You reported a mold problem to your landlord. Three weeks later, you received a notice that your rent is increasing significantly, or that your lease won't be renewed, or that you're being evicted. This sequence of events is no coincidence — and Texas law recognizes that. Under Texas Property Code §92.331 through §92.335, landlords are expressly prohibited from retaliating against tenants who exercise their legal rights, and the law creates a legal presumption of retaliation when adverse action follows within 6 months of protected activity.
This guide explains exactly what constitutes illegal retaliation, how the legal presumption works, what damages you can recover, and how to build a strong retaliation defense or claim.
Under TPC §92.331(a), a landlord commits unlawful retaliation when they take a prohibited action against a tenant in response to the tenant engaging in a protected activity. The prohibited retaliatory actions include:
The critical element is causation — the adverse action must be taken because of (or in response to) the tenant's protected activity. This is where the 6-month presumption becomes so powerful.
Texas law protects a wide range of tenant actions from retaliation. Under TPC §92.331(b), protected activities include:
Any complaint made in good faith to a government agency about the landlord's violation of a health or safety law, or any oral or written complaint made in good faith to the landlord or their agent about a repair need or habitability problem. This includes 311 complaints, code enforcement calls, health department reports, and any written communication about repairs to the landlord.
Exercising your right to terminate the lease or deduct repair costs under TPC §92.056 (the repair-and-deduct provisions) constitutes protected activity. If the landlord retaliates against you for exercising these remedies, they compound their legal exposure.
Complaining about a utility shutoff or lockout is explicitly protected under TPC §92.331(b)(3).
Simply sending a written repair request — even without invoking any specific remedy — is protected activity. Many retaliation cases arise simply from tenants who asked for repairs and then received notices of non-renewal or rent increases shortly after.
Under TPC §92.331(b)(5), participating in or organizing a tenant union, organization, or other group, or negotiating a lease in good faith, is protected activity.
This is the most powerful part of the retaliation statute. Under TPC §92.331(c), if a landlord takes a prohibited retaliatory action against a tenant within 6 months of a protected activity, the law presumes that the action was retaliatory — and the landlord bears the burden of proving otherwise.
This burden shift is significant in practice. Landlords often struggle to explain, with documented evidence, why they chose to evict or non-renew a tenant shortly after receiving a repair complaint — especially if the tenant had been otherwise compliant for a long tenancy.
A landlord can overcome the retaliation presumption by proving that the adverse action was taken for legitimate, independent reasons that are not related to the protected activity. Common rebuttal evidence includes:
A landlord who raises your rent for all units simultaneously, with documentation of market rate comparisons, is in a much stronger position than one who raises only your rent shortly after you complained about a broken heater.
If a landlord illegally retaliates against you, TPC §92.333 entitles you to recover:
You can also use retaliation as a defense in an eviction proceeding. If a landlord sues to evict you and you can prove the eviction is retaliatory, the court should deny the eviction — and you may be entitled to the damages listed above even without filing a separate lawsuit.
This is perhaps the most practical application of the retaliation statute for most tenants. When a landlord files an eviction case in Justice Court, you can raise retaliation as an affirmative defense. Here's how:
If the judge agrees, they should dismiss the eviction. You can also request attorney's fees and the civil penalty ($1 month's rent + $500) in the same hearing.
If you suspect your landlord is retaliating — or might retaliate — against you, start building your documentation now:
Write down every date you made a repair request, complaint, or exercised any tenant right. Note the exact form (text, email, letter) and keep copies. Then document every adverse action the landlord took — including their dates. The timeline is the most persuasive evidence in a retaliation case.
Keep every text, email, letter, and portal message between you and the landlord. Print or screenshot them with timestamps. If the landlord makes threatening statements in person, document them in writing immediately after: "On [date], at [time], my landlord told me that if I kept complaining about the heat, he would not renew my lease."
Code enforcement complaints, 311 reports, and health department inspections create official government records that are difficult for landlords to dispute. Filing a code enforcement complaint also triggers additional legal protections — landlords who retaliate after a government agency inspection may face additional liability.
If neighbors witnessed your landlord's behavior or observed the conditions you complained about, their statements can support your case. Written statements are better than verbal ones.
Not every adverse action by a landlord is retaliation. The anti-retaliation statute doesn't protect tenants from all negative consequences of their actions. Specifically, TPC §92.332 clarifies that a landlord does not commit retaliation by:
The key word in all of these is intent and timing. A landlord who has a legitimate independent reason for the adverse action, and who can prove it, may not be liable for retaliation even if the timing looks suspicious.