CHAPTER 54. LANDLORD'S LIENS
SUBCHAPTER A. AGRICULTURAL LANDLORD'S LIEN
Lien:
A person who leases land or tenements at will or for a term of
years has a preference lien for rent that becomes due and for the
money and the value of property that the landlord furnishes or
causes to be furnished to the tenant to grow a crop on the leased
premises and to gather, store, and prepare the crop for marketing.
Ch. 54, § 54.001
Property to Which Lien Attaches:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), the lien
attaches to:
(1) the property on the leased premises that the landlord
furnishes or causes to be furnished to the tenant to grow a crop on
the leased premises; and
(2) the crop grown on the leased premises in the year that the
rent accrues or the property is furnished.
(b) If the landlord provides everything except labor, the lien
attaches only to the crop grown in the year that the property is
furnished.
(c) The lien does not attach to the goods of a merchant, trader,
or mechanic if the tenant sells and delivers the goods in good faith
in the regular course of business.
(d) A law exempting property from forced sale does not apply to
a lien under this subchapter on agricultural products, animals, or
tools. Ch. 54, § 54.002
Exceptions:
The lien does not arise if:
(1) a tenant provides everything necessary to cultivate the
leased premises and the landlord charges rent of more than one-third
of the value of the grain and one-fourth of the value of the cotton
grown on the premises; or
(2) a landlord provides everything except the labor and directly
or indirectly charges rent of more than one-half of the value of the
grain and cotton grown on the premises. Ch. 54, § 54.003
Duration of Lien:
The lien exists while the property to which it is attached
remains on the leased premises and until one month after the day
that the property is removed from the premises. If agricultural
products to which the lien is attached are placed in a public or
bonded warehouse regulated by state law before the 31st day after
the day that they are removed from the leased premises, the lien
exists while they remain in the warehouse. Ch. 54, § 54.004.
Removal of Property;
(a) If an advance or rent is unpaid, a tenant may not without
the landlord's consent remove or permit the removal of agricultural
products or other property to which the lien is attached from the
leased premises.
(b) If agricultural products subject to the lien are removed
with the landlord's consent from the leased premises for preparation
for market, the lien continues to exist as if the products had not
been removed. Ch. 54, § 54.005
Distress Warrant:
(a) The person to whom rent or an advance is payable under the
lease or the person's agent, attorney, assign, or other legal
representative may apply to an appropriate justice of the peace for
a distress warrant if the tenant:
(1) owes any rent or an advance;
(2) is about to abandon the premises; or
(3) is about to remove the tenant's property from the premises.
(b) The application for a warrant must be filed with a justice
of the peace:
(1) in the precinct in which the leasehold is located or in
which the property subject to the landlord's lien is located; or
(2) who has jurisdiction of the cause of action. Ch. 54,
§ 54.006
Judgment on Replevin Bond:
If a final judgment is rendered against a defendant who has
replevied property seized under a distress warrant, the sureties on
the defendant's replevy bond are also liable under the judgment,
according to the terms of the bond. Ch. 54, § 54.007
SUBCHAPTER B. BUILDING LANDLORD'S LIEN
Lien:
A person who leases or rents all or part of a building for
nonresidential use has a preference lien on the property of the
tenant or subtenant in the building for rent that is due and for
rent that is to become due during the current 12-month period
succeeding the date of the beginning of the rental agreement or an
anniversary of that date. Ch. 54, § 54.021
Commercial Building:
(a) The lien is unenforceable for rent on a commercial building
that is more than six months past due unless the landlord files a
lien statement with the county clerk of the county in which the
building is located.
(b) The lien statement must be verified by the landlord or the
landlord's agent or attorney and must contain:
(1) an account, itemized by month, of the rent for which the
lien is claimed;
(2) the name and address of the tenant or subtenant, if any;
(3) a description of the leased premises; and
(4) the beginning and termination dates of the lease.
(c) Each county clerk shall index alphabetically and record the
rental lien statements filed in the clerk's office. Ch. 54, §
54.022
Exemptions:
This subchapter does not affect a statute exempting property
from forced sale. Ch. 54, § 54.023
Duration of Lien:
The lien exists while the tenant occupies the building and until
one month after the day that the tenant abandons the building.
Ch. 54, § 54.024
Distress Warrant:
The person to whom rent is payable under a building lease or the
person's agent, attorney, assign, or other legal representative may
apply to the justice of the peace in the precinct in which the
building is located for a distress warrant if the tenant:
(1) owes rent;
(2) is about to abandon the building; or
(3) is about to remove the tenant's property from the building.
