Epps v. Ayer

OPINION

McCLOUD, Chief Justice.

This case involves the applicability of the Texas Smoke Detector Statute, TEX.PROP. CODE ANN. § 92.251 et seq. (Vernon 1984 & Supp.1993), when the written lease provided that the landlord would maintain a “working smoke alarm.”

The tenant, Linda Epps, sued her landlord, Harold G. Ayer, under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), TEX.BUS. & COM.CODE ANN. § 17.41 et seq. (Vernon 1987 & Supp. 1993), alleging that the written lease agreement between the parties provided that the landlord would maintain a “working smoke alarm”; that the…