TEXAS RESIDENTIAL RENTAL CODE
SUBCHAPTER D. SECURITY DEVICES Sec. 92.151. DEFINITIONS.
(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.
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
peephole having a barrel with a one-way lens of glass or other substance providing an angle view of not less than 160 degrees.
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 termcludes double-hinged
(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
(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
(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 night latch,
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.
means a dwelling owner, lessor, sublessor, management company, or managing agent, including an on-site manager.
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
(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
(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.
PLATE, AND THROW REQUIREMENTS--KEYED DEAD BOLT OR KEYLESS BOLTING DEVICE.
(a) A keyed dead bolt
or a keyless bolting device required by this subchapter must be installed at a height:
(1) not lower than
36 inches from the floor; and
(2) not higher than:
(A) 54 inches from the floor, if installed
before September 1, 1993; or
(B) 48 inches from the floor, if installed on or after September 1, 1993.(b) A
keyed dead bolt or a keyless bolting device described in Section 92.151(6)(A) or (B) in a dwelling must:
a strike plate screwed into the portion of the doorjamb surface that faces the edge of the door when the door is closed; or
installed in a door with a metal doorjamb that serves as the strike plate.(c) A keyed dead bolt or keyless dead
bolt, must have a bolt with a throw of not less than one inch.(d)
The requirements of this section do not
apply to a keyed dead bolt or a keyless bolting device in one door of a pair of French doors that is installed in accordance
with the requirements of Section 92.153(b)(1)
Sec. 92.155. HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS--SLIDING
DOOR SECURITY DEVICES.
A sliding door pin lock or sliding door security bar required by this subchapter
must be installed at a height not higher than:(1) 54 inches from the floor, if installed before September 1, 1993;
or(2) 48 inches from the floor
REKEYING OR CHANGE OF SECURITY DEVICES.
security device operated by a key, card, or combination shall be rekeyed by the landlord at the landlord's expense not later
than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date.
(b) A landlord shall perform additional rekeying or
change a security device at the tenant's expense if requested by the tenant. A tenant may make an unlimited number of requests
under this subsection.
(c) The expense of rekeying security devices for purposes of the use or change of
the landlord's master key must be paid by the landlord.
(d) This section does not apply to locks on closet
doors or other interior doors.