Combining graphene with other novel layered materials is a possible way for engineering the band structure of charge carriers. Strong spin-orbit coupling in BiTeX compounds and the recent fabrication of a single layer of BiTeI points towards a feasible experimental realization of a Kane--Mele phase in graphene-based heterostructures. Here, we theoretically demonstrate the tunability of the topological phase of hybrid systems built from graphene and BiTeX (X = I, Br, Cl) layers by uniaxial in-plane tensile and out-of plane compressive strain. We show that structural stress inherently present in fabricated samples could induce a topological phase transition, thus turning the sample in a novel experimental realization of a time reversal invariant topological insulator.
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