Fort Worth, TX Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

City Code § 7-86 puts the owner and any landlord on the hook for maintaining the premises in compliance with the minimum standards, and that duty does not go away just because a lease shifts maintenance work onto the tenant. Section 7-87 requires roofs, floors, foundations and walls to be maintained in good condition and able to carry their original design loads, with roofs repaired whenever leaks, sags, holes or rotten wood show up. Dwelling units other than efficiencies need at least two habitable rooms meeting minimum floor-area rules: one room of at least 120 square feet for combined living, and sleeping rooms of at least 70 square feet for one or two occupants, plus 50 more square feet per additional occupant.

Under § 7-89, every dwelling unit needs a kitchen sink and at least one bathroom with a toilet, lavatory sink, and tub or shower, and every fixture must have hot and cold potable water under pressure connected to an approved sewer or septic system. Water heaters need a temperature-and-pressure relief valve and can't sit in a bathroom, sleeping room, or a closet opening into one unless installed to current code. Section 7-92 bars a landlord from cutting off electric, gas, water or sewer service to an occupied rental except for bona fide repairs, construction or an emergency, and even a nonpayment cutoff by the utility company counts as the landlord 'causing' the interruption if the landlord is the account holder. 1, which lets the commission order repair, removal, or demolition after notice and a hearing.