Grand Prairie, TX Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Chapter 28, Housing Enforcement, defines 'Habitability' in Section 28-1 to mean that all apartment units, hotel and motel rooms and all buildings made available for residence must be fit for humans to live in and must meet every applicable building or health requirement for sleeping, living, cooking or eating, including the sanitary and mechanical connections those activities require. The chapter backs that definition with detailed physical standards for any apartment complex under Section 28-18. 151, a keyless bolting device and door viewer; when a tenant moves out, the complex must rekey or replace the deadbolt and doorknob lock before the next tenant moves in.

Sliding glass doors need a pin lock beyond the manufacturer's lock, and every window needs at least one interior-only latch. 25 foot-candle power measured two to four feet off the ground, and every complex must designate a full-time paid employee as an emergency contact with that person's phone number posted on the leasing office's front door. The chapter also defines a 'nuisance' broadly to include overcrowding a room with occupants, insufficient ventilation or illumination, inadequate or unsanitary sewerage or plumbing, and anything that renders air, food or drink unwholesome, giving code enforcement a separate hook to act on uninhabitable conditions beyond the security-hardware list. Complexes approved for occupancy on or after October 1, 2016 must also join the Grand Prairie Police Department's Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program under Section 28-18(i)-(j).