Laredo, Texas residential lease guide: age as a protected class, AEP Texas, Webb JP courts

Q: Who supplies water in Laredo?

The City of Laredo Utilities Department ( Utilities Department ), which also runs a bi-annual free-chlorine conversion of the system.

Laredo’s lease has one feature no other city in this series shares: its fair housing ordinance, on the books since the 1970s, declares the policy of the city to be housing “without regard to sex, race, age, handicap, color, religion or national origin,” and §16-31 makes it unlawful to refuse to rent “because of sex, age, handicap, race, color, religion or national origin” (Chapter 16, Article III). Age is not a federal fair housing class; in Laredo it is a local one. The rest of the Laredo lease follows the South Texas pattern: AEP Texas delivers electricity for the retail provider the tenant picks, the city’s Utilities Department sells the water, and Webb County’s justice courts, organised by precinct and place, hear evictions. Each point is sourced below as read in September 2026.

Age in the screening criteria

Most Texas landlords write criteria that never mention age, but some use age-linked proxies — a minimum age for signing beyond the legal age of majority, a preference for “mature” tenants in advertising, or an outright refusal of young applicants. In Laredo those choices are exposed under the ordinance’s wording. The safe lease and criteria refer to legal capacity to contract, income, rental history and credit, and say nothing about age; the advertising should do the same. The ordinance also names handicap, so the accommodation process for disability follows federal law as elsewhere.

Electricity: AEP Texas delivers, the tenant chooses

AEP Texas “provides regulated energy delivery service to consumers, regardless of which Retail Electric Provider (REP) they choose,” and lists Laredo among the cities in its south and west Texas territory (About AEP Texas, service area map). Laredo is therefore a retail-choice city under Utilities Code §39.102: the lease says the tenant opens a retail electric account in the tenant’s name from the start date with any provider serving the address, and reports outages to AEP Texas.

Water: the city’s Utilities Department

The City of Laredo Utilities Department provides water and wastewater, bills through the city’s online system, and runs a scheduled free-chlorine conversion as “routine bi-annual maintenance” — the March 2026 cycle was announced for about 30 days (city notice). That matters for the welcome sheet: a tenant who notices a change in taste or smell during the conversion should be pointed to the city’s notice, not to the landlord. Name the department in the utilities clause and say whose name is on the account; in a master-metered building, Water Code §13.5031 requires the rental agreement to describe the allocation method and state the average unit bill.

Eviction venue: Webb County precincts and places

Webb County lists its justices of the peace by precinct and place — Precinct 1, Place 1; Precinct 1, Place 2; Precinct 2, Place 1; Precinct 3; Precinct 4 — and notes that the precincts were re-established and renumbered by the Commissioners Court (Webb County — Justice of the Peace). Under Property Code §24.0041, in force since January 1, 2026, the suit is filed in the precinct where the property is located, 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. Confirm the current precinct boundaries on the county site before drafting a notice.

Substandard buildings and the maintenance clause

Laredo’s Chapter 16, Article IV (Ordinance 2013-O-025) sets the procedure for substandard and dangerous buildings under Local Government Code Chapter 214: minimum standards drawn from the international building, property maintenance and residential codes as adopted by the city, notice to the owner, and a public hearing. The lease’s maintenance clause should name the repair route so that conditions reach the landlord before they reach the city; see the Laredo maintenance guide.

WHAT TO WRITE IN A LAREDO LEASE
Clause	What changes for a Laredo address	Source
Screening and occupancy	Criteria and advertising silent on age, in addition to the federal classes	Chapter 16, Art. III
Electricity	Tenant opens a retail electric account with any provider; AEP Texas delivers and handles outages	AEP Texas · Utilities Code §39.102
Water	City of Laredo Utilities Department account holder named; allocation method if master-metered	Utilities Department · Water Code §13.5031
Notices and venue	Webb County JP precinct and place for the address; pay-or-vacate notice for a first late payment	Webb County JP · Property Code ch. 24
Maintenance	Repair route in the lease; Chapter 16, Article IV standards apply on complaint	Chapter 16, Art. IV

What changes in Laredo

Age is a protected class under the city’s fair housing ordinance — criteria and ads must be silent on it.
Electricity is retail-choice through AEP Texas; water is the city’s, with a twice-yearly chlorine conversion tenants will notice.
Webb County files evictions by precinct and place, after a renumbering of precincts.
No rental registration program; substandard-building procedures under Chapter 16, Article IV apply on complaint.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Laredo landlord refuse an applicant because of age?

No. Laredo’s fair housing ordinance makes it unlawful to refuse to rent “because of sex, age, handicap, race, color, religion or national origin” (§16-31). Criteria should refer to legal capacity, income and rental history, not age.

Can my tenant choose their electricity provider in Laredo?

Yes. AEP Texas delivers electricity “regardless of which Retail Electric Provider (REP) they choose” (AEP Texas), and Laredo is in its territory; the tenant picks the provider under Utilities Code §39.102.

Where is an eviction filed in Laredo?

In the Webb County justice court of the precinct where the property is located — the county lists Precinct 1 (Places 1 and 2), Precinct 2 (Place 1), Precinct 3 and Precinct 4 (Webb County JP), as Property Code §24.0041 requires.

Who supplies water in Laredo?

The City of Laredo Utilities Department (Utilities Department), which also runs a bi-annual free-chlorine conversion of the system.

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.