Property Management- New Texas Rules Effective September 1^st 2013

In Texas new or modified laws and Rules take affect the first day of September of each year.

September 7^th -11^th 2013, I attended the Texas Association REALTORS® Conference in Dallas Texas,  attended several seminars and took many educational classes on Property Managements during the five-day seminar. There were a lot of new laws, rules, and issues affecting Property Management effective September 1st, 2013. I have summarized and highlighted some (not necessarily all) of them here for your information:

Just some clarifications: Property Codes are the LAWs, where RULEs are rules and are less important than then the Laws. In the case of conflicts between a law and a rule, the law prevails, of course.

Rule 510: Specifics to Eviction.

The new Eviction Rules are governed by Rule 510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedures for Justice Courts.

• All new rules take effect on August 31, 2013.

• Any case filed before August 31 will be governed by the new rules after August 31

• Unless in the opinion of the court it would serve as an injustice to the parties.

Rule 500.4 (a) & (b) – Representation in Justice Court

       -       An individual may represent himself/herself;

-          by an authorized agent in an eviction case; or

-           be represented by an attorney

A Corporation or other Entity may be:
- represented by an employee, owner, officer, or partner of the entity who is not an attorney;

– be represented by a property manager or other authorized agent in an eviction case; or

– represented by an attorney.

Rule 500.5:          Computation of Time:
Exclude the day of the event that triggers the period (next day (tomorrow) is the first day)

Rule 510.3           A Petition: A petition in an eviction case must be sworn to and include:

-          You need to describe completely your reason to evict.

-          You need to describe when and how the notice to vacate was DELIVERED (NOT necessarily RECEIVED).

-          You need to put the Total Amount of the Rent due and unpaid at the time of filing, if any, and put the amount is recurring daily until the judgment day.

-          A statement that attorney fees are being sought, if applicable

New Rule: Eviction Notice must not be less than 10 days (<10) or Greater than twenty one (>21) days after the petition is filed.

New Rule 510.8 (d): WRIT of possession

If the judgment or verdict is in favor of the plaintiff, the judge must award a writ of possession upon demand of the plaintiff and payment of any required fees.

(1) Except as provided by Rule 510.5, no writ of possession may issue before the 6th day after the date a judgment for possession is signed, or the day following the deadline for the defendant to appeal the judgment, whichever is later.

– A writ of possession may not issue more than 60 days after a judgment for possession is signed.

– For good cause, the court may extend the deadline for issuance to 90 days after a judgment for possession is signed.

(2) A writ of possession may not be executed after the 90^th day after a judgment for possession is signed.

(3) A writ of possession must not issue if an appeal is perfected and, if applicable, rent is paid into the registry, as required by these rules.

Rule 510.9           Appeal Time: Appeal Time must be within 5 days after Judgment is signed. Any Judgment is valid for 10 years.

Tenant Selection Criteria: Landlords must specify what criteria they are using to select Tenants. It is only fair to Tenants to know their chance before spending money for credit check, etc.
Good News for Landlords: TAR has a new form for this case.

Adverse Action: If you turn down a Tenant because of credit issue, you must send an Adverse Action Notice to Tenants within 7 days.

Fire Extinguish: You don’t have to have Fire Extinguish in the property. However, if you do have, you must inspect it at least once every year.

Passing Cost of Major Repairs to Tenants: You, as the Landlord, cannot pass on the cost (or part of the cost) of the repairs/replacements/fixing of Major Appliances such as: Air Conditions, Water heater and Plumbing issues to the Tenants. That is illegal. (I believe if the breakdown is not intentional)

Maximum Number of Persons in a Bedroom: In Texas there is a maximum 3 persons per bedroom per state law, however, be aware of any other rules/restrictions imposed by HOA (if any)