Landlord Question and Answer Forum

In the state of Texas are there any laws about how many days we must give a tenant to repair damages to our property?

This is something that should be covered and written into the lease. Also you would need to state that they are responsible for these repairs. Otherwise try to negotiate the repair and if they do not when the lease ends deduct it from the security.

Posted by Richard W, PA on Wednesday, September 25, 2013

If you mentioned it on the lease agreement, then your tenant has to repair the damages. To avoid these problems, always screen tenants before renting out an apartment. I use tenant screening services from Hunter Rentals & Property Management.

Posted by liza r, TX on Wednesday, October 23, 2013

I clearly state in my lease that any damage caused by tenants must be repaired within 30 days and if not paid for directly, will be added to their rent the following month after repairs are done, whether repair arrangments were made by me or them. Of course small repairs may go unreported, but for something significant the tenant has to to contact me whereby I let them know who will pay. My tenants don't even know my address, so if they arrange a repair the company is going to expect payment from them unless they've reached an agreement with me to do so. I reserve the option to spread the repair payment over a few months if it's extensive. I don't want to wait until a tenant moves out and depending on what's broken, sometimes you can't wait.

Posted by Polly R, CA on Wednesday, March 12, 2014