Sec. 94.157.  TENANT'S REPAIR AND DEDUCT REMEDIES.  (a)  If the landlord is liable to the tenant under Section 94.156(b), the tenant may have the condition repaired or remedied and may deduct the cost from a subsequent rent payment as provided by this section.
(b)  Except as provided by this subsection, the tenant's deduction for the cost of the repair or remedy may not exceed the amount of one month's rent under the lease agreement or $500, whichever is greater.  If the tenant's rent is subsidized in whole or in part by a governmental agency, the deduction limitation of one month's rent means the fair market rent for the manufactured home lot and not the rent that the tenant pays.  The governmental agency subsidizing the rent shall determine the fair market rent.  If the governmental agency does not make a determination, the fair market rent means a reasonable amount of rent under the circumstances.
(c)  Repairs and deductions under this section may be made as often as necessary provided that the total repairs and deductions in any one month may not exceed one month's rent or $500, whichever is greater.
(d)  Repairs under this section may be made only if all of the following requirements are met:
(1)  the landlord has a duty to repair or remedy the condition under Section 94.153;
(2)  the tenant has given notice to the landlord in the same manner as prescribed by Section 92.056(b)(1) and, if required under Section 92.056(b)(3), a subsequent notice in the same manner as prescribed by that subsection;  and
(3)  any one of the following events has occurred:
(A)  the landlord has failed to remedy the backup or overflow of raw sewage inside the tenant's manufactured home that results from a condition in the utility lines installed in the manufactured home community by the landlord;
(B)  the landlord has expressly or impliedly agreed in the lease agreement to furnish potable water to the tenant's manufactured home lot and the water service to the lot has totally ceased;  or
(C)  the landlord has been notified in writing by the appropriate local housing, building, or health official or other official having jurisdiction that a condition existing on the manufactured home lot materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.
(e)  At least one of the notices given under Subsection (d)(2) must state that the tenant intends to repair or remedy the condition.  The notice must also contain a reasonable description of the intended repair or remedy.
(f)  If the requirements prescribed by Subsections (d) and (e) are met, a tenant may:
(1)  have the condition repaired or remedied immediately following the tenant's notice of intent to repair if the condition involves the backup or overflow of sewage;
(2)  have the condition repaired or remedied if the condition involves a cessation of potable water if the landlord has failed to repair or remedy the condition before the fourth day after the date the tenant delivers a notice of intent to repair;  or
(3)  have the condition repaired or remedied if the condition is not covered by Subsection (d)(3)(A) or (B) and involves a condition affecting the physical health or safety of the ordinary tenant if the landlord has failed to repair or remedy the condition before the eighth day after the date the tenant delivers a notice of intent to repair.
(g)  Repairs made based on a tenant's notice must be made by a company, contractor, or repairman listed at the time of the tenant's notice of intent to repair in the yellow or business pages of the telephone directory or in the classified advertising section of a newspaper of the municipality or county in which the manufactured home community is located or in an adjacent county.  Unless the landlord and tenant agree otherwise under Subsection (i), repairs may not be made by the tenant, the tenant's immediate family, the tenant's employer or employees, or a company in which the tenant has an ownership interest.  Repairs may not be made to the foundation or load-bearing structural elements of the manufactured home lot.
(h)  Repairs made based on a tenant's notice must comply with applicable building codes, including any required building permit.
(i)  A landlord and a tenant may mutually agree for the tenant to repair or remedy, at the landlord's expense, any condition on the manufactured home lot regardless of whether it materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.
(j)  The tenant may not contract for labor or materials in excess of the amount the tenant may deduct under this section.  The landlord is not liable to repairmen, contractors, or material suppliers who furnish labor or materials to repair or remedy the condition.  A repairman or supplier does not have a lien for materials or services arising out of repairs contracted for by the tenant under this section.
(k)  When deducting the cost of repairs from the rent payment, the tenant shall furnish the landlord, along with payment of the balance of the rent, a copy of the repair bill and the receipt for its payment.  A repair bill and receipt may be the same document.
(l)  If the landlord repairs or remedies the condition after the tenant has contacted a repairman but before the repairman commences work, the landlord is liable for the cost incurred by the tenant for the repairman's charge for traveling to the premises, and the tenant may deduct the charge from the tenant's rent as if it were a repair cost.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 801, Sec. 1, eff. April 1, 2002.