Amarillo, Texas residential lease guide: no electricity choice, leak arrears follow the owner

Two features set an Amarillo lease apart from a Dallas or Houston one. First, the electricity: Southwestern Public Service Company, the Xcel Energy operating company, lists Amarillo in both Potter and Randall counties on its tariff sheet of cities served (SPS tariff, list of counties and cities.pdf)), and under Utilities Code §39.501 retail competition for a utility operating solely in the Southwest Power Pool “is delayed” — so there is no provider to choose. Second, the water: the city’s own code, §18-2-13, makes the landlord answer for a previous tenant’s leakage arrears before water is furnished to the next one. Add a two-county eviction map and a 7% hotel tax that reaches “apartments or houses used for short term rentals,” and the Amarillo lease is drafted. Every figure below was read in September 2026 from the source linked beside it.

Electricity: one utility, regulated rates

In Houston, Dallas or Corpus Christi the lease tells the tenant to pick a retail provider. In Amarillo it cannot. §39.501–39.502 apply to an investor-owned utility “operating solely outside of ERCOT in areas of this state that were included in the Southwest Power Pool on January 1, 2008,” and keep its rates “subject to regulation under Chapter 36” until the Public Utility Commission authorises customer choice. SPS is that utility for Amarillo. The clause therefore reads: the tenant opens an electric account with Southwestern Public Service (Xcel Energy) in the tenant’s name from the start date; outages and meter questions go to Xcel. Do not copy a “choose your provider” paragraph from another Texas lease — it would tell the tenant to do something impossible.

Water: the leak rule that binds the owner

Amarillo’s water utility is municipal, and §18-2-13 says two things a landlord should read twice. “All property owners, their agents and tenants, shall be held responsible as consumers for loss of water, due to leakage in pipes or plumbing inside the discharge side of the meter,” and, at a change of tenants, “when arrearages for past leakage exist the landlord and property owners shall be held to account for payment for this leakage before service will be extended and water furnished to the second tenant.” In practice a slow toilet or a broken irrigation line that a tenant never reported becomes the owner’s bill at turnover, and the next tenant cannot get water until it is paid. The lease should require the tenant to report any leak in writing within 24 hours, state that metered consumption during the tenancy is the tenant’s, and let the landlord inspect the meter reading at move-out. As codified, the minimum monthly charge for a ⅝–¾″ meter inside the city is $19.15 including the first 3,000 gallons (§18-2-57); confirm the current figure, since the code’s rate sections are amended each budget year.

Gas: no disconnection under 40 °F

Amarillo winters bring a rule most Texas cities lack. Under §18-1-13, a gas provider “shall not disconnect natural gas service to any customer when the day’s temperature in the City fell below forty (40) degrees Fahrenheit and the National Weather Service predicts that the temperature in the City will fall below that level during the next twenty-four (24) hours.” The article expressly covers “owners, operators and managers of mobile home parks or apartment houses who purchase gas through a master meter,” so a landlord who resells gas to units is a “provider” bound by the same rule. In a master-metered building the utilities clause must respect it.

Eviction venue: Potter or Randall

Amarillo straddles the county line. A Potter County address files in one of Potter’s four justice precincts — Precinct 1 sits at 900 S. Polk, Suite 418, and posts its petition for eviction, eviction-diversion and military-affidavit forms (Potter County JP Precinct 1); a Randall County address files with Randall’s Justice of the Peace Number 4 or 4A at 4320 S. Western in Amarillo (Randall County JP 4, Justices of the Peace). Property Code §24.0041 requires the suit in the precinct where the property lies, and §24.005 now requires a notice to pay rent or vacate for a tenant who was not late before the month of the notice. The county is on the appraisal record; write it in the file.

Short stays and the 7% hotel tax

Amarillo has no short-term rental permit chapter, but its hotel occupancy tax reaches further than the word “hotel” suggests: the definition in §14-2-51 includes “apartments or houses used for short term rentals … for up to thirty (30) consecutive days,” taxed at 7% under §14-2-52. A long-term lease should prohibit stays under 30 days unless the owner is registered to collect the tax; the Amarillo registration guide explains the filing.

WHAT TO WRITE IN AN AMARILLO LEASE
Clause	What changes for an Amarillo address	Source
Electricity	Tenant opens an account with Southwestern Public Service (Xcel Energy); no retail provider choice	SPS tariff.pdf) · Utilities Code §39.501
Water	City account; tenant reports leaks within 24 hours; leak arrears otherwise fall on the owner at turnover	Code §18-2-13
Gas (master meter)	No disconnection when the temperature falls below 40 °F with a forecast to stay there	Code §18-1-13
Subletting	No stays under 30 days unless hotel occupancy tax is collected and remitted	Code §14-2-51
Eviction venue	Potter County JP precincts or Randall County JP 4/4A, by address	Potter JP · Randall JP
Flood disclosure	§92.0135 questions answered from the FEMA map; playa-lake basins do flood	FEMA · Drainage Utility

Fair housing: the city’s own chapter

Chapter 6-2 declares the city’s policy of housing “without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or familial status” and makes refusal, unequal terms and discriminatory advertising offences before the municipal court. The classes match federal law; the forum is local. Screening criteria written once and applied identically satisfy both.

What changes in Amarillo

Electricity comes from Southwestern Public Service (Xcel Energy) with no provider choice — the lease must not tell the tenant to “shop.”
The city holds the landlord to account for a departing tenant’s leak arrears before serving the next tenant (Code §18-2-13).
Gas cannot be disconnected below 40 °F, and a master-meter landlord is a “provider” under that rule.
Evictions go to Potter or Randall County justice courts depending on the side of the county line.
Hotel occupancy tax at 7% reaches houses and apartments let for under 30 days.

Frequently asked questions

Can an Amarillo tenant choose an electricity provider?

No. Southwestern Public Service (Xcel Energy) serves Amarillo in Potter and Randall counties, and Utilities Code §39.501 delays retail competition in the Southwest Power Pool area (SPS tariff.pdf), Utilities Code).

Who pays for a water leak a tenant never reported?

Under Code §18-2-13 owners, agents and tenants are all responsible as consumers, and at a change of tenants the landlord must settle any leakage arrears before the city serves the next tenant (Code §18-2-13). Put a 24-hour reporting duty in the lease.

Which court hears an Amarillo eviction?

The justice court of the precinct where the property is located — Potter County’s precincts or Randall County’s JP 4/4A in Amarillo (Potter County, Randall County).

Does Amarillo require a short-term rental permit?

No permit chapter was found in the Code of Ordinances as read in September 2026, but the 7% hotel occupancy tax applies to houses and apartments rented for up to 30 days (Code §14-2-51).

Sources

Rules change and the right answer can depend on the home, the city, the lease and the timing. These are the official pages this guide relies on; check them before signing, charging a fee, sending a notice or making a legal decision.

General information for U.S. landlords, with a Texas focus. This guide is not legal, tax or accounting advice. Consult a qualified professional for your situation. Written by the rentalfreelease.com Editorial Team; last reviewed September 19, 2026.