SAN ANTONIO – No air conditioning, no heat, pests and mold.
Those are the top issues we hear from renters who can’t get their landlords to make repairs.
Not only is it frustrating, but sometimes its a threat to a renter’s health and safety.
“Say you live in a large apartment complex. The person you talked to on Tuesday about about who can make this repair isn’t the person you talked to on Friday when you try to follow up and try to confirm when someone might be coming out,” said Greg Zlotnick of St. Mary’s University School of Law.
There’s a local help hotline
Zlotnick is a visiting clinical assistant professor for the Consumer Protection Clinic at St. Mary’s University, which is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The clinic has a hotline that renters can call to get free advice on the problems they’re dealing with in their home or apartment.
“When we get those calls, we try to walk people through what the law says in Texas, what some of the guarantees under the Texas Property Code are for tenants, what some of the responsibilities are for them in terms of how to provide that notice and what steps can be taken at what time,” Zlotnick said.
St. Mary’s Consumer Protection Clinic hotline: 210-570-6135
Law school students take those calls and assess each case with the help of supervising attorneys.
The clinic also takes on a limited number of eviction cases.
There is an income maximum for renters to qualify for help, which amounts to roughly $70,000 a year for a family of four. That dollar amount increases if the number of people in the household increases.
Despite that, any renter having trouble getting repairs made is encouraged to call.
“Every case is different,” Zlotnick said. “The same laws apply to everyone, but the facts really make the difference.”
Tenant-Landlord Mediation
The City of San Antonio also provides assistance to renters through its Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, or NHSD.
“They have the right to live in a safe space,” said NHSD Housing Access and Stability Administrator Vanessa Jimenez.
The department provides tenant-landlord mediation using HUD-certified housing counselors.
“If there is a tenant that needs information on, ‘Well, how do I read my lease? Can I break my lease?’ They can come to us and we could help,” Jimenez said.
That mediation does not mean an uncomfortable face-to-face meeting with your landlord who refuses to make repairs.
Most of the mediation is done over the phone, Jimenez said.
“We’ll get the information from the tenant,” she said. “Do I have permission to contact your landlord and talk with them? Provide me with your lease agreement, etc.”
City of San Antonio Neighborhood and Housing Services: 210-207-5309
Jimenez reminds renters that her department is not the same as Code Enforcement, though NHSD does notify Code Enforcement of code issues they may find when working with renters.
“We are not going out and checking on whether or not violations have been followed up with,” she said. “We don’t come with a badge.”
The city’s Development Services, which includes Code Enforcement, has an online dashboard that includes information on apartment complex inspections, failures and violations.
PROACTIVE APARTMENT INSPECTIONS DASHBOARD
The dashboard includes a map of apartments that are enrolled in the city’s Proactive Apartment Inspection program, which means the complexes are not making adequate efforts to make repairs.
Those are the complexes listed on the “Locations Identified” map.
The dashboard can be a resource for renters to investigate whether the complex they are considering is plagued with problems.
While it shows the number of violations, it does not show the types of violations.
“Proactive” refers to problems city inspectors find and “reactive” are issues reported by tenants.
NHSD also works with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, which provides free services when cases need legal advice or action.
Jimenez said renters also need to fully understand the terms of the lease they agreed to.
“Be very knowledgeable of the lease agreement and ask questions,” she said. “Get to know their landlords and the property managers. Develop that relationship.”
NHSD can also help renters better understand their lease agreement.
Keep. Paying. Rent.
Zlotnick said there is one major mistake renters make when trying to get their landlord to make repairs: they withhold rent.
“You run the risk of being evicted for nonpayment of rent if you stop paying rent, even if the conditions in your apartment are substandard, even if they affect the health and safety of the folks living there,” he said.
Texas law requires tenants to keep paying rent no matter what may be in disrepair.
You’re much less likely to get things fixed if you fall behind on payment.
“If you’re behind even $50 going into that month when the repair issues start happening, catch up first,” Zlotnick said. “You’ve got to catch up first. Then, in our view, you can start making those demands.”
How to ask for repairs
- Write it down: make the request for repairs in writing and keep a personal copy
- Include images: take pictures or video of what needs fixed. If there’s a leak, for example, record the water flowing. Send those images to the landlord or property manager along with the written request
- Wait “a reasonable amount of time” for a response. That’s seven days, according to Texas law. A landlord should respond within that time and begin making efforts to fix things.
If a renter has taken those steps but repairs are not progressing, its time to send your written request via certified mail, return receipt requested.
HOW TO SEND CERITIFIED MAIL VIA USPS
Again, wait “a reasonable amount of time,” or seven days.
If in that time, a renter does not receive a response or no effort is made on a fix, they could be entitled to:
- break the lease
- deduct the cost of the repairs from rent
- get a court order that the repairs be made
Retaliation
Sometimes, tenants fear retaliation from landlords.
Texas law prohibits landlords from retaliating against renters as long as renters are abiding by the terms of their lease and state and federal laws.
Sending a certified letter adds another layer of protection.
“Under law, the landlord is prohibited, not just in response to that letter right away, but for the next six months from taking any sort of retaliatory action against you,” Zlotnick said. “So we get a protective window around you.”
No matter the details of a renters’ case, pursuing legal action can be tricky.
That’s where resources through the city and St. Mary’s Law School could help.
“A lot of folks that we hear from on the hotline would love nothing more than to move units, but they might not be able to afford another apartment at this time. They might not be able to afford the security deposit or first month’s rent or even the application fees to move someplace else,” Zlotnick said.
“They’ve entered into a contract and they would like to be made right,” he added.