Sec. 92.0131. NOTICE REGARDING VEHICLE TOWING OR PARKING RULES OR POLICIES. (a) This section applies only to a tenant in a multiunit complex, as that term is defined by Section 92.151.

(b) If at the time a lease agreement is executed a landlord has vehicle towing or parking rules or policies that apply to the tenant, the landlord shall provide to the tenant a copy of the rules or policies before the lease agreement is executed. The copy of the rules or policies must be:

(1) signed by the tenant;

(2) included in a lease agreement signed by the tenant; or

(3) included in an attachment to the lease agreement that is signed by the tenant, but only if the attachment is expressly referred to in the lease agreement.

(c) If the rules or policies are contained in the lease agreement or an attachment to the lease agreement, the title to the paragraph containing the rules or policies must read "Parking" or "Parking Rules" and be capitalized, underlined, or printed in bold print.

(c-1) As a precondition for allowing a tenant to park in a specific parking space or a common parking area that the landlord has made available for tenant use, the landlord may require a tenant to provide only the make, model, color, year, license number, and state of registration of the vehicle to be parked.

(c-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (c-1), a municipal housing authority located in a municipality that has a population of more than 500,000 and is not more than 50 miles from an international border, or a public facility corporation, affiliate, or subsidiary of the authority, may require that vehicles parked in a community of the authority, corporation, affiliate, or subsidiary be registered with the housing authority.

(d) If a landlord changes the vehicle towing or parking rules or policies during the term of the lease agreement, the landlord shall provide written notice of the change to the tenant before the tenant is required to comply with the rule or policy change. The landlord has the burden of proving that the tenant received a copy of the rule or policy change. The landlord may satisfy that burden of proof by providing evidence that the landlord:

(1) delivered the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the tenant at the tenant's dwelling; or

(2) made a notation in the landlord's files of the time, place, and method of providing the notice and the name of the person who delivered the notice by:

(A) hand delivery to the tenant or any occupant of the tenant's dwelling over the age of 16 years at the tenant's dwelling;

(B) facsimile to a facsimile number the tenant provided to the landlord for the purpose of receiving notices; or

(C) taping the notice to the inside of the main entry door of the tenant's dwelling.

(e) If a rule or policy change is made during the term of the lease agreement, the change:

(1) must:

(A) apply to all of the landlord's tenants in the same multiunit complex and be based on necessity, safety or security of tenants, reasonable requirements for construction on the premises, or respect for other tenants' parking rights; or

(B) be adopted based on the tenant's written consent; and

(2) may not be effective before the 14th day after the date notice of the change is delivered to the tenant, unless the change is the result of a construction or utility emergency.

(f) A landlord who violates Subsection (b), (c), (d), or (e) is liable for a civil penalty in the amount of $100 plus any towing or storage costs that the tenant incurs as a result of the towing of the tenant's vehicle. The nonprevailing party in a suit under this section is liable to the prevailing party for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

(g) A landlord is liable for any damage to a tenant's vehicle resulting from the negligence of a towing service that contracts with the landlord or the landlord's agent to remove vehicles that are parked in violation of the landlord's rules and policies if the towing company that caused the damage does not carry insurance that covers the damage.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1060 (H.B. 1399), Sec. 2, eff. January 1, 2006.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 917 (H.B. 3101), Sec. 2, eff. January 1, 2008.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 969 (H.B. 1371), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.