Texas Property Code Chapter 92 requires landlords to provide habitable housing free of pests, and Houston Code Chapter 27 minimum housing standards let inspectors cite bed bug infestations as substandard conditions requiring professional treatment.
Texas Property Code §92.052 obligates landlords to repair conditions that materially affect health and safety, which courts have applied to bed bug infestations not caused by the tenant. Tenants must give written notice and a reasonable time to cure. Houston Code Chapter 27, the minimum housing standards ordinance, lets Neighborhood Protection inspectors cite buildings with active infestations as substandard. Treatment typically requires a Texas Department of Agriculture-licensed pest control operator using heat or chemical treatment across all connected units. Tenants who introduce bed bugs may be billed; landlords cannot retaliate against tenants who report infestations. There is no Houston-specific notification ordinance like New York's, but multifamily owners commonly disclose recent infestations.
Uncorrected infestations cited under Houston Ch. 27 trigger orders to vacate or repair; tenants may use Property Code §92.056 remedies including repair-and-deduct or lease termination after proper notice.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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