Texas Lease Agreements for Landlords

Texas lets you write most of your own residential lease terms, but Property Code chapter 92 requires specific language and notices. Every written lease needs an underlined or bold notice of the tenant's repair remedies, the statutory sentences on early termination for family violence, sex offenses or stalking, and military service, and a lockout clause if you want that option. Before signing you must also give the required signed flood notices, and you must deliver a complete copy of the lease within 3 business days after everyone signs. Late fees are allowed only if the written lease gives notice of them and rent stays unpaid two full days after it was due.

What must a Texas lease include?

These items come straight from chapter 92. Most have a specific consequence if you leave them out.

Two other clauses work only if printed in bold or underlined. A lease term that lets you deduct rekeying costs from the deposit when a tenant breaks the lease is enforceable only if it is underlined or in bold (section 92.156(e)). A requirement that the tenant give advance notice of move-out as a condition of a deposit refund is effective only if it is underlined or in conspicuous bold print (section 92.103(b)). Our Texas security deposit guide covers the refund deadlines.

For terms every lease should cover regardless of state, such as rent, term, and pets, see what terms are usually included in a rental agreement or lease.

How do the flood notices work?

Give the notices required by section 92.0135 in a lease paragraph, an addendum, or a separate written document at or before signing. You and the tenant both sign the document that contains them.

1. Floodplain notice. State whether you are or are not aware that the home is in a 100-year floodplain. The statute supplies the wording, which also tells the tenant that FEMA's flood map is free and searchable and that most renters policies exclude flood damage. If neither box is checked, the tenant is told to assume the home is in a floodplain. You do not have to report floodplain status if the home is elevated above the 100-year flood level under federal rules.
2. Flood history notice. This notice is required only if you know flooding damaged any part of the home at least once in the five years before the lease starts.

Leases shorter than 30 days are exempt. So are short occupancies tied to a home sale, where a buyer moves in early or a seller stays after closing for 90 days or less.

What contact information do you have to give tenants?

Under section 92.201, you must disclose the name and address of the owner of record and, if an off-site company manages the property, that company's name and street address. You can put this in the lease or in written rules given at move-in, post it in the dwelling or the on-site office, or deliver it in writing within 7 days after a tenant asks. Putting it in the lease means you never miss the 7-day window. This duty cannot be waived.

Section 92.020 also requires you to give tenants a phone number for reporting emergencies that affect health or safety. If the property has an on-site management or superintendent's office, that number must be answered 24 hours a day and posted outside the office.

What late fees can a Texas lease charge?

Section 92.019 allows a late fee only when all three conditions are met:

1. The written lease gives notice of the fee.
2. The fee is reasonable.
3. Some rent has remained unpaid two full days after the date it was originally due.

If rent is due on the 1st, the 2nd and 3rd are the two full days, so the earliest a late fee can apply is the 4th.

A fee is considered reasonable if it is no more than 12% of the monthly rent for a unit in a building with four or fewer units, or 10% for a building with more than four units. A higher fee is reasonable only if it is not more than your uncertain damages from the late payment, such as collection costs and