Step Three:
Wait a reasonable time. The repair statutes presume a
reasonable time is seven days. But clearly a reasonable
time will be shorter in some situations and longer in
others. See Tex. Prop. Code § 92.056(d). If you do not
see an adequate response to your notice, you should
consider photographing the problem area for future use as
evidence.
Exception for Repair Statutes: If your dwelling unit is
damaged from fire or unusal weather (e.g., hail, tornado)
the landlord does not have to make any repairs required by
the repair statutes until it receives the insurance money,
if the rental unit is insured against these damages. See
Tex. Prop. Code §
92.054. Again, this exception only applies to the
repair statutes as described below. The tenant could still
argue that the landlord is breaching the lease agreement or
that the landlord is violating a municipal ordinance
regardless of whether the insurance company has been paid.
If pressured, landlords will often offer relocations to
other rental units they have available without putting up
new fees, deposits or increased rents.
On to Step Four...