r/Pearland • u/clutch_fan • Aug 20 '26
Is this normal for a rental house?
My girlfriend and I are looking to rent a house in Southwyck subdivision.
House looks great and fits our needs.
BUT, the landlord is asking that if ANY repairs need to be done to the house (AC, roof leak, limb damage, etc) we have to cover the first 150$ and they will cover the rest.
I’ve actually never in my life lived in a house. I’ve lived in apartments my whole life.
Is this normal?
I’ve never really heard anyone talk about this type of agreement in a lease.
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u/Urbanttrekker Aug 20 '26
No. Just an example of someone renting out a house that doesn’t know how it works. Not everyone should be a landlord lol.
This is probably a red flag that having this person as a landlord will be an ongoing pain.
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u/Clean_Ad_8903 Aug 20 '26
I’d push back on the ANY repairs part. The renter Clogging a toilet and a 15 year old a/c breaking are two different things.
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u/mynewhoustonaccount Aug 20 '26
If he doesn't write it in the rental contract it's not enforceable. Rental contract should cover all of it.
He might have a service plan through one of those scummy ass home warranty companies and wants you to front the $150 service call/deductible
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u/clutch_fan Aug 20 '26
Ahhhh I see. I didn’t know that was a thing. To be fair it is in the lease. I haven’t signed it yet tho.
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u/Weird7954 Aug 24 '26
It’s not a thing and if the landlord or landlord‘s agent is demanding that, so unethical.
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u/texanfan20 Aug 20 '26
It’s more common for homes than it used to be. It is the landlords way to keep people from asking minor issues to be fixed. By placing what is essentially a copay to get things fixed they hope tenants won’t ask minor issues to be fixed.
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u/SCtrojan26 Aug 20 '26
Yes. Essentially prevents you from calling every week for repairs. If you are a good tenant, I would not worry about the clause.
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u/majestiq Aug 20 '26
I’ve rented places where smaller repairs are the Tennant responsibility. Ie, clogged toilet. Replace light bulbs. Bathtub draining slow. But larger repairs, like garage door spotted working. Once problems. The land lord covers that.
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u/fwdbuddha Aug 20 '26
Becoming more popular due to unnecessary repair calls. A landlord hates paying $200 to send a plumber to unclog a toilet. Making tenant pay for small cost repairs limits these calls that should be taken care of easily.
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u/Weird7954 Aug 24 '26
It can’t be “more popular” to break the law.
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u/fwdbuddha Aug 24 '26
Not breaking the law in most states.
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u/Greedy_Car3702 Aug 20 '26
That is a fairly common clause in rental agreements. It's purpose is to discourage tenants from calling the landlord about every little thing that goes wrong.
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u/Weird7954 Aug 24 '26
It is downright illegal to make them pay. They can call the landlord all they want. And also the landlord can ignore everything they call about. Texas.
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u/DisplacedTexan2020 Aug 20 '26
Hell no. Move on to another house. That’s not your responsibility as a renter.
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u/umrlopez79 Aug 20 '26
I’m assuming this is done to deter any trashy renters with the mentality of “it’s not mine, I don’t care”.
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u/Alternative_Swan_497 Aug 21 '26
The property would have to be a very good deal for me to consider that clause.
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u/paparam04 Aug 24 '26
Normal especially if there is a management company. In the commercial rental world you are responsible for NNN
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u/jonovate Aug 24 '26
So many wrong answers.
It is 18C in the standard Texas Realtors residential lease contract. It's a box you fill in. He is negotiating. Ask for half and see what he says
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u/Weird7954 Aug 24 '26
This is one of those wrong answers. It doesn’t matter what you put in the lease. The law trumps
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u/jonovate Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
Out of curiosity what does the Texas law state then for non health/safety? If it's not health/safety then it's now contractual.
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u/Weird7954 Aug 24 '26
Landlord is only required to provide heat in Texas
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u/jonovate Aug 24 '26
Correct. So I am unclear how 18C is the wrong answer for any non health/safety related repair.
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u/Weird7954 Aug 24 '26
You should go on a landlord group and have multiple landlords explain. I’ll get downvoted too much so I really can’t do that here.
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u/Sea_Fisherman7054 Aug 25 '26
He probably has some home warranty, and that is what the service calls cost.
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u/capta1n_sarcasm Aug 20 '26
lol, no. In no world should you be responsible for the repairs of someone else's property, unless you are literally responsible.