A Rental Realities first – today’s guest blogger is my husband, Corey! He is a frequent participant of our rental hijinks, antics, and tomfoolery.
Whatdaya mean my lease is unenforceable?
Beginning January 1, 2014, Texas landlords have a new hurdle in enforcing their rights under a written lease: proving they provided a copy to their tenants. The new law requires that within 3 business days of signing a lease, a tenant must be provided a copy by their landlord.
What happens if you don’t do this?
For starters, you won’t be able to evict a tenant for any reason other than non-payment of rent. The statute also allows a tenant to stop a lawsuit until the tenant has been provided a signed copy of the lease. In such an event, a judge would almost assuredly reset your court date – creating loss of time and rent that could have easily been avoided.
What should you do about this?
Create documentation to prove that you provided a copy of the lease to your tenant. The statute permits this to occur three ways:
- Via a paper copy
- In an electronic format if the tenant requests it that way
- By email if you and your tenant have communicated by email about the lease.
I would suggest that you handle this situation by having your tenants sign a form at the time they sign their lease indicating that they received a copy (example letter below).
NOTICE OF RECIEPT OF LEASE PURSUANT TO TX PROP. CODE §92.024
I __________________(insert Tenant’s name) acknowledge that I have received a true and correct copy of _________________ (insert title used for your lease) as of the ___ day of ________________, 20XX.
_____________________________
(Insert Tenant’s name and have them sign above)