2023 Texas Statutes › Property Code › Title 8 - Landlord and Tenant › Chapter 92 - Residential Tenancies › Subchapter D. Security Devices › Section 92.151. Definitions

Sec. 92.151.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
(1)  "Doorknob lock" means a lock in a doorknob, with the lock operated from the exterior by a key, card, or combination and from the interior without a key, card, or combination.
(2)  "Door viewer" means a permanently installed device in an exterior door that allows a person inside the dwelling to view a person outside the door.  The device must be:
(A)  a clear glass pane or one-way mirror;  or
(B)  a peephole having a barrel with a one-way lens of glass or other substance providing an angle view of not less than 160 degrees.
(3)  "Exterior door" means a door providing access from a dwelling interior to the exterior.  The term includes a door between a living area and a garage but does not include a sliding glass door or a screen door.
(4)  "French doors" means a set of two exterior doors in which each door is hinged and abuts the other door when closed.  The term includes double-hinged patio doors.
(5)  "Keyed dead bolt" means:
(A)  a door lock not in the doorknob that:
(i)  locks with a bolt into the doorjamb;  and
(ii)  is operated from the exterior by a key, card, or combination and from the interior by a knob or lever without a key, card, or combination;  or
(B)  a doorknob lock that contains a bolt with at least a one-inch throw.
(6)  "Keyless bolting device" means a door lock not in the doorknob that locks:
(A)  with a bolt into a strike plate screwed into the portion of the doorjamb surface that faces the edge of the door when the door is closed or into a metal doorjamb that serves as the strike plate, operable only by knob or lever from the door's interior and not in any manner from the door's exterior, and that is commonly known as a keyless dead bolt;
(B)  by a drop bolt system operated by placing a central metal plate over a metal doorjamb restraint that protrudes from the doorjamb and that is affixed to the doorjamb frame by means of three case-hardened screws at least three inches in length.  One-half of the central plate must overlap the interior surface of the door and the other half of the central plate must overlap the doorjamb when the plate is placed over the doorjamb restraint.  The drop bolt system must prevent the door from being opened unless the central plate is lifted off of the doorjamb restraint by a person who is on the interior side of the door.
The term "keyless bolting device" does not include a chain latch, flip latch, surface-mounted slide bolt, mortise door bolt, surface-mounted barrel bolt, surface-mounted swing bar door guard, spring-loaded nightlatch, foot bolt, or other lock or latch;  or
(C)  by a metal bar or metal tube that is placed across the entire interior side of the door and secured in place at each end of the bar or tube by heavy-duty metal screw hooks.  The screw hooks must be at least three inches in length and must be screwed into the door frame stud or wall stud on each side of the door.  The bar or tube must be capable of being secured to both of the screw hooks and must be permanently attached in some way to the door frame stud or wall stud.  When secured to the screw hooks, the bar or tube must prevent the door from being opened unless the bar or tube is removed by a person who is on the interior side of the door.
(7)  "Landlord" means a dwelling owner, lessor, sublessor, management company, or managing agent, including an on-site manager.
(8)  "Multiunit complex" means two or more dwellings in one or more buildings that are:
(A)  under common ownership;
(B)  managed by the same owner, agent, or management company;  and
(C)  located on the same lot or tract or adjacent lots or tracts of land.
(9)  "Possession of a dwelling" means occupancy by a tenant under a lease, including occupancy until the time the tenant moves out or a writ of possession is issued by a court.  The term does not include occupancy before the initial occupancy date authorized under a lease.
(10)  "Rekey" means to change or alter a security device that is operated by a key, card, or combination so that a different key, card, or combination is necessary to operate the security device.
(11)  "Security device" means a doorknob lock, door viewer, keyed dead bolt, keyless bolting device, sliding door handle latch, sliding door pin lock, sliding door security bar, or window latch in a dwelling.
(12)  "Sliding door handle latch" means a latch or lock:
(A)  located near the handle on a sliding glass door;
(B)  operated with or without a key;  and
(C)  designed to prevent the door from being opened.
(13)  "Sliding door pin lock" means a lock on a sliding glass door that consists of a pin or nail inserted from the interior side of the door at the side opposite the door's handle and that is designed to prevent the door from being opened or lifted.
(14)  "Sliding door security bar" means a bar or rod that can be placed at the bottom of or across the interior side of the fixed panel of a sliding glass door and that is designed to prevent the door from being opened.
(15)  "Tenant turnover date" means the date a tenant moves into a dwelling under a lease after all previous occupants have moved out.  The term does not include dates of entry or occupation not authorized by the landlord.
(16)  "Window latch" means a device on a window that prevents the window from being opened and that is operated without a key and only from the interior.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 357, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1993;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.