Check out the video below to learn what security devices the landlord is required to install on the tenant’s doors and windows.

a window latch on each exterior window;

• a doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt on each exterior door;

• a sliding door pin lock on each exterior sliding glass door,

• a sliding door handle latch, or sliding door security bar on each exterior sliding glass door, and

• a keyless bolting device (that only can be locked and unlocked from the inside) and a door viewer on each exterior door.

Note: keyed deadbolts or doorknob locks are not required on all exterior doors as long as one door has both keyed and keyless deadbolts and the rest of the doors have keyless deadbolts.

For French doors, one of the doors must meet the criteria above, and the other door must have bolts which insert into the doorjamb above and below the door.

Keyless deadbolts are not required in the following instances:

Situation 1
– Dwelling is part of a multi-unit complex;
– Majority of units are leased to tenants who are over 55 years of age, or who have a physical or mental disability;
– A tenant or occupant in the apartment is over age 55 or has a physical or mental disability; AND
– The landlord is expressly required or permitted to periodically check on the well-being or health of the tenant as part of a written agreement.–

Situation 2
– Tenant or occupant in the unit is over 55 years of age or has a physical or mental disability;
– Tenant requests that the landlord deactivate or not install the device; AND
– Tenant certifies in a written request that the tenant is over 55 years of age or has a physical or mental disability.

A landlord must re-key or change all the key-operated locks (or other combination locks) on the outside doors between each tenancy at the landlord’s expense. The landlord must re-key by the seventh day after the tenant moves in. The tenant(s) can also ask the landlord to re-key or change the locks at other times while they’re living there, but they may have to pay for it.

A landlord may not require a tenant to pay for the repair or replacement of a lock or other security device if it breaks because of normal wear and tear. However, a landlord may require a tenant to pay for the repair or replacement of a lock that was damaged by misuse by the tenant (or the tenant’s family or guest), but only if this policy is written in the lease. 

Every tenant should have working keyed locks and keyless bolting devices (that cannot be unlocked from the outside) on all exterior doors. They should also have working window latches, pin locks on sliding glass doors, and door viewers on exterior doors. A landlord who refuses to provide these locks has extra-legal penalties if the tenant gives them a written notice and they still don’t fix the problem. If the locks have been provided, a landlord should be given written notice if they are broken.

If a landlord fails to install or repair a required security device in a timely manner after written notice, the tenant is entitled to recover actual damages, one month’s rent plus $500, attorney fees, and court costs.

Punitive Damages:  In addition, if the landlord fails to install or rekey a mandatory lock after written notice, the tenant may also seek punitive damages if the tenant suffers actual damages. If the landlord fails to repair a lock after a written request and the tenant suffers actual damages, the tenant may also recover punitive damages if the landlord’s failure to comply is intentional, malicious, or grossly negligent.

The landlord must install, repair, or re-key devices within a “reasonable period of time,” usually within seven days of your request. If there has been violence where the tenant is renting within the last 2 months, such as a break-in or attempted break-in to the tenant’s rental or another unit in the complex, the landlord should act more quickly, and the “reasonable period of time” is three days. The tenant must notify the landlord of the violence, break-in, or attempted break-in for the shorter time period to apply. Tenants should give notice and request installation or repair in writing.

If the tenant is responsible for paying the landlord for the installation, repair, or modification of the locks, the landlord may not require that the tenant pays for these in advance unless (1) the tenant is more than 30 days delinquent in reimbursing the landlord for a prior charge of repair or replacement of a lock to which the landlord is entitled or (2) the tenant requested that the landlord repair, install, change or rekey the same security device during the last 30 days.

If the landlord doesn’t make the fix the tenant asked for within seven days of the compliance notice (or three days if there is extra risk, like a recent break-in or attempted break-in, or if the lease doesn’t list tenant rights concerning security devices that are described in this section), the tenant can legally do any one of the following: 

1. END THE LEASE.
2. Install or repair the security device and deduct the cost from the rent.
3. If the claim is for the landlord’s failure to install or rekey locks as required under sections 92.153 or 92.156(a) of the Property Code or the claim is for the landlord’s failure to install, rekey, change, add, repair, or replace a security device under section 92.156(b), 92.157, or 92. 158 of the property code, the tenant may file suit for a court order requiring the landlord to bring all of their dwellings into compliance, and for actual damages, punitive damages, civil penalty of $500 and one month’s rent, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

If the tenant has given the landlord notice and asked them to repair or re-key a lock, and they haven’t done it in a timely manner, the tenant can repair or re-key a lock without the landlord’s permission and deduct the cost from the next rent payment.