little to no effort, instead of situations where your landlord is repeatedly trying in good-faith, but failing.
Unlawful Lockout/Re-Entry:
In Texas, self-help eviction tactics are illegal. A landlord choosing to change the locks on your door could be a major violation of your rights, with steep penalties, especially if you ask for a new key and are refused for any reason. Your landlord doesn’t automatically have the right to change your locks, it must be written into your lease before they are ever allowed to do so.
Also, if they lock you out, they have to give you notice at least two days in advance, and they have to put a notice on your door after the lockout that has a number to call 24/7 where you can have the new key delivered within 2 hours maximum, whether you pay rent or not. That’s right, you are NOT required to pay rent before your landlord is required to let you back in and give you a new key. They also can’t lock you out more than once per rental payment period, so if you pay rent once per month, you can only have your locks changed once per month.
If you have been locked out, you are entitled to two emergency causes of action to restore entry, terminate your lease, and award you damages. Don’t wait to call a lawyer for help, call the moment it happens to get the help you need.
Unlawful Interruption of Utilities:
The Texas Property Code protects you from the unlawful interruption to your utilities by your landlord. Much like and unlawful lockout, you are entitled to have your utilities restored if the landlord did not follow the very specific procedures in the code before turning off your service.
Further, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas has laid down some very specific laws with regard to how you are billed for utilities by the landlord. If your lease says you will pay for actual usage, but your landlord is billing you on an allocated method, that’s a violation of Texas law. If you agreed to allocation, but your landlord fails to use one of the 4 approved methods for calculating your allocation, or they are erroneously over-billing you because of an error in their calculations, that is a violation of Texas law.
These violations come with very steep penalties that most landlords would really like to avoid, so don’t continue overpaying, call an attorney and get help sorting through your bills today.
Retaliation:
Many tenants feel that their landlord is retaliating against them for one reason or another, but it is important to realize that when it comes to the statutory retaliation tenants are protected from, many things that we would normally include in our common definition of retaliation are not included in the statutory definition of the word. You are protected under this statute when you do something that your are legally entitled to do, such as request repairs, or attempt to enforce your lease agreement against the landlord, and afterward your landlord files for eviction, reduces your services or takes some other action against you within 6 months as a direct response to your lawful attempt to assert your rights.
It is important to realize that not all actions by the landlord are specifically defined as retaliatory, so you’ll need a qualified attorney to help assess your case to see if your rights were violated. Call today to find out if your landlord has retaliated against you.
Breach of Contract:
Sometimes there is something wrong in your living environment, but you don’t quite fit into the failure to repair, or any other statutory remedy, and you’re wondering what to do. In these cases, it’s important to realize that at its base level, a lease agreement is just a contract, and therefore contract protections apply. You may be entitled to remedies if your landlord has breached your contractual agreement.
Call today to have your case assessed to see if you might be entitled to recovery.
Recent Blog on Topic
Landlord Tenant Litigation
At Carpenter & Associates, we handle all aspects of landlord tenant issues and litigation.
Eviction:
A suit for eviction in Texas is known as a Forcible Detainer. Texas law requires an exact procedure to be followed exactly as outlined in the law, and believe it or not, many landlords fail to meet this requirement. Even when they do, there are affirmative defenses available in some situations to prevent you from being evicted. If you are facing a notice to vacate, or a suit for eviction, it is always best to call an attorney for advice, to see if there is some way to stop the process in its tracks, or even just give you a little more time to find a new place to go.
Security Deposit Return:
Texas law requires any residential landlord to send you a letter “itemizing” any deductions from the security deposit you paid within 30 days of you moving out, returning your keys, and providing a forwarding address. If you’ve done all three of these things, and it’s been longer than 30 days since they happened without receiving your deposit back, or a letter from your landlord telling you why you aren’t getting your deposit back, you may have a case for failure to return your security deposit. If you received a letter, but it’s not itemized, or if your letter itemizes exorbitant fees for items, i.e. $75 for a light bulb, then you also may have a claim against your landlord.
Damage Disputes:
If you received a large bill from your landlord after you moved out that doesn’t make sense, lists really high fees for items that shouldn’t cost that much, or bills you for items that you did not damage, or pre-existed you, you might have reason to dispute the charges against you to avoid a negative credit reporting.
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