Texas renters have rights: Know before you go

(The Dallas Examiner) – “Be sure that you know what you’re getting into before you sign a lease,” warned Frances Espinoza, executive director at North Texas Fair Housing Center, during a recent webinar – Applying to Rent an Apartment or Home? Things You Need to Know About Background Checks, Immigration Status and Domestic Violence, hosted by North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging and Disability Resource Center. “When you go to see a unit that you are going to rent, and it’s not in the condition that you want to rent it in, the housing provider tells you they’re going to make repairs or changes, just be careful about that … it’s really difficult, once you move in, to get that stuff done.” Related Stories The landlord is required to provide the tenant with a list of tenant selection criteria at the time of application. The applicant must sign an acknowledgment form verifying that they received a written tenant criteria checklist. Texas law does not limit the amount the landlord can charge in application fees, and these fees are non-refundable, according to the Texas Property Code, Section 92.3515. “If they tell you that you have to give an application deposit...