Texas - Flooding - Breaking Lease

[texasrenterguy]

Hello,

I recently rented a home in what seems to be quite a flood prone area. Many of the neighbors get flooded on a regular basis.

If my home is flooded, can i break my lease in the State of Texas for this reason?

I read the Property Code and it looks like the Renter has 7 days to repair damages, such as carpet, walls, etc. as aresult of flooding. Am i right about this? if the repairs are not completed and the house is unlivable due to soaked carpet, mold, etc., can i break the lease?

Or, can i simply break the lease as soon as flooding occurs?

Thanks.

TexasRenterguy

Flooding is an act of nature, not the LL. Unless the LL did something to cause the flooding, you cannot simply break a lease for this. You should have checked out the area before renting. That is your responsibility.

I haven't recently read the TX statutes on LL obligations to repair so I can't give you current specifics on how long he has to fix the unit after a flood. But generally, most states give a LL a few days to repair emergency damages and up to 30 days to repair necessary ones. The LL can remove the water from the unit to make it habitable (the emergency part), allowing him the longer repair period to fix other damages. Carpets can be cleaned and fans and dehumidifiers placed in the unit to dry those. Only if he fails to take measure to fix these issues can you terminate. And a judge may say that you have to avail yourself of other legal remedies (repair and deduct - TX Prop. Code 92.056 and 92.0561) prior to taking the drastic step of terminating.

Let's hope you don't experience this.

thanks for the response... sounds fair i suppose.