Eviction Bill in Texas Legislature
A bill that speeds up the eviction process was recently passed in the Texas House. The goal of the bill is to help remove squatters quickly and will certainly have other impacts that will be determined if it becomes law. The original Senate Bill 38 was approved in the Texas House with changes, so it must go back to the Senate for approval before it goes to the Governer's desk.
Austin Air Conditioning Requirement
The Austin City Council adopted changes to the property maintenance code that requires all homes within the city to have functioning air conditioning effective on July 10, 2025. While the portion of Austin homes without A/C is very small, it is an issue that the city council felt they needed to address after several years of extreme temperature streaks over the summer.
The system does not have to be central A/C. It requires any habitable rooms to be capable of being cooled to at least 15 degrees lower than the outside temperature. Rooms are considered habitable when they are used to relax, sleep, eat or cook, so it doesn’t include garages and attics for example.
There are already state and local laws in place that require landlords to fix any issues that relate to health and safety, so if a property has an A/C that is not working it is imperative to get it fixed in a timely manner.
Scams Are Getting More Sophisticated
With the continuing technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI), we are seeing more scams that make it easier for criminals to socially engineer their way into people’s bank and other accounts.
AI is being used to imitate real voices, and sooner than later it will be able to create a video that mimics a real person’s image on a video call. Anytime someone contacts you and asks you for money or information that you were not expecting you should keep in mind “When in Doubt: Hang Up, Look Up, & Call Back.” This is even more important if they are trying to instill a sense of urgency, keep you on the phone without interruption, and tell you not to talk to anyone else.
While the advice to look up things is sound an additional issue to be aware of and on the lookout for is Google search results showing scam websites that fool people into calling them instead of the actual business. Scammers can manipulate search results and provide fraudulent contact info when people are looking for things like bank or retailer support. They get victims to call an alternative number with a convincing website, so always make sure you are on the official website when looking anything up online.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released a Public Service Announcement alerting the public about the increasing threat of AI based fraud. Some of the topics covered in detail are:
- AI-Generated Text
- AI-Generated Images
- AI-Generated Audio, aka Vocal Cloning
- AI-Generated Videos
The announcement has tips to protect yourself and a link to file a report if you are a victim of financial fraud.
REAL ID
The REAL ID Act that was passed by Congress in 2005 is finally being fully enforced as of May 7, 2025. This law created a federal baseline for security features in licenses and other IDs and prohibits federal agencies from accepting IDs that are not compliant. Most people will be impacted by this law if they travel, so we wanted to mention it in case you have summer break travel plans and have to make it through a TSA checkpoint. They have also provided a REAL ID FAQ page.
Thank you for your trust in us! We always welcome your feedback and questions. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you should need anything at this time.
Reminders:
Maintenance Approval Process Changes
In addition to the info below about funding repairs, we want to notify all owners that we are modifying our escalation process when we cannot reach our clients to ensure we are complying with property code requirements. In bonafide emergencies we are acting within our authority to mitigate damages, however after it has been contained or in non-emergency situations, we reach out to our clients for work authorization that is required above the limit set in the management agreement. In those cases, we now have a strict process going into effect that will have a time-based escalation if we cannot reach you. The protocol will be that if we cannot reach you by the 3rd day from when we first reached out, we will then reach out to your emergency contact who can aid us in getting authorization or contacting you. If you want to update your emergency contact on file, please contact your property manager. Keep in mind that this contact should be someone outside of your immediate household who can help us reach you or that you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you cannot be reached by them or us.
Funding Make-Readies & Maintenance for Your Property
Please note that it is Bay Property Management Group Austin 's policy that the owner has reserve funding on hand with Bay Property Management Group Austin to help us commence work faster when it comes to make-readies and maintenance on your property. Bay Property Management Group Austin cannot perform maintenance without first receiving authorization and funding, which can slow down the turn-around times of our vendors and their availability in this market. This can also potentially create a negative experience that tenants will remember when it comes time to renew, and we always want to avoid turning over the tenants. Any time we request authorization for work on your property, the best practice is to immediately fund your account when you provide written authorization to move forward. This is as simple as going into your owner portal and using ACH for a free transfer, or if you prefer a credit card the processor charges a fee as part of the transaction.
Keep in mind that tenant charges on your account are not considered an offset to this amount as we keep a strict accounting system for both our and our client's benefits. Any tenant chargeable items will be posted to their account, and once they are paid it is immediately credited to your account. If you have any questions about this reserve amount held with Bay Property Management Group Austin, please contact your property manager.
