Dealing With a Bad Landlord in Texas: Your Retaliation Protections

A landlord who ignores repair requests, shows up unannounced, or seems to be punishing you for complaining can feel like something you just have to live with. In Texas, you don't — the law gives you specific, enforceable protections against retaliation, and specific tools for forcing repairs. Here's how to tell the difference between "frustrating" and "illegal," and what to actually do about the illegal part.

Retaliation is specifically illegal — and broadly defined

Texas Property Code §92.331 prohibits a landlord from retaliating against you because you, in good faith: exercised a right under your lease, an ordinance, or state/federal law; gave the landlord a notice to repair; complained to a government agency, utility, or civic organization about a code violation or utility problem you believed in good faith was valid; or participated in or tried to form a tenant organization.

"Retaliation" under the statute specifically includes, if done within six months of your protected action: filing an eviction (except for legitimate grounds), cutting off your use of the unit, decreasing services, raising your rent or ending your lease, or bad-faith conduct that materially interferes with your rights under the lease.

The six-month window is a presumption that helps you

You don't have to prove your landlord's exact motive from scratch. If a landlord takes one of the actions above within six months of you exercising a protected right, §92.331 puts the burden on the landlord to show the action wasn't retaliatory — for example, by pointing to a legitimate, independent reason under §92.332, such as you being genuinely behind on rent, a real lease violation on your part, or a rent increase applied uniformly across the whole property rather than aimed at you.

What you can recover if a landlord retaliates

Under §92.333, a tenant who proves retaliation can recover a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees (minus any rent you actually owe the landlord). If you receive subsidized rent, the civil penalty is based on the unit's fair market rent plus $500, not your subsidized portion.

Beyond retaliation: what to do about a landlord who won't fix things

A landlord who simply won't make repairs isn't automatically "retaliating" — it may just be a repair-duty violation under §92.052, which has its own separate process and remedies (including repair-and-deduct rights and court-ordered repairs). See our dedicated guide on Texas repair and habitability rights and our repair request letter template for that specific process — the key overlap to watch for is a landlord who ignores your repair request and then, shortly after, tries to raise your rent or end your lease. That combination is exactly the pattern §92.331 is designed to catch.

Practical steps if you think you're being retaliated against

1. Document the protected action first — keep a copy of your repair request, complaint, or organizing activity, dated.
2. Document the landlord's response and its timing — an eviction notice, rent increase, or service cutoff arriving soon after is the core of your case.
3. Don't fall behind on rent in the meantime — being genuinely delinquent gives the landlord a legitimate, independent reason under §92.332 that defeats a retaliation claim.
4. Send a written response connecting the dots, citing §92.331, and stating what you expect to happen next.
5. Consult a tenant rights organization or attorney if the landlord doesn't back down — a retaliation claim with solid timeline documentation is a strong basis for a Justice of the Peace court claim.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as illegal retaliation by a Texas landlord?

Under §92.331, it's when a landlord — within six months of you exercising a protected right like requesting repairs or filing a code complaint — files an eviction (without legitimate grounds), cuts your services, raises your rent, ends your lease, or interferes with your rights in bad faith.

My landlord raised rent for the whole building, not just me — is that retaliation?

Generally no. §92.332 specifically protects a landlord from a retaliation claim when the increase is part of a pattern applied to an entire multi-unit property, rather than targeted at you individually.

What can I actually recover if I prove retaliation?

Under §92.333: a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, your actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees, minus any rent you genuinely still owe.

Is a landlord ignoring repair requests the same as retaliation?

Not by itself — that's a separate repair-duty issue under §92.052 with its own remedies. It becomes a retaliation issue specifically when the landlord responds to your repair request or complaint with an eviction, rent hike, service cutoff, or similar action within six months.

If things escalate to eviction, know your rights first — see our guide on what a Texas notice to vacate actually means.