Rent control rules in Austin, TX — also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances — limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Austin has NO local rent control ordinance. Tex. Local Gov't Code § 214.902 preempts any Texas municipality from adopting rent control unless the governor approves it after a declared housing-emergency disaster. The Austin City Code contains no rent stabilization chapter and most rent increases are unrestricted.
Tex. Local Gov't Code § 214.902 prohibits a Texas city from enacting rent control unless (1) the governing body finds a housing emergency due to a disaster as defined by Tex. Gov't Code § 418.004 and (2) the governor approves the ordinance. Austin has made no such finding. On a month-to-month tenancy, an Austin landlord may raise rent on one month's notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001. For a fixed-term lease, the rent is locked at the contract amount until the term expires. Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 92 still protects Austin tenants: security deposits returned within 30 days (§ 92.103), repair-and-deduct (§§ 92.056–92.0563), and retaliation — Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331 prohibits a rent increase issued within six months of a tenant exercising a protected right.
Because Austin has no rent cap there is no overage to recover. A retaliatory rent increase — one issued within six months of a protected tenant act such as a repair request or code complaint — triggers a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500 plus actual damages and attorney fees under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.333.
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See how Austin's rent control rules stack up against other locations.
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