Texas Smoke Alarm Installation and Repair: Landlord and Tenant Duties

A Texas landlord must install "at least one smoke alarm in each separate bedroom" and add alarms in the places s. 92.255(a) lists. The landlord must check that each alarm works at the beginning of the tenant's possession (s. 92.258(b)). Afterward the duty to inspect and repair applies "but only if the tenant gives the landlord notice of a malfunction or requests to the landlord that the smoke alarm be inspected or repaired." A landlord who misses the seventh-day deadline after the tenant's written notice faces damages and a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $100 (ss. 92.259-92.260).

Installation and location: section 92.255

Section 92.255(a): "A landlord shall install at least one smoke alarm in each separate bedroom in a dwelling unit." In addition:

1. if the unit is designed to use a single room for dining, living, and sleeping, the smoke alarm must be located inside the room;
2. if multiple bedrooms are served by the same corridor, at least one smoke alarm must be installed in the corridor in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms; and
3. if the unit has multiple levels, at least one smoke alarm must be located on each level.

Section 92.257: a smoke alarm "must be installed according to the manufacturer's recommended procedures." On a ceiling it must be no closer than six inches to a wall; on a wall, no closer than six and no farther than 12 inches from the ceiling; in either case "or otherwise located in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions." Another location is allowed if a local ordinance or a local or state fire marshal approves (subsection (c)).

Older dwellings, 92.255(b): if the unit was occupied as a residence, or received a certificate of occupancy, before September 1, 2011, an alarm installed under subsection (a) "may be powered by battery and is not required to be interconnected with other smoke alarms." A replacement for an alarm in place when the unit was first occupied as a residence must comply with "residential building code standards that applied to the dwelling unit on that date or Section 92.252(b)."

Testing and repair: section 92.258

• Start of possession, (b): the landlord "shall determine that the smoke alarm is in good working order at the beginning of the tenant's possession by testing the smoke alarm with smoke, by operating the testing button on the smoke alarm, or by following other recommended test procedures of the manufacturer for the particular model."
• During the lease, (c): the duty is triggered by the tenant's notice or request. It "does not exist with respect to damage or a malfunction caused by the tenant, the tenant's family, or the tenant's guests or invitees," except that the landlord has a duty to repair or replace "if the tenant pays in advance the reasonable repair or replacement cost, including labor, materials, taxes, and overhead."
• Time to act, (d): the landlord "must comply with the tenant's request for inspection or repair of a smoke alarm within a reasonable time, considering the availability of material, labor, and utilities."
• Batteries, (f): "The landlord is not obligated to provide batteries for a battery-operated smoke alarm after a tenant takes possession if the smoke alarm was in good working order at the time the tenant took possession."
• Presumption, (g): an alarm in good working order at the start of possession "is presumed to be in good working order until the tenant requests repair."

Landlord liability, remedies, defenses: sections 92.259-92.261

Section 92.259(a): a landlord is liable if (1) no smoke alarm was installed at initial occupancy as required by the subchapter or a municipal ordinance it permits, or (2) the landlord does not install, inspect, or repair the alarm "on or before the seventh day after the date the tenant gives the landlord written notice that the tenant may exercise his remedies under this subchapter if the landlord does not comply with the request within seven days." If the lease is in writing, it may require the tenant's initial request to be in writing (subsection (b)).

Section 92.260 lets the tenant obtain or exercise one or more of: a court order directing compliance (if the tenant is in possession); a judgment for damages; a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $100, only for a violation of s. 92.259(a)(2); court costs; attorney's fees in an action for the court order or the penalty; and unilateral termination of the lease without a court proceeding, only for a violation of s. 92.259(a)(2).

Section 92.261 gives the landlord a defense to s. 92.259 liability if (1) on the date the tenant gave the notice the tenant "has not paid all rent due from the tenant," or (2) on the date the tenant terminates the lease or sues, the tenant has not fully paid costs the landlord requested and s. 92.258 authorizes.

