Few things turn a good landlord-tenant relationship sour faster than a broken thing and an argument over who pays. The AC quits in July. A faucet drips for a month. The tenant says it's the owner's job, the owner says the tenant caused it, and the clock keeps running.
This post is for owners with a rental in the Houston area, or anyone about to buy one. We manage 1,038 properties here, across single-family homes, multi-family buildings, townhomes and condos, and the same questions come up in every one of them. Scroll through landlord tips Houston Texas reddit threads and you'll see the same arguments repeated. Below is a plain breakdown of what Texas puts on the landlord, what usually falls to the tenant, and how to handle the gray areas before they become disputes.
“We manage 1,038 properties here, across single-family homes, multi-family buildings, townhomes and condos, and the same questions come up in every one of them.”
In This Guide
What the Law Puts on the Landlord
Texas landlord repair laws are narrower than many tenants assume and broader than many owners hope. The landlord doesn't have to fix everything. The duty covers conditions that materially affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant. It also covers hot water, meaning a working water heater that supplies water of at least 120°F.
When the Duty Kicks In
Three things have to be true:
- Notice: The tenant gives notice to the person or place where rent is normally paid.
- Current on rent: The tenant is not behind on rent when the notice is given.
- The condition qualifies: It materially affects health or safety, or the water heater can't deliver 120°F.
A few things the landlord does not have to do:
- Fix tenant-caused damage: Damage from the tenant, a family member, an occupant or a guest is the tenant's problem, except for normal wear and tear.
- Provide security guards: The repair statute doesn't require them.
- Supply utilities that aren't available: If the utility company's lines aren't reasonably available, the landlord isn't on the hook.
What Counts as a Reasonable Time
Texas presumes seven days is a reasonable time to make a repair. That is a presumption, not a hard deadline. Either side can argue it should be shorter or longer. Courts look at when the landlord got the notice, how serious the problem is, and whether materials, labor and utilities were reasonably available.
A sewage backup and a loose cabinet hinge don't get the same clock.
What the Tenant Can Do if You Drop the Ball
If a landlord is liable, the tenant may end the lease, hire someone to fix it and deduct the cost from rent, or pursue court remedies. Every residential lease has to describe these remedies in bold or underlined print. The dollar caps and penalties are in the statute, so check the current text before you rely on a number from a forum.
What Tenants Usually Own
Most of what tenants own comes from the lease. Many owners start with a template from a group like the Houston Apartment Association, then adjust it. A written lease can shift some small jobs to the tenant, but the rules on what can be shifted are specific. Have the lease reviewed before you count on any of it.
In the leases we see, these typically sit with the tenant:
- Light bulbs and HVAC filters: Cheap, frequent and easy to forget.
- Clogs caused by misuse: Wipes, toys and grease don't belong in drains.
- Yard upkeep: When the lease says so, and for single-family homes it usually does.
- Damage from the tenant, guests or pets: Holes in drywall, chewed doors, broken windows.
- Personal property: Furniture and belongings, which is what renter's insurance is for.
Quick Reference: Who Fixes What
| Issue | Usually responsible | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No hot water (heater can't reach 120°F) | Landlord | Named in the repair statute |
| Roof leak or plumbing leak | Landlord | Can materially affect health or safety |
| AC out in summer | Owner, handled as urgent | Heat here is a safety issue in practice |
| Clog from flushed wipes or toys | Tenant | Tenant-caused |
| Window broken by a ball | Tenant | Damage from tenant or guest |
| Worn carpet, faded paint | Landlord | Normal wear and tear |
| Light bulbs, HVAC filters | Tenant | Common lease terms |
| Dishwasher stops draining | Depends on lease and cause | Not a health or safety item by default |
Wear and Tear vs. Damage
This is where most owners go wrong. Normal wear and tear is the slow aging of a place that people live in. Damage is something beyond that.
- Wear and tear: Scuffs, a few nail holes, carpet worn along walkways, paint faded by sunlight.
- Damage: Pet-chewed doors, burns in the counter, holes punched through drywall, a cracked tile from a dropped weight.
Tenant-caused damage that goes past normal wear typically runs anywhere from one to two months' rent to repair. On our portfolio's average rent of about $2,000 a month, that's roughly $2,000 to $4,000.
Owners sometimes try to charge for wear and tear anyway. It rarely works. Texas penalizes bad-faith deposit withholding, so check the current statute before you deduct. A $300 repaint isn't worth a dispute that costs you far more.
