By: Anderson of Dallas	H.B. No. 2404

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain security devices for residential tenancies.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 92.151(2), Property Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(2)  "Door viewer" means a permanently installed device
	in or immediately adjacent to an exterior door that allows a person
	inside the dwelling to view a person outside the door. The device
	must be:
	(A)  a clear glass pane or one-way mirror; or
	(B)  a peephole in an exterior door having a
	barrel with a one-way lens of glass or other substance providing an
	angle view of not less than 160 degrees.
	SECTION 2.  Section 92.153(a), Property Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(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; and
	(6)  a door viewer in or immediately adjacent to each
	exterior door of the dwelling.
	SECTION 3.  Section 92.156, Property Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 92.156.  REKEYING OR CHANGE OF SECURITY DEVICES. (a)
	Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (e), [A] a security
	device operated by a key, card, or combination shall be rekeyed by
	the landlord at the landlord's expense not later than the seventh
	day after each tenant turnover date.
	(b)  A landlord shall perform additional rekeying or change a
	security device at the tenant's expense if requested by the tenant.
	A tenant may make an unlimited number of requests under this
	subsection.
	(c)  The expense of rekeying security devices for purposes of
	the use or change of the landlord's master key must be paid by the
	landlord.
	(d)  This section does not apply to locks on closet doors or
	other interior doors.
	(e)  In the event a tenant breaches a written lease, a
	landlord may deduct reasonable costs to rekey certain security
	devices as required by this section, from the tenant's security
	deposit, only if a written lease authorizes the landlord to do so in
	underlined or boldface print.
	SECTION 4.  Section 92.157(a), Property Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  At a tenant's request made at any time, a landlord, at
	the tenant's expense, shall install:
	(1)  a keyed dead bolt on an exterior door if the door
	has:
	(A)  a doorknob lock but not a keyed dead bolt; or
	(B)  a keyless bolting device but not a keyed dead
	bolt or doorknob lock; and
	(2)  a sliding door [pin lock] handle latch or sliding
	door security bar if the door is an exterior sliding glass door
	without a sliding door [pin lock] handle latch or sliding door
	security bar.
	SECTION 5.  Section 92.1641, Property Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 92.1641.  LANDLORD'S DEFENSES RELATING TO INSTALLING OR
	REKEYING CERTAIN SECURITY DEVICES. The landlord has a defense to
	liability under Section 92.164 if:
	(1)  the tenant has not fully paid all rent then due
	from the tenant on the date the tenant gives a request under
	Subsection [(a)] (c) of Section 92.157 or the notice required by
	Section 92.164; or
	(2)  on the date the tenant terminates the lease or
	files suit the tenant has not fully paid costs requested by the
	landlord and authorized by Section 92.162.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.