Landlord repair duties under Texas, Minnesota and Oregon law, the notice tenants must give, and what renters insurance does and doesn't pay for after a leak.
By the WaterDamageRated team · Facts checked against the sources listed below on November 1, 2026. General information, not professional advice.
When water damages a rental, two different things need putting right. Repairs to the building, such as a leaking roof or broken plumbing, are generally the landlord's duty under the Texas, Minnesota and Oregon laws below, within the limits each state sets, including exceptions for problems a tenant causes. Your own belongings are a separate matter. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says plainly that your landlord's insurance won't cover your personal items, and that you will need renters insurance to protect your belongings from theft or from damage caused by a burst pipe or other cause.
TDI describes three parts of a typical renters policy:
On water, TDI says most renters policies cover certain kinds of water damage but don't cover floods, and it points renters to the National Flood Insurance Program for flood coverage. It also warns that a basic policy may not pay what you originally paid. Its example: you paid $1,300 for a laptop two years ago and the same kind now sells for $500, so a basic renters policy would pay $500 if it were destroyed. A policy that covers the replacement value of your items costs more. TDI suggests filling out a home inventory so you know your belongings are adequately covered.
Check sewer backups too. The Minnesota Department of Commerce says a typical homeowner's policy doesn't cover sewer backups and that a separate product or endorsement is needed, so ask your insurer whether your renters policy has a similar exclusion.
Under Texas Property Code section 92.052, a landlord must repair a condition that materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant. The Texas State Law Library gives plumbing leaks and mold among its examples. The duty applies only if:
The landlord then gets a reasonable time to make repairs, which the library says is usually 7 days, and can be longer for severe problems or shortages of labor or materials. If the problem continues, you generally must send a second notice in writing, unless the first went by certified mail. After a second reasonable period, the remedies include going to court, repairing and deducting the cost from rent (which the library says has very specific requirements), or ending the lease, which the library calls risky. The library warns that a landlord may be able to sue a tenant who withholds rent, makes unauthorized repairs or deducts repair costs without following the proper procedures, and suggests talking to an attorney before acting.
Minnesota Statutes section 504B.161 requires landlords to keep a rental and its common areas fit for the use intended, in reasonable repair during the lease, and in compliance with applicable health and safety laws. The repair and health-and-safety duties don't apply where the tenant, or someone under the tenant's control, caused the problem through willful, malicious or irresponsible conduct. A lease cannot waive or modify these duties. The same section requires heat of at least 68°F in living areas, including kitchens and bathrooms, from October 1 through April 30, unless a utility company requires it to be reduced, which matters when pipes are at risk of freezing.
If the landlord doesn't fix a breach of these duties, section 504B.385 sets out a rent escrow process: you give the landlord written notice specifying the violation, delivered personally or sent to the person or place where rent is normally paid. If it isn't corrected within 14 days, you may deposit the rent due with the court administrator, along with an affidavit specifying the violation. While the case is pending, you must keep paying rent to the landlord or as the court directs. A code violation cited by an inspector follows a different timetable.
Oregon's ORS 90.320 requires landlords to keep a rental in habitable condition at all times during the tenancy, including effective waterproofing and weather protection of the roof and exterior walls, windows and doors; plumbing maintained in good working order; and a water supply capable of producing hot and cold running water. ORS 90.100 lists plumbing and hot and cold running water among the essential services.
ORS 90.360 lets a tenant deliver a written notice specifying the problem and stating that the rental agreement will end on a date at least 30 days after the notice if the landlord doesn't fix it within 7 days, for an essential service, or within 30 days for other problems. (For a week-to-week tenancy, the end date can be 7 days after the notice.) If the landlord adequately fixes the problem before the date in the notice, the agreement doesn't end. A tenant can also recover damages and obtain injunctive relief, but not for a condition caused by the tenant or someone on the premises with the tenant's permission, and not where the landlord neither knew nor reasonably should have known of the problem and the tenant knew of it but didn't give the landlord actual notice in a reasonable time.
If you own the home you rent out, the repair side is covered in our guides to the restoration process and hiring a contractor.
Renters insurance, as the Texas Department of Insurance describes it, covers your belongings, extra living costs after a covered loss, and personal liability; the building itself is not on that list. Building repairs are generally the landlord's duty under the Texas, Minnesota and Oregon laws described above, within the limits each state sets.
In Texas, a reasonable time, which the State Law Library says is usually 7 days after notice. In Minnesota, a tenant can start rent escrow if the problem isn't fixed within 14 days of written notice. In Oregon, if an essential service such as plumbing isn't fixed within 7 days of a tenant's written notice, the tenant can end the rental agreement on a date at least 30 days after the notice.
Be careful. The Texas State Law Library warns that a landlord may be able to sue a tenant who withholds rent without following the proper procedures. Minnesota's route is rent escrow through the court, and the law there says a tenant may not withhold rent while that case is pending.
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