Under Texas Property Code Section 92.156, a landlord must rekey every key, card or combination operated security device on a rental dwelling at the landlord's own expense, not later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date. This is not optional, it is not something a lease can waive onto the tenant, and a landlord who ignores a written request to comply can face a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, plus actual damages, court costs and attorney's fees. If you own or manage rental property in Spring, Houston, The Woodlands or anywhere else in Texas, this is one of the few maintenance obligations with a hard statutory clock and a dollar figure at the end of it. Most property managers we work with know the rule exists. Fewer know the deadlines, and fewer still know a tenant can legally hire a locksmith and subtract the bill from next month's rent.
What has to be rekeyed, and when?
Section 92.156 sets the baseline. A security device operated by a key, card or combination must be rekeyed by the landlord, at the landlord's expense, not later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date.
The clock runs from turnover, not from when the new tenant asks and not from when the unit finishes make ready. If a unit turns over and sits vacant three weeks before the next lease starts, the obligation still attached at turnover.
The statute also closes the master key loophole. If a landlord changes or starts using a master key system, the expense of rekeying for that purpose is the landlord's.
Interior doors like closets are outside the requirement. Exterior entry is the point.
Which security devices are required in the first place?
Rekeying only matters if the devices exist. Section 92.153 requires the landlord, at the landlord's expense, to equip the dwelling with:
- A window latch on each exterior window
- A doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt on each exterior door
- A sliding door pin lock on each exterior sliding glass door
- A sliding door handle latch or sliding door security bar on each exterior sliding glass door
- A keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each exterior door
There are carve outs, mostly around the keyless bolting device for dwellings serving seniors or people with disabilities, plus a configuration allowance in Section 92.154 covering height and bolt throw. The practical read for a property manager is simple: a unit missing a door viewer or a keyless bolting device is out of compliance before anyone gets to the rekey question.
What happens when a tenant requests a rekey mid lease?
A tenant can request additional rekeying or a device change at any time under Section 92.157. As a general rule that is at the tenant's expense, since the landlord already satisfied the turnover obligation. But if the device was one the landlord was required to install under 92.153 and never did, the landlord installs it immediately at the landlord's expense.
Section 92.161 sets the timing. The landlord is presumed to have complied within a reasonable time if the work happens not later than the seventh day after the request is received.
That drops to 72 hours when the tenant tells the landlord, at the time of the request, any of the following:
- An unauthorized entry occurred or was attempted in the tenant's unit
- An unauthorized entry occurred or was attempted in another unit in the complex within the past two months
- A crime of personal violence occurred in the complex within the past two months
A landlord can rebut those presumptions by showing they did not know of the request through no fault of their own, that materials or labor were unavailable, or that the delay came from circumstances beyond their control. Those are defenses, not a schedule to plan around.
- Trigger: Tenant turnover; Who pays: Landlord; Deadline: 7th day after turnover date
- Trigger: Landlord changes or uses a master key; Who pays: Landlord; Deadline: Tied to the change
- Trigger: Tenant requests extra rekey, devices already compliant; Who pays: Tenant; Deadline: 7 days from request
- Trigger: Required device was never installed; Who pays: Landlord; Deadline: Immediately
- Trigger: Tenant reports attempted entry in the unit; Who pays: Tenant, for the request itself; Deadline: 72 hours
- Trigger: Attempted entry in another unit within 2 months; Who pays: Tenant, for the request itself; Deadline: 72 hours
- Trigger: Crime of personal violence in complex within 2 months; Who pays: Tenant, for the request itself; Deadline: 72 hours
What it costs a landlord to get this wrong
The turnover date, not the move-in date, starts the statutory clock.
Section 92.164 is the part worth reading twice.
If a landlord does not comply, the tenant may install or rekey the device themselves and deduct the reasonable cost of material, labor, taxes and extra keys from the next rent payment. No court, no permission.
After written notice, if the landlord still does not comply within three days, or seven where specific lease language applies, the tenant may unilaterally terminate the lease without court proceedings.
