Housing/Shelter Assistance
Do you need assistance securing housing? Do you need assistance paying your rent?
Resources available to you:
Bad Credit or Criminal Background
Do you have a criminal background or bad credit that is preventing you from securing housing?
What you need to know:
Some housing providers charge a non-refundable fee to pay for the costs or screening of your rental application. The cost to submit a rental application with a housing provider ranges between $25 - $100. Texas state law requires that at the time an applicant is provided with a rental application, the housing provider should provide a printed notices of the landlord’s tenant selection criteria, and the grounds for which the application may be denied, including: criminal history, previous rental history, and/or current income and credit history. Note that higher deposits are often required by properties for people with bad credit or criminal backgrounds.
Resources available to you:
Renter’s Rights, Fair Housing Complaints or Legal Assistance
Do you have additional renter’s rights questions? Do you believe you have been discriminated against? Do you need legal assistance to seek remedies, against your landlord, under the law?
Resources available to you:
Regular Repairs
Are you having trouble getting repairs to your rental unit?
It is your landlord’s duty to repair or remedy most conditions in your rental unit that affect your health and safety, unless you cause damage through abnormal use.
What you need to know:
- Review your lease and addendums, and familiarize yourself with your housing provider’s repair policy. Texas law 1requires landlords to make diligent efforts to repair problems about which they have been notified and that materially affect the physical health and safety of an ordinary tenant.
- Tenants receiving Housing Choice Vouchers, or residing in a government owned or subsidized housing have additional rights concerning repairs, such as the ability to request inspection of their unit.
- If you are having problems obtaining repairs, you should follow the following steps in order use remedies outlined under state law:
- Provide notice to the person to whom you pay rent. Best practice should be the provision of a dated notice, in writing (keeping a copy for yourself as proof), preferably sent by certified mail.
- Pay your rent! The landlord is not obligated to make repairs unless you are current on your rent.
- Provide reasonable time to make the repairs. Reasonableness depends on the circumstances, but typically seven days is considered reasonable.
- If the landlord has had reasonable time to make the repair and has not, contact the City of Fort Worth’s Code Compliance Department (“Code”). Code can inspect and determine if the condition violates local ordinances. Obtain the name of the inspector and any written reports.
- If the landlord has clearly had a reasonable amount of time to repair the condition, you may be able to 1) terminate the lease and move out; 2) have the problem repaired yourself and deduct from your rent; and/or 3) sue the landlord for failing to repair.
Resource available to you:
Repairs for Major Damage
Is your apartment uninhabitable due to major damage?
What you need to know:
As long as you or your guests were not responsible for the damage, and the premises are essentially uninhabitable, you (or your landlord) may terminate the lease at any time prior to the completion of the repairs by providing written notice. You will be entitled to a prorated refund of any rent paid in advance, and your security deposit, unless the landlord has reason to deduct an amount from the deposit, such as for damages you caused to the premise or outstanding rent. Housing providers have 30 days to give an accounting of deposits, including the itemization of lawful deductions.
Alternatively, you may be entitled to a reduction in rent proportionate to the extent the premises are unusable (unless the lease states otherwise). If you cannot reach an agreement with your landlord regarding a rent reduction, you can file a suit seeking rent reduction in either County Court or District Court.
Resources available to you: