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How Long Does My Landlord Have to Make Repairs in Texas?

Your landlord in Texas has a maximum of seven days to make a serious repair—less if it has to do with heat, running water, sewage, broken pipes, or flooding.


If you live in Texas, state law gives your landlord a maximum of seven days to address a repair after you've notified them of the issue using certified mail. (Lucky you—a seven-day window for repairs is actually a lot shorter than in most other states!) The exact timeline depends on the specific problem you're dealing with:

  • For raw sewage, broken pipes, or flooding: You don’t have to give the landlord any time at all to make the repair. They're required to fix the problem as soon as you tell them about it.
  • For lack of heat, air conditioning, or drinking water: Your landlord has three days to make the repair. The only exception to this is if the lack of heat, A/C, or water is because you didn’t pay the bill—in which case they're not on the hook.
  • For any other violation: Your landlord has seven days to fix the issue. They're allowed an extension of 15 days if they're having trouble obtaining the necessary parts to make the repair, or 30 days if a natural disaster has caused a general shortage of labor or materials to make the repair.

If a week passes and nothing happens, you're legally allowed to "repair and deduct," which means that you hire someone to fix the problem yourself and subtract the cost from your next rent check.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.