A tenant who goes to court can pursue actual damages, a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, punitive damages where the tenant suffered actual damages, court costs and attorney's fees, subject to the statute's stated exceptions.
Run that against a typical Houston area rental. One month's rent plus $500 plus the tenant's attorney's fees is a multiple of what the rekey would have cost, and it is per incident.
One related provision runs the other way. If a tenant breaks the lease, a landlord may deduct rekeying costs from the security deposit only where the lease authorizes it, and the statute requires that lease language to be underlined or in boldface type. A clause buried in ordinary body text does not do the job.
The operational problem this creates for a portfolio
For a single rental house, the seven day rule is a calendar reminder. For anyone running twenty, fifty or two hundred doors across Spring, Klein, Tomball and north Houston, it is a scheduling problem, and it is why turnover rekeys get missed.
The failure pattern is consistent. A unit turns over on a Friday. The rekey gets treated as part of make ready rather than as its own obligation with its own clock. Make ready slips on a flooring delay. Day seven passes while the unit sits empty and nobody logs it, because nothing visibly went wrong. Nothing does, until a tenant with a copy of the old key walks back in, or a tenant's attorney asks for rekey records across the portfolio.
Two things fix this. Tie the rekey to the turnover date rather than to make ready, and keep a dated record per unit. A work order with a date, a unit number and a device list is the entire defense.
When rekeying is the wrong answer for a landlord
We would rather say this than sell it.
If you turn the same units repeatedly, a master key system is usually the better spend. Rekeying every unit individually, over and over, on a property where maintenance already needs access to everything, costs more across a year than designing the keying properly once. That conversation starts with a keying schedule, not a service call.
If the hardware itself is failing, rekeying is money into a lock that is going to be replaced. A cylinder that sticks now will stick for the next tenant.
If the unit is missing required devices, start there. A perfectly rekeyed deadbolt on a door with no viewer and no keyless bolting device is still a compliance problem, and that one carries the immediate installation obligation.
And if you are a tenant, talk to your landlord before you hire anyone. The deduction remedy in 92.164 is real, but it depends on the landlord having failed to comply after proper notice. Skipping the notice step is how a valid claim turns into a rent dispute.
Frequently asked questions
Can a lease make the tenant pay for the turnover rekey?No. Section 92.156 puts the rekey between tenants on the landlord at the landlord's expense. A tenant can request and pay for additional rekeying beyond that, but the turnover obligation itself does not shift by agreement.
When exactly does the seven day clock start?At the tenant turnover date, not at move in, lease signing or the completion of make ready. A unit that turns over and then sits vacant still had its clock start at turnover.
Does this apply to a single family rental house?Yes. Subchapter D of Chapter 92 applies to residential tenancies generally, not only to apartment complexes. An individual owner renting out one house in Spring carries the same rekey and security device obligations.
Can the tenant hire their own locksmith and deduct the cost?Under Section 92.164, if the landlord fails to comply, the tenant may install or rekey the device and deduct the reasonable cost of material, labor, taxes and extra keys from the next rent payment. Proper written notice to the landlord comes first.
Do we have to rekey if the previous tenant returned every key?Yes. The statute is written around the turnover date, not around key inventory, and for good reason. Returned keys prove nothing, because a key can be copied at any hardware store for a couple of dollars.
Put turnover rekeys on a schedule
Precision Lock & Key of Texas works with landlords and property managers across Spring, Houston and The Woodlands on turnover rekeys, master key systems and compliance walkthroughs. We can key units alike where it makes sense, keep maintenance access clean, and give you the dated documentation that makes this a non issue later.
Call (346) 670-2818 or reach us through plktexas.com with your door count and turnover pattern. Open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., after hours emergency service available.
Precision. Security. Peace of Mind.
This article summarizes provisions of the Texas Property Code for general information. It is not legal advice. For a specific lease, property or dispute, consult a Texas attorney.
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Sources
Texas Property Code, Chapter 92, Subchapter D. This article is general information, not legal advice; consult a Texas attorney for advice about a specific lease, property, or dispute.
