In 2025 in Texas can anyone tell me if I can write in lease tenant responsible for pest control and plumbing drain issues. I will repair any water leaks not due to drain blockage. The house is free of pests and has no drain issues. In my experience, every call about slow drain is because tenant put something down drain they shouldn't have. --172.56.xx.xxx

I would think that you can certainly put it in the lease that any damage as a result of their negligence is their responsibility, but I would not put on them the responsibility of clearing the line by hiring someone. Do you want to maintain the control of that. Plumbing is probably a landlords #1 busy work for calls. Get good at it and over the long haul, you’ll make more by saving $ from doing it yourself than the plumber you hire. --24.152.xxx.xx

When you sign the lease and give keys, walk thru the property flush toliets and run water a every sink and toliet. Say something like "see the water goes down, no issues, understand that it's your resonsiblility to keep it that way, I'm here to help navigate any conserns or issues or selection of contractors but TODAY everything flows." Set your tenant's up to understand their life style is on them. Bill them back, but use your contractors and you pay the bill, but bill them back. --172.59.xxx.xxx

Before a tenant moves all the traps in kitchen and bathroom are removed then thoroughly cleaned out where when put back together there is good flow of water. The toilet is tested where a good flush. Older plumbing systems made a thorough cleaning as drain pipes where made of cast iron along with pipe diameters were smaller. The most common problem that encountered with blocked drains is feminine products where the toilet is used instead of throwing out. I bought a Ridgid plumbers toilet drain snake where often was able to clean out most blocked toilets where waited a few hours before going out so the would be less likely to that again. So in the end normal wear and tear and negligence where tenant or tenants guests caused the problem. --216.110.xxx.xxx

It’s standard in my lease: tenants are responsible for all plumbing stoppages, no matter how caused. Would I hold them liable for tree roots? Absolutely not…but I would just about everything else. I have language that attests the property is pest free and all plumbing flows freely unless documented on the inspection sheet. --75.75.xxx.xxx

Both are tenant's responsibilities in my lease, and I make sure they understand that before signing. Actually, most tenants already knew this, it's pretty standard here. --70.119.xxx.xx

My tenants pay for both of these things. --184.56.xx.xxx

Thanks everyone. --172.56.xx.xxx