01
Does the lease end when the landlord sells the house in Texas?
A sale does not end the lease. The Texas State Law Library states that when a property changes ownership, the new owner is bound by the terms of the existing lease. If the lease does not say it will end when the property is sold, the owner cannot remove the tenant or change the lease. The buyer steps into the lease as written.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer points at the lease. It belongs in the sale file, next to the written notice of the property's condition that Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires a seller of a single dwelling unit to give the purchaser. A buyer should read the lease before closing and look for any clause ending it on a sale.
Red flag
A listing that promises a vacant house, while a lease runs and carries no sale clause, is a promise nobody can keep. Telling a tenant the lease died at closing is the same error in reverse. The lease is a contract, and the sale does not cancel it.
02
Can a new owner raise the rent right after buying the house?
The rent is whatever the lease says until the term ends. A new owner is bound by those terms, so a mid term increase is not on the table. When the lease term expires the new owner can choose to renew the lease, adjust the rent amount and change the lease's terms. The protection is real, and it is time limited.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the end date of the term. A tenant should mark it, because that is the day the new owner's options open up. A new owner who wants different numbers should aim them at the renewal, not at the month after closing, and say so early.
Red flag
A rent increase letter that lands mid term, citing new ownership, has no footing in the lease. The existing terms bind the new owner until the term runs out. A tenant who pays an unsupported increase without reading the lease gives up money the lease had already settled.
03
What is quiet enjoyment, and does a sale change it?
Texas courts have ruled that the covenant of quiet enjoyment is an implied term in every lease. It is there even when the written lease never mentions it. A landlord may breach it by entering more often than necessary, at unreasonable times, or in violation of the lease agreement. A sale does not remove it, because the new owner takes the lease as written.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer sounds like a plan. In Georgetown, Round Rock and Liberty Hill, where T. Kerr Property Group works, that plan starts with the lease. Showings get grouped, they land at hours a working household can live with, and the tenant hears about them ahead of time.
Red flag
Back to back showings at dinner time, set up without a word to the tenant, is the behavior the covenant is aimed at. Entering more often than necessary, or at unreasonable times, can breach it. A house shows better when the household is on board, so the pattern costs the seller twice.
04
How much notice does a Texas landlord have to give before entering?
There are no state laws that regulate a landlord's entry in Texas. The lease is the whole rulebook. A lease may allow entry under certain circumstances, may or may not require prior notice, and may authorize other people to enter, including maintenance staff or prospective buyers. If the lease does not allow entry, or does not address it, the landlord may not have the right to enter without permission.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer reads the access clause out loud. It names who the clause covers, whether notice is required, and how that notice gets delivered. Where the clause says nothing about buyers, inspectors or photographers, the honest answer is that permission has to be asked for.
Red flag
A notice period repeated from another state is not Texas law, and a landlord leaning on one is leaning on nothing. Texas sets no statutory notice for entry. Where the lease is silent, asking is the only route. Where the lease sets its own notice, both sides are held to it.
05
Does a landlord have to give written notice before filing an eviction?
Texas Property Code Section 24.005(a) requires written notice to vacate before a forcible detainer suit is filed. A tenant who defaults or holds over gets at least three days, unless a written lease or agreement sets a shorter or longer period. The notice comes first and the suit comes second. A change of owner does not skip the step.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the days and the delivery. Section 24.005(f-3) permits mail, delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place, hand delivery to a tenant aged 16 or older, or electronic communication where the parties have agreed to it in writing.
Red flag
A spoken demand to be out by the weekend is not a written notice to vacate. Assuming three days applies when the written lease sets a longer period is the other common error. The lease can lengthen the notice, and where it does, the longer period is the one that counts.
06
Is a foreclosure sale treated the same as a regular sale for a tenant?
Foreclosure runs on a separate rule. Texas Property Code Section 24.005(b) requires a purchaser at a tax or trustee's foreclosure sale to give a residential tenant at least 30 days' written notice to vacate. It applies where the tenant has timely paid rent and the purchaser chooses not to continue the lease. An ordinary sale is not a foreclosure sale.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer starts by asking which kind of sale happened. A house that sold on a contract is an ordinary sale, so the lease carries forward under its own terms. A house taken at a tax or trustee's foreclosure sale is the Section 24.005(b) case, and a tenant who paid rent on time gets at least 30 days' written notice.
Red flag
Quoting the foreclosure notice rule to a tenant in an ordinary sale is wrong, and it frightens a household for no reason. The reverse error costs more. A foreclosure purchaser who serves a three day notice on a rent paying tenant has served the wrong notice.
07
Who holds the security deposit after the house is sold?
Texas Property Code Section 92.105 moves the deposit duty with the title. Where the owner's interest in the premises is terminated by sale, the new owner is liable for the return of security deposits from the date title is acquired. The new owner must also deliver the tenant a signed statement acknowledging the acquisition and the responsibility for the deposit.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is a piece of paper, not a reassurance. The signed statement has to specify the deposit's exact dollar amount. A tenant should expect to receive one. A buyer who has not sent one yet has an open item to close, and a seller should put the amount in writing at closing.
Red flag
Treating the deposit as settled by a handshake at closing is the error here. Section 92.105 asks for a signed statement naming the exact dollar amount. A tenant holding no paperwork cannot tell who has the money, and a buyer holding none has no record of what came across.
08
How does a tenant find out who owns the house now?
Texas Property Code Section 92.201 gives a tenant the right to know. The landlord must disclose the name and either a street or post office box address of the holder of record title, according to the county clerk's deed records. Where an off site entity is primarily responsible for managing the dwelling, that company's name and street address come too.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer arrives in writing and arrives promptly. The disclosure is due on or before the seventh day after the landlord receives the tenant's request. An owner can get ahead of it by posting the information in a conspicuous place, or by putting it in the lease or in the written rules given to the tenant.
Red flag
Waiting for a tenant to ask twice is the failure, because the duty is triggered by the request. Handing over a phone number instead of a name and an address does not satisfy the section either. It asks for the holder of record title, plus the off site manager where one runs the place.
This article is general information about the Central Texas market and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Statutes, rates, deadlines and district rules change. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a licensed attorney, a tax professional, the Williamson County Tax Assessor Collector or the Williamson Central Appraisal District before acting on it.
