Keyless bolting devices

[eliot250]

Our rental house does not have keyless bolting devices on any of the exterior doors as required (without tenant request) per the Texas Property Code 92.153. After requesting the devices be put on our house, my understanding is the landlord has three days to complete this request.

If they do not, I would like to (as allowed in the Code) terminate my lease and move out. (We have MANY other issues at hand, but this is all I am addressing right now.) If this is the route I take, do I still have to give 30 days notice as stated by my lease, or is any amount of notice acceptable?

Thank you.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This is the Texas Property Code - I'll reply in the next message:

§ 92.153. SECURITY DEVICES REQUIRED WITHOUT NECESSITY OF
TENANT REQUEST. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), (e),
(f), (g), and (h) and without necessity of request by the tenant, a
dwelling must be equipped with:
(1) a window latch on each exterior window of the
dwelling;
(2) a doorknob lock or keyed dead bolt on each exterior
door;
(3) a sliding door pin lock on each exterior sliding
glass door of the dwelling;
(4) a sliding door handle latch or a sliding door
security bar on each exterior sliding glass door of the dwelling;
and
(5) a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each
exterior door of the dwelling.
(b) If the dwelling has French doors, one door of each pair
of French doors must meet the requirements of Subsection (a) and the
other door must have:
(1) a keyed dead bolt or keyless bolting device
capable of insertion into the doorjamb above the door and a keyless
bolting device capable of insertion into the floor or threshold,
each with a bolt having a throw of one inch or more; or
(2) a bolt installed inside the door and operated from
the edge of the door, capable of insertion into the doorjamb above
the door, and another bolt installed inside the door and operated
from the edge of the door capable of insertion into the floor or
threshold, each bolt having a throw of three-fourths inch or more.
(c) A security device required by Subsection (a) or (b) must
be installed at the landlord's expense.
(d) Subsections (a) and (b) apply only when a tenant is in
possession of a dwelling.
(e) A keyless bolting device is not required to be installed
at the landlord's expense on an exterior door if:
(1) the dwelling is part of a multiunit complex in
which the majority of dwelling units are leased to tenants who are
over 55 years of age or who have a physical or mental disability;
(2) a tenant or occupant in the dwelling is over 55
years of age or has a physical or mental disability; and
(3) the landlord is expressly required or permitted to
periodically check on the well-being or health of the tenant as a
part of a written lease or other written agreement.
(f) A keyless bolting device is not required to be installed
at the landlord's expense if a tenant or occupant in the dwelling is
over 55 years of age or has a physical or mental disability, the
tenant requests, in writing, that the landlord deactivate or not
install the keyless bolting device, and the tenant certifies in the
request that the tenant or occupant is over 55 years of age or has a
physical or mental disability. The request must be a separate
document and may not be included as part of a lease agreement. A
landlord is not exempt as provided by this subsection if the
landlord knows or has reason to know that the requirements of this
subsection are not fulfilled.
(g) A keyed dead bolt or a doorknob lock is not required to
be installed at the landlord's expense on an exterior door if at the
time the tenant agrees to lease the dwelling:
(1) at least one exterior door usable for normal entry
into the dwelling has both a keyed dead bolt and a keyless bolting
device, installed in accordance with the height, strike plate, and
throw requirements of Section 92.154; and
(2) all other exterior doors have a keyless bolting
device installed in accordance with the height, strike plate, and
throw requirements of Section 92.154.
(h) A security device required by this section must be
operable throughout the time a tenant is in possession of a
dwelling. However, a landlord may deactivate or remove the locking
mechanism of a doorknob lock or remove any device not qualifying as
a keyless bolting device if a keyed dead bolt has been installed on
the same door.
(i) A landlord is subject to the tenant remedies provided by
Section 92.164(a)(4) if the landlord:
(1) deactivates or does not install a keyless bolting
device, claiming an exemption under Subsection (e), (f), or (g);
and
(2) knows or has reason to know that the requirements
of the subsection granting the exemption are not fulfilled.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

§ 92.164. TENANT REMEDIES FOR LANDLORD'S FAILURE TO
INSTALL OR REKEY CERTAIN SECURITY DEVICES. (a) If a landlord does
not comply with Section 92.153 or 92.156(a) regarding installation
or rekeying of a security device, the tenant may:
(1) install or rekey the security device as required
by this subchapter and deduct the reasonable cost of material,
labor, taxes, and extra keys from the tenant's next rent payment, in
accordance with Section 92.166;
(2) serve a written request for compliance on the
landlord, and, except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), if the
landlord does not comply on or before the third day after the date
the notice is received, unilaterally terminate the lease without
court proceedings;
(3) file suit against the landlord without serving a
request for compliance and obtain a judgment for:
(A) a court order directing the landlord to
comply, if the tenant is in possession of the dwelling;
(B) the tenant's actual damages;
(C) court costs; and
(D) attorney's fees except in suits for recovery
of property damages, personal injuries, or wrongful death; and
(4) serve a written request for compliance on the
landlord, and, except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), if the
landlord does not comply on or before the third day after the date
the notice is received, file suit against the landlord and obtain a
judgment for:
(A) a court order directing the landlord to
comply and bring all dwellings owned by the landlord into
compliance, if the tenant serving the written request is in
possession of the dwelling;
(B) the tenant's actual damages;
(C) punitive damages if the tenant suffers actual
damages;
(D) a civil penalty of one month's rent plus
$500;
(E) court costs; and
(F) attorney's fees except in suits for recovery
of property damages, personal injuries, or wrongful death.
(b) A tenant may not unilaterally terminate the lease under Subsection (a)(2) or file suit against the landlord to obtain a judgment under Subsection (a)(4) unless the landlord does not comply on or before the seventh day after the date the written request for compliance is received if the lease includes language underlined or in boldface print that in substance provides the tenant with notice that:
(1) the landlord at the landlord's expense is required
to equip the dwelling, when the tenant takes possession, with the
security devices described by Sections 92.153(a)(1)-(4) and (6);
(2) the landlord is not required to install a doorknob
lock or keyed dead bolt at the landlord's expense if the exterior
doors meet the requirements of Section 92.153(f);
(3) the landlord is not required to install a keyless
bolting device at the landlord's expense on an exterior door if the
landlord is expressly required or permitted to periodically check
on the well-being or health of the tenant as provided by Section
92.153(e)(3); and
(4) the tenant has the right to install or rekey a
security device required by this subchapter and deduct the
reasonable cost from the tenant's next rent payment, as provided by
Subsection (a)(1).
(c) Regardless of whether the lease contains language complying with the requirements of Subsection (b), the additional time for landlord compliance provided by Subsection (b) does not apply if at the time the tenant served the written request for compliance on the landlord the tenant informed the landlord that an unauthorized entry occurred or was attempted in the tenant's dwelling, an unauthorized entry occurred or was attempted in another unit in the multiunit complex in which the tenant's dwelling is located during the two months preceding the date of the request, or a crime of personal violence occurred in the multiunit complex in which the tenant's dwelling is located during the two months preceding the date of the request, unless despite the diligence of the landlord:
(1) the landlord did not know of the tenant's request,
without the fault of the landlord;
(2) materials, labor, or utilities were unavailable;
or
(3) a delay was caused by circumstances beyond the
landlord's control, including the illness or death of the landlord
or a member of the landlord's immediate family.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Look at subsections (b) and (c) that I underlined. I don't think you can just terminate the lease after three days so simply unless you can comply with these sections.