Ch. 54, § 54.025
SUBCHAPTER C. RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD'S LIEN
Lien:
A landlord of a single or multifamily residence has a lien for
unpaid rent that is due. The lien attaches to nonexempt property
that is in the residence or that the tenant has stored in a storage
room. Ch. 54, § 54.041
Exemptions:
A lien under this subchapter does not attach to:
(1) wearing apparel;
(2) tools, apparatus, and books of a trade or profession;
(3) schoolbooks;
(4) a family library;
(5) family portraits and pictures;
(6) one couch, two living room chairs, and a dining table and
chairs;
(7) beds and bedding;
(8) kitchen furniture and utensils;
(9) food and foodstuffs;
(10) medicine and medical supplies;
(11) one automobile and one truck;
(12) agricultural implements;
(13) children's toys not commonly used by adults;
(14) goods that the landlord or the landlord's agent knows are
owned by a person other than the tenant or an occupant of the
residence; and
(15) goods that the landlord or the landlord's agent knows are
subject to a recorded chattel mortgage or financing agreement.
Ch. 54, § 54.042
Enforceability of Contractual Provisions:
(a) A contractual landlord's lien is not enforceable unless it
is underlined or printed in conspicuous bold print in the lease
agreement.
(b) A provision of a lease that purports to waive or diminish a
right, liability, or exemption of this subchapter is void to the
extent limited by this subchapter. Ch. 54, § 54.043.
Seizure of Property:
(a) The landlord or the landlord's agent may not seize exempt
property and may seize nonexempt property only if it is authorized
by a written lease and can be accomplished without a
breach of the peace.
(b) Immediately after seizing property under Subsection (a) of
this section, the landlord or the landlord's agent shall leave
written notice of entry and an itemized list of the items removed.
The notice and list shall be left in a conspicuous place within the
dwelling. The notice must state the
amount of delinquent rent and the name, address, and telephone
number of the person the tenant may contact regarding the amount
owed. The notice must also state that the property will be promptly
returned on full payment of the delinquent rent.
(c) Unless authorized in a written lease, the landlord is not
entitled to collect a charge for packing, removing, or storing
property seized under this section.
(d) If the tenant has abandoned the premises, the landlord or
the landlord's agent may remove its contents. Ch. 54, §
54.044
Sale of Property:
(a) Property seized under Section 54.044 may not be sold or
otherwise disposed of unless the sale or disposition is authorized
in a written lease.
(b) Before selling seized property, the landlord or the
landlord's agent must give notice to the tenant not later than the
30th day before the date of the sale. The notice must be sent to the
tenant by both first class mail and certified mail, return receipt
requested, at the tenant's last known address. The notice must
contain:
(1) the date, time, and place of the sale;
(2) an itemized account of the amount owed by the tenant to the
landlord; and
(3) the name, address, and telephone number of the person the
tenant may contact regarding the sale, the amount owed, and the
right of the tenant to redeem the property under Subsection (e)
of this section.
(c) A sale under this section is subject to a recorded chattel
mortgage or financing statement. The property shall be sold to
the highest cash bidder. Proceeds from the sale shall be applied
first to delinquent rents and, if authorized by the written lease,
reasonable packing, moving, storage, and sale costs.
(d) Any sale proceeds remaining after payment of the amounts
authorized in Subsection (c) of this section shall be mailed to the
tenant at the tenant's last known address not later than the 30th
day after the date of the sale. The landlord shall provide the
tenant with an accounting of all proceeds of the sale not later than
the 30th day after the date on which the tenant makes a written
request for the accounting.
(e) The tenant may redeem the property at any time before the
property is sold by paying to the landlord or the landlord's agent
all delinquent rents and, if authorized in the written lease, all
reasonable packing, moving, storage, and sale costs. Ch. 54,
§ 54.045
Violation by Landlord:
If a landlord or the landlord's agent wilfully violates this
subchapter, the tenant is entitled to:
(1) actual damages, return of any property seized that has not
been sold, return of the proceeds of any sale of seized property,
and one month's rent or $500, whichever is greater, less any amount
for which the tenant is liable; and
(2) reasonable attorney's fees. Ch. 54, § 54.046
Other Rights Not Affected:
This subchapter does not affect or diminish any other rights or
obligations arising under common law or any statute. Ch. 54,
§ 54.047
Tenant May Replevy:
At any time before judgment in a suit for unpaid rent, the
tenant may replevy any of the property that has been seized, if the
property has not been claimed or sold, by posting a bond in
an amount approved by the court, payable to the landlord, and
conditioned that if the landlord prevails in the suit, the amount of
the judgment rendered and any costs assessed against the tenant
shall be first satisfied, to the extent possible, out of the bond.
Ch. 54, § 54.048
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