Window and Screen Repairs: Who Pays?

Who pays for a broken window, torn screen, or failed window lock depends on what caused the damage. If you, someone in your household, a guest, or a pet caused it, you pay for the repair, either directly or through a deduction from your security deposit; if a storm, a break-in by a stranger, or ordinary aging caused it, payment depends on applicable housing rules and enforceable lease terms. California allows leases to assign less serious repairs; Florida permits written changes to maintenance duties for single-family homes and duplexes. In Texas, though, a lease clause in bold or underlined print can make you pay for damage to windows and screens even when you did not cause it, unless the landlord's negligence did.

Who pays, by cause

Two Texas rules change this table. First, a lease can make you pay for damage to doors, windows, or screens, and for damage from windows or doors left open, except damage caused by the landlord's negligence. The clause counts only if the lease is in writing and the clause is underlined or in bold, specific and clear, and agreed to knowingly, voluntarily, and for consideration (something of value in return, such as lower rent), under Texas Property Code section 92.006.

Second, Texas treats window latches as security devices. An underlined lease clause can make you pay to repair a latch that you, a family member, an occupant, or a guest damaged or misused, and damage during your tenancy is presumed to be yours unless you prove someone else caused it, which is one reason to get a police report after a break-in. A landlord can never charge you for a latch that failed from normal wear and tear. When charges are allowed, Texas Property Code section 92.162(d) caps contractor work at the contractor's actual charge for materials, labor, taxes, and extra keys. Work by the landlord's employees may include reasonable overhead (business operating costs), but no landlord profit. Work by management-company employees may include reasonable overhead and profit, but cannot exceed what the company charges the owner for comparable security devices installed by its employees at the owner's request and expense.

Which window parts the landlord must provide

State and local rules set minimums for glass, locks, screens, and guards:

• California: the landlord must provide weather protection that includes unbroken windows, working locks or security devices on windows, and windows in each room that open at least halfway for ventilation unless a fan provides it. You must tell the landlord when a window lock stops working.
• Texas: every exterior window must have a window latch, a lock that works from the inside without a key. The landlord must repair or replace a broken latch when you ask, presumed to be within 7 days, or within 72 hours if you report that someone broke in or tried to break into your unit, or that a break-in, attempted break-in, or violent crime happened elsewhere in your complex in the past two months.
• Florida: where no local housing code applies, the landlord must keep windows in good repair as part of the structure, make sure screens are in reasonable condition when you move in, and repair screen damage once a year when needed (Fla. Stat. section 83.51). A written lease for a single-family home or duplex can change these duties.
• Washington: the landlord must keep the unit reasonably weathertight and provide reasonably adequate locks.
• New York City: in buildings with three or more apartments, the owner must install and repair city-approved window guards if a child 10 or younger lives in your apartment, or if you ask for them. The owner can charge you for guards installed in your apartment, but not for guards already there when you moved in, and the surcharge for a rent-stabilized apartment cannot exceed $10 per guard. Tenants who receive public assistance, Section 8, a Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) do not have to pay.

Why egress and child-safety problems are urgent

Egress means a way out in an emergency, and a window you cannot open can trap you in a fire. Ready.gov's fire escape advice is to plan two ways out of each room and to make sure windows are not stuck, screens can be removed quickly, and security bars open properly. California also requires rentals to have safe fire or emergency exits. Report a painted-shut, nailed-shut, or barred bedroom window in writing as a safety repair. If it is the room's only other way out, say so, because Washington gives a landlord 24 hours after written notice to begin fixing a condition that is imminently hazardous to life, compared with 10 days for most repairs, unless circumstances are beyond its control.

Screens do not keep children from falling. New York City's health department says screens are no substitute for window guards, and that where guards are missing, windows should stay closed and children should not be able to climb up to them. NYC tenants may not remove window guards to fit an air conditioner, but they can ask the owner to install both. Our guide to fire safety in your rental covers alarms and escape routes.

How window damage affects your deposit

A landlord can deduct the reasonable cost to repair window damage you caused, but Texas, California, and Washington all bar deductions for normal wear and tear. Rules that help you dispute a window charge:

• California: cleaning charges can only return the unit to the cleanliness it had at move-in, so windows that were just as dirty when you arrived as when you left cannot be charged. The state guide adds that you can argue dirt on the outside of windows comes from the environment, not from you.
• Washington: the landlord cannot charge for repairing fixtures whose condition was not reasonably documented on the written move-in checklist, and when only part of an item is damaged, the charge is limited to that part (RCW 59.18.280). For contractor repairs, damage charges must come with copies of estimates received or invoices paid. For repairs by the landlord or its employees, the landlord must provide a statement of labor time and the reasonable hourly rate charged, plus copies of bills, invoices, or receipts for any materials charged. Vendor price lists or other vendor documents can document materials already on hand or bought regularly.

For how wear differs from damage in the rest of the unit, see normal wear and tear vs. damage.

What to do when a window breaks

1. Make the opening safe. Sweep up the glass and cover the gap with plastic sheeting or cardboard. The Texas Department of Insurance lists boarding up broken windows as a temporary repair that protects a home and its contents.
2. Photograph the damage and the cause, such as a fallen branch, a ball, or pry marks.
3. After a break-in, file a police report and give the report number to the landlord, and to your renters insurer if anything was stolen.
4. Notify the landlord in writing, and say whether the window still locks. Our guide to reporting maintenance issues shows what to include.
5. Do not change or replace a latch yourself without permission. Texas bars tenants from altering a security device without the landlord's permission, except under the statute's repair-and-deduct remedy.

If you or a guest caused the damage, see maintenance tasks that are your responsibility for how repair bills and deposit deductions work.