Houston's Climate Changes the Math
Maintenance runs harder in a market with heavy humidity, summer highs that regularly top 95°F and a hurricane season from June through November. Houston landlords know HVAC systems, roofs and drainage are the usual flashpoints. A dead AC in August isn't an inconvenience. We treat it as urgent.
Flooding adds another wrinkle in parts of greater Houston, including pockets of Katy, Pearland and the Energy Corridor. Generally, the landlord handles the structure and the tenant covers personal property. That's why we push renter's insurance on every lease.
For plumbing, electrical and roofing calls, we dispatch licensed and insured local vendors, not whoever is cheapest that week.
HOA Properties Create a Three-Way Split
Townhomes and condos with HOAs get messy because three parties may own different pieces of the building: the HOA, the owner and the tenant.
Picture an owner renting a townhome in the Galleria area. A storm hits and the roof starts leaking. The tenant calls the owner, and the owner assumes it's the HOA's problem. The HOA says it will look into it. Two weeks pass, and there's a bucket in the living room.
The tenant doesn't care who owns the roof. A leak that lets water into the home can easily qualify as a condition affecting health or safety, and the tenant's notice goes to the landlord. Sorting out the HOA is the owner's job, not the tenant's. Read your HOA documents before you list so you know where the lines sit.
Fix First, Sort Out Fault Second
Owners spend a lot of energy deciding whether a repair is theirs or the tenant's. Our position is to dispatch first and sort out fault afterward.
Say a tenant reports a slow leak under the bathroom sink. The owner decides it's minor and waits three weeks for a plumber. By then the subfloor is soaked, and a $200 fix has become a $3,000 to $5,000 repair. The tenant also has a fair argument that the response wasn't reasonable.
The cost of the delay almost always beats the cost of just fixing it. If the tenant caused the problem, document it, then bill for it or take it from the deposit. Tenants who feel ignored start searching where do you report landlords, and some call groups like the Houston Tenants Union. Neither is a conversation you want to have over a $200 leak.
Document Everything Before the Tenant Moves In
Say an owner installs a brand-new dishwasher before move-in. Six months later the tenant reports that it won't drain, and the owner is sure the tenant broke it. Without move-in records, there's no way to show what condition it was in on day one.
A paper trail protects both sides. Here's what we recommend on every turnover:
- Photograph every room: Walls, floors, appliances and fixtures, with dates.
- Record appliance condition: Make, model and whether it works.
- Get the tenant's sign-off: Have them confirm the move-in report in writing.
- Log every request: We use AppFolio to track each maintenance request with timestamps and photos.
- Repeat at move-out: Same photos, same rooms, compared side by side.
How We Run Maintenance Requests
Tenants can reach us by portal, email, phone or text. Our maintenance coordinators, including Cindi Medina, take those requests and get vendors moving. Emergencies get a response immediately. Cosmetic repairs take 3 to 7 business days.
We also see "maintenance abuse" regularly, meaning a tenant who submits every tiny annoyance as a repair or tries to hand a damage bill to the owner. A clear process and good records are how we separate real problems from noise.
One client described how it feels on their side: "Communication and completion of minor tenant issues was so easy, like it was on self-drive."
Sometimes a situation needs a person with authority. One owner wrote that Kevin, our owner, "had to step in and was very hands on, making himself accessible when needed, and providing guidance in some very tense situations." Kevin has been a broker since 1995 and grew up around his family's rental properties in Galveston. Some problems need more than a work order.
If keeping up with repairs, notices and vendors feels harder than it should, we're open to a conversation.
FAQ
Who pays when a tenant breaks something?
The tenant does. A Texas landlord generally doesn't have to repair damage caused by the tenant, a family member, an occupant or a guest, other than normal wear and tear. Photos from move-in and move-out make the bill much easier to back up.
Can a Texas tenant withhold rent until a repair is made?
No. The statute gives tenants other options, including ending the lease, repair-and-deduct and court remedies. A tenant who is behind on rent when they give notice loses repair rights. For a full breakdown of how we handle owner resources and tenant situations, visit our owner portal.
Does a repair request have to be in writing?
Only if the lease is in writing and requires written notice. A tenant who wants to use the remedies generally needs a second written notice or a first notice sent by trackable mail, so we treat everything as a paper trail.
Is there a strict seven-day repair deadline?
No. Seven days is a rebuttable presumption of a reasonable time. Courts consider how serious the problem is and whether materials and labor were reasonably available.
Who is responsible when a rental floods?
Generally, the landlord handles the structure and the tenant covers personal property, which is why renter's insurance matters. Check your lease and your own insurance for the specifics. Answers to more common questions are available in our Owner FAQs.
