Mark Anderson | September 16, 2026 | Premises Liability
If you’ve been injured on a rental property in Texas, your landlord may be legally responsible depending on the facts and circumstances of your case.
Landlords are not automatically on the hook every time someone is injured on their property, but Texas law does require them to keep their premises reasonably safe for tenants and visitors. When they fail to do so, and someone is injured as a result, they can be held liable in a premises liability claim.
Knowing where the line is between a landlord’s responsibility and your own can make a big difference in whether you have a case. Read on for a closer look at how these claims work in Texas.
What Does Texas Law Require From Landlords?
Under Texas Property Code § 92.052, landlords are required to make repairs to conditions that materially affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant. This applies to issues such as structural problems, plumbing problems, faulty electrical wiring, broken railings, and any other hazard that poses a real risk of harm.
Landlords who own apartment complexes are also responsible for maintaining common areas like stairways and sidewalks.
In most cases, the landlord needs to have knowledge of the dangerous condition before they can be held liable. This is why written notice is important. If you’ve reported a hazard to your landlord in writing and they failed to address it within a reasonable amount of time, that’s compelling evidence in a premises liability case.
That said, if the condition is something the landlord should have discovered through routine inspections, notice may not be required.
What Do I Need To Prove to Win a Premises Liability Claim?
To hold your landlord liable for your injuries, you generally need to show the following:
- The landlord owed you a duty of care as a tenant or authorized visitor on the property.
- A dangerous condition existed on the property.
- The landlord knew about the condition, or should have known through reasonable inspections.
- The landlord failed to fix the hazard or warn you about it within a reasonable timeframe.
- That failure directly caused your injuries.
As a tenant, you are owed the highest level of care under Texas premises liability law. You’re on the property by invitation for mutual commercial benefit, which means the landlord has an obligation to regularly inspect the premises and address hazards as they arise.
Can My Landlord Blame Me for the Accident?
They can try. Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001. This means your compensation can be reduced by whatever percentage of fault is assigned to you. If your share reaches 51% or more, you lose the right to recover anything at all.
The landlord’s insurance company may argue that you contributed to the accident by ignoring obvious hazards or using the property in an unintended way. Having an attorney on your side who can counter these arguments is important for protecting the value of your claim.
Contact a Dallas Premises Liability Attorney at Anderson Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you were injured on a rental property in Texas because of a condition your landlord failed to address, you may have a valid premises liability claim. State law only gives you a limited amount of time to act, so schedule a free consultation with a personal injury attorney today to learn where your case stands going forward.
For more information, contact the Dallas premises liability lawyers at Anderson Injury Lawyers to set up a free case review and learn about your legal rights and options.
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About the Author
Mark A. Anderson is the founder of Anderson Injury Lawyers and a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer—an honor held by only a small percentage of Texas attorneys. He earned his law degree from Baylor University School of Law and has spent more than 20 years helping injury victims across Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin. Mark handles cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, product liability, wrongful death, catastrophic injuries, and more. Click here to view some of the successful case results Mark has achieved for his clients.
Location: Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas
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