HBA-ATS C.S.H.B. 896 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 896
By: Haggerty
Business & Industry
3/22/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law requires a landlord of a rental dwelling unit to change the
locks on any outside doors, sliding doors, and windows by the seventh day
after the date a new tenant moves into a leased dwelling (after all
previous tenants have moved out).  Although this requirement was meant to
provide new tenants with a sense of security by assuring them that not
everyone who received a key from a former tenant had access to the
dwelling, the statute may be read as not requiring a landlord to change the
locks of a dwelling occupied by a person without a lease.  This is because
a "tenant" is defined by statute as a person who is authorized by a lease
to occupy a dwelling to the exclusion of others and who is obligated under
the lease to pay rent.  The definition does not encompass occupants of a
dwelling who are not party to a lease. 

C.S.H.B. 896 redefines "tenant turnover date" to mean the date any tenant,
not just a new tenant, moves into a dwelling under a lease after all
previous occupants, rather than tenants, have moved out.  As amended, the
law requires a landlord of a rental dwelling unit to change the locks on
any outside doors, sliding doors, and windows by the seventh day after the
date a tenant moves into a leased dwelling after all previous occupants
have moved out. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subdivision (15), Section 92.151, Property Code, to
redefine "tenant turnover date" to mean the date a tenant, rather than a
new tenant, moves into a dwelling under a lease after all previous
occupants, rather than tenants, have moved out. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.



COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 896 modifies the original bill in SECTION 1 by redefining "tenant
turnover date" to mean the date a tenant, rather than a new tenant, moves
into a dwelling under a lease after all previous occupants have moved out.