Tenant disables an alarm: section 92.2611

A tenant is liable under s. 92.2611(a) if the tenant "removes a battery from a smoke alarm without immediately replacing it with a working battery or knowingly disconnects or intentionally damages a smoke alarm, causing it to malfunction." The landlord may obtain a judgment for its damages (subsection (b)), but under (c) the tenant is not liable for damages caused by the landlord's failure to repair within a reasonable time after the tenant requests repair.

The subsection (e) remedies (court order, civil penalty of one month's rent plus $100, court costs, reasonable attorney's fees) are available only if, under (d) and (d-1):

1. the lease contains a notice in underlined or boldfaced print stating in substance that the tenant must not disconnect or intentionally damage an alarm or remove the battery without immediately replacing it, and may be subject to damages, civil penalties, and attorney's fees under Section 92.2611; and
2. the landlord has given the tenant notice, in a separate document furnished after discovering the problem, that the landlord intends to exercise remedies if the tenant does not reconnect, repair, or replace the alarm or the battery "within seven days after being notified."

Under subsection (f), a tenant's guest or invitee may recover from the landlord for damage caused by the landlord's failure to install, inspect, or repair an alarm, and from the tenant for damage caused by the tenant's disabling of one.

Worked example: the seven-day deadline

A tenant gives the landlord written notice on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 that the tenant may exercise remedies under the subchapter if the alarm is not repaired within seven days. The seventh day after that date is Tuesday, 27 October 2026. If the landlord has not acted on or before 27 October, s. 92.259(a)(2) liability exists, subject to the s. 92.261 defenses.

Common mistakes

• Assuming one alarm per unit is enough. Each separate bedroom needs one, plus the s. 92.255(a)(1)-(3) alarms where they apply.
• Skipping the test at the beginning of the tenant's possession (s. 92.258(b)).
• Refusing a repair because the tenant caused the damage. The landlord must repair or replace if the tenant pays the reasonable cost in advance (s. 92.258(c)).
• Counting the seven days from the tenant's first request rather than the written notice in s. 92.259(a)(2).
• Leaving out the underlined or boldfaced lease notice; the s. 92.2611(e) remedies depend on it.

Sources

• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.255 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.257 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.258 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.259 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.260 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.261 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.2611 — Texas Legislature, Property Code

Related guides

• Texas Security Deposit Deadline Calculator (2026) (free tool)
• Texas Security Deposit Law: The 30-Day Rule and 'Surrender' (2026)
• Texas Forwarding Address Rule: Does the 30-Day Clock Start? (92.107)
• Texas Itemized Deposit List: What to Include and What Not to Deduct
• Texas Bad-Faith Deposit Penalty: $100 + 3x + Fees (s. 92.109)
• Texas Notice to Vacate vs. Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate After SB 38
• How to Count Days for a Texas Eviction Notice (s. 24.0042)
• Delivering a Texas Notice to Vacate in 2026: The Four Methods
• Texas Eviction Steps in 2026: Petition, Hearing, Writ of Possession
• Texas Late Fee Rules: Two-Full-Days Rule, Reasonable Fees (2026)
• Can a Texas Landlord Change the Locks Over Unpaid Rent? (s. 92.0081)
• Texas Landlord Notices by E-mail: s. 92.113 vs. Notice to Vacate
• Why Texas City Eviction Ordinances Can't Override the Property Code
• Texas Landlord Lock Rekeying After Tenant Turnover (Sec. 92.156)
• Texas Tenant Repair and Deduct Rights and Timeline (Sec. 92.056)
• Texas Early Lease Termination for Family Violence or Military Orders

Informational only, not legal advice. Statute text checked against the Texas Property Code (Chapters 1, 24, 91 and 92) as published by the Texas Legislative Council on October 5, 2026. Statutes change every legislative session and a court may read them differently than a summary does; for a dispute, an eviction or anything expensive to get wrong, talk to a Texas landlord-tenant attorney.