The owner is responsible under Texas law, and when you have a property manager, the manager does the checking on your behalf as part of make-ready and again at the move-in walk. It is not the tenant's job, the city does not do it for a single-family house, and the previous tenant's word that "everything worked" counts for nothing.
What makes this question matter is that the penalties for a missing device or a dead alarm land on the owner, and a tenant can raise them months later. So the check has to be done, and it has to be documented in a way that proves it was done before the keys changed hands.
The law puts the duty on the owner; the manager carries it out
The Texas Property Code sets out the security devices a residential rental must have and the smoke alarm duties a landlord owes at the start of each tenancy. Those duties belong to the landlord, which means the owner of record. A management company acts as the owner's agent, so when a manager rekeys the house and tests the alarms, it is the owner's duty being discharged, with the owner's money.
That is why the question of who checks has a second half: who keeps the proof. A manager that does the work but keeps no record has done half the job. The Texas security device and smoke alarm guide lists every statutory item in detail; this article is about how the check runs and what you should see from it.
The checklist a manager runs before keys change hands
Required by Texas law, on every house, every tenancy:
- Every exterior lock rekeyed after the prior tenant's move-out and before the new tenant's move-in, at the owner's expense.
- A keyed deadbolt, a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each exterior door.
- A latch on each exterior window.
- A pin lock and either a security bar or a handle latch on each sliding glass door.
- Smoke alarms in each bedroom, in the hallway outside the bedrooms and on each level, tested and working at the start of the tenancy.
Not required by the device statute but checked by any manager worth hiring: a carbon monoxide alarm where there is gas or an attached garage, GFCI protection at kitchen, bath and exterior outlets, the water heater's relief valve drain, the dryer vent, handrails, the garage door's auto-reverse, and the pool barrier and gate latch if there is a pool. Those items are where a tenant gets hurt, and an injury claim does not care that the statute was silent.
When the check happens, and why the timing matters
The rekey happens after the prior tenant has surrendered the house and before anyone new has a key, which means the locksmith is one of the first vendors through the door during make-ready, not the last. Texas gives the landlord a short window after turnover to complete it, and a manager should not wait for the window.
The device and alarm check happens twice: once during make-ready, when a missing latch or a dead alarm gets fixed with the rest of the make-ready work, and again at the move-in walk with the tenant present. Testing the alarms in front of the tenant and noting it on the move-in form is the cheapest insurance an owner can buy.
During the lease, a tenant can request a rekey, an additional device or a smoke alarm inspection in writing, and the landlord has to respond within a reasonable time. A manager logs those requests like repair requests and closes them with an invoice.
How the check gets documented
Four records make up the proof: the locksmith's invoice dated between the two tenancies, the make-ready photos of each exterior door, window latch and alarm, the move-in condition form signed by the tenant with the alarm test noted, and the lease clause acknowledging the devices and the tenant's duty to report an alarm that stops working.
Those four items are what a manager produces when a tenant claims, six months in, that an alarm never worked or that a window had no latch. They are also what an insurer asks for after a fire. Our documented inspections start with that move-in baseline, and every later inspection is compared against it.
Who pays for what
The owner pays for the rekey between tenants and for any required device the house is missing. A tenant who asks for an extra rekey during the lease, or for devices beyond the required minimum, can generally be charged for those, and the lease should say so. Smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy are commonly assigned to the tenant in the lease; repairing or replacing an alarm that fails is the owner's cost.
None of these are large numbers next to what they prevent. A rekey and a couple of latches cost less than one month's rent on almost any house in Keller, North Richland Hills or Fort Worth, and the exposure they close is a tenant's statutory claim plus the liability if someone is hurt.
What happens if the check is skipped
A tenant who finds a required device missing can give written notice, and if it is not corrected within the statutory period, the tenant may install it and deduct the cost, terminate the lease, or sue for damages and a statutory penalty. A smoke alarm that was never tested turns a kitchen fire into a liability case, and an insurer that finds no alarm record has a reason to argue.
The owners who get caught by this are not careless; they are owners who assumed a previous tenant, a cleaner or a handyman had covered it. Nobody covers it unless it is on a checklist with a name next to it. This is general information, not legal advice; the statute and your lease control any specific case.
How Perpetual handles this
On every house we take on in Keller, North Richland Hills and Fort Worth, the locksmith is scheduled the day the prior tenant surrenders, and the device and alarm check is a line on our make-ready list with photos attached. At move-in we walk the house with the tenant, test each alarm in front of them, and have them sign the condition form that records it. Our Texas-compliant lease sets out the devices, the tenant's duty to report a failed alarm and who pays for extras.
Every invoice from that work appears on your monthly statement with the photos in the owner portal, so the proof exists without you asking for it. We are broker-owned and local, and the vendors doing the rekey and the repairs are ones we have used on many houses. If you are getting a house ready for its first tenant, our leasing service starts with this checklist, and every fee is listed in the written quote before you sign.
The takeaway: The duty is yours, the check is the manager's, and the proof is four documents in a file before the tenant gets a key.
Questions owners ask
Does a landlord have to rekey between tenants in Texas?
Yes. Texas requires the exterior locks to be rekeyed after each tenant turnover, at the landlord's expense, within a short statutory window after the prior tenant leaves. The purpose is simple: nobody who held a key to the house should still be able to open it when the new tenant moves in. A smart lock does not avoid the rule; the codes have to be changed and the physical key cylinder rekeyed or replaced.
Are carbon monoxide detectors required in Texas rentals?
The Texas security device and smoke alarm statutes do not require carbon monoxide alarms in most existing single-family rentals, though building codes for new construction and some cities do. A manager installs one anyway where there is gas service, a fireplace or an attached garage, because the cost is trivial and the liability if a tenant is harmed is not. Check your city's code and your insurer's requirements.
Can the tenant be charged for a smoke alarm that stops working?
The lease can assign battery replacement to the tenant during the tenancy, and a tenant who disables an alarm can be liable for it. Repairing or replacing an alarm that fails on its own is the owner's responsibility once the tenant reports it. What the owner cannot do is skip the inspection and test at the start of the tenancy; that duty cannot be shifted to the tenant.
What does a move-in condition form have to do with safety devices?
It is the document that proves the devices were present and the alarms were working on the day the tenant took possession. A form that lists each exterior door, window and alarm, notes the test, and carries the tenant's signature closes the argument before it starts. Pair it with dated photos and the locksmith's invoice, and the file answers any later claim.
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