Texas Tenant Rights: Deposits, Repairs, and the Lease

Texas residential tenancies run on a single statewide rulebook: Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, supplemented by Chapter 91 for general tenancy rules and Chapter 24 for evictions. The same statutes apply in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and every rural county, though local courts and city ordinances can add detail on top. This page orients tenants and landlords to how the law is organized and what each part covers.

What this reference covers

This reference covers residential leases for a tenant’s home: apartments, rented houses, duplexes, and similar dwellings. It explains the rights and duties the Texas Property Code assigns to each side, the deadlines and dollar figures attached to those rights, and where each topic leads.

It does not cover commercial leases, which Chapter 93 governs under different rules. It also does not cover manufactured-home lot tenancies (Chapter 94) or the specialized rules for some federally subsidized housing. Where a city ordinance or a court’s local rules add requirements, those sit on top of the state floor described here, never below it.

The law treats a lease as a contract plus a set of rights that cannot be waived even if the lease says otherwise. A clause that purports to waive a tenant’s right to repairs, for example, is void under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.006.

Key terms in a Texas tenancy

A few terms recur across every topic below, and the spokes assume readers know them.

A tenant is a person authorized by a lease to occupy a dwelling, and a landlord is the owner or the owner’s agent or manager, as defined in Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.001. A security deposit is any advance of money, other than a rental application deposit or pet deposit identified as such, intended to secure performance of the lease. Surrender is the point at which the tenant gives up possession and returns the unit, which starts the deposit-refund clock.

Notice to vacate is the written demand a landlord must give before filing an eviction, separate from any notice ending the lease term. An eviction suit in Texas is a “forcible detainer” action filed in justice court under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 24.005. A writ of possession is the order that lets a constable remove a tenant after the landlord wins that suit.

Security deposits

The deposit rules are the most-litigated part of Texas tenant law, and the deadlines are firm. Under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.103, the landlord must refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the unit. The tenant must give the landlord a forwarding address for the refund; the 30-day clock runs regardless, but the landlord is not liable for failing to mail a refund the tenant gave no address to send.

A landlord may deduct for damage beyond normal wear and tear and for charges the tenant owes under the lease, but must provide an itemized written description of deductions when any amount is withheld, under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.104. Normal wear and tear is excluded by definition.

Rent, late fees, and lease terms

A landlord may charge a late fee only if the lease says so in writing, the fee is reasonable, and rent has stayed unpaid two full days after the due date, under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.019. The statute sets a safe-harbor cap: a fee is treated as reasonable if it is no more than 12 percent of the monthly rent for a building with four or fewer units, or 10 percent for a building with more than four units. A higher fee is allowed only if it reflects the landlord’s actual uncertain damages from late payment.

Texas does not cap the rent amount itself, and a 2019 state law bars local governments from enacting rent control except in a declared housing emergency. The lease sets the rent, the term, and most other commercial terms. Some lease provisions, though, are void by statute no matter what the parties signed: waivers of the repair duty, of the lockout protections, and of the right to a refund accounting all fall away under Chapter 92.

Repairs and habitability

Texas law makes the landlord responsible for repairing conditions that materially affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant, but the duty is conditioned on the tenant following a notice procedure. Under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.056, the landlord becomes liable only after the tenant gives notice of the condition to the place where rent is normally paid, is not delinquent in rent, and gives a subsequent written notice if the lease requires the first notice in writing. The landlord then has a reasonable time to repair.

If the landlord fails to repair within that reasonable time, the tenant’s remedies under Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.0561 include terminating the lease, having the repair done and deducting the cost from rent within statutory limits, or suing for a court order to repair plus damages. The repair-and-deduct remedy is capped and carries its own notice rules, so the procedure matters as much as the right.

Lockouts, utility shutoffs, and self-help by landlords

Texas sharply limits what a landlord can do outside of court. A landlord may not remove a door, window, lock, or appliance, and may not intentionally cut off utilities the landlord controls, as a way to force a tenant out. The narrow exceptions, and the one notice-and-restore path for a lockout over unpaid rent, are set out in Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.008 and 92.0081.

A landlord who wants a tenant out must use the eviction process in Chapter 24, not self-help. That process starts with a written notice to vacate, generally giving at least three days unless the lease specifies a different period, then a forcible-detainer suit filed in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits.

Retaliation and ending a tenancy

A landlord may not retaliate against a tenant who, in good faith, requests repairs, complains to a government agency about a health or safety violation, or exercises another right under the lease or the law. Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.331 bars retaliatory rent increases, lease terminations, and reductions in services for a period after the protected act. The protection has limits: it does not shield a tenant who is behind on rent or who caused the underlying problem.

Ending a tenancy follows different paths depending on the lease. A fixed-term lease ends on its stated date unless it renews automatically. A month-to-month tenancy ends after a notice period set by the lease or, absent a lease term, by Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 91.001, which sets a one-month notice default tied to the rent-paying period. Special early-termination rights exist for certain tenants, including survivors of family violence and some service members called to active duty.

Specific procedures and topics

The rights described above each connect to a step-by-step procedure. The articles below cover those procedures in detail for Texas.