What Must Be in a Residential Lease in Texas
What a Texas residential lease must contain, the copy-of-lease deadline, and the deposit, repair, and late-fee rules that apply no matter what the lease says.
Landlord & Tenant
How to handle security deposits, evictions, lease termination, and habitability issues — for renters and landlords.
Texas Security Deposit Return Deadline: The 30-Day Rule
Texas sets no maximum security deposit amount. The rule that matters is the 30-day return deadline under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, plus the itemized-deduction and bad-faith penalty rules that go with it.
Breaking a Lease in Texas Without Penalty: Legal Grounds
The situations under Texas law that let a tenant end a lease early without owing a penalty, the notice each one requires, and what a tenant owes when no statutory ground fits.
Illinois Implied Warranty of Habitability: What It Covers
What the Illinois implied warranty of habitability covers, where it comes from (Jack Spring v. Little rather than a statute), how local ordinances add to it, and the remedies a tenant has when a rental is not habitable.
Eviction Process in Texas Without a Lease: Family and Guests
Removing a family member, guest, or other occupant who has no lease still requires a court eviction in Texas. This article explains the notice to vacate, the forcible detainer suit in justice court, and the writ of possession.
The Texas Eviction Process: Timeline From Notice to Move-Out
A step-by-step timeline of the Texas eviction process, from the written notice to vacate through the justice court suit, judgment, appeal window, and the writ of possession that a constable executes.
Texas Tenant Rights: Deposits, Repairs, and the Lease
A plain-language reference to Texas tenant rights under the Property Code: security deposits, late fees, repairs and habitability, lockouts, retaliation, and how an eviction works.
Illinois Landlord-Tenant Law: Deposits, Leases, and Rights
A plain-language overview of Illinois landlord-tenant law: how security deposits, interest, retaliation, utilities, and eviction work under 765 ILCS, and where local ordinances change the rules.
New York Landlord-Tenant Law: Rights, Rules, and Leases
A plain-language reference to New York landlord-tenant law: leases, rent and fee limits, the warranty of habitability, notice periods, eviction, and security deposits, with links to the governing statutes and state agencies.
Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Law: Tenant and Landlord Rights
A plain-language reference to Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law: the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, security deposit rules, repairs and habitability, notice to quit, the eviction court process, and how local ordinances change the rules.
Ohio Landlord-Tenant Law: Rights, Deposits, and Eviction
A plain-language reference to Ohio landlord-tenant law under Revised Code Chapter 5321, security deposits, the 30-day rule, repairs and rent escrow, landlord and tenant duties, and how eviction works.
California Landlord-Tenant Law: Rights, Rent, and Eviction Rules
A plain-language reference to California landlord-tenant law: the statewide rent cap, security deposit rules and deadlines, the duty to keep a rental habitable, the notices that end a tenancy, and how the eviction process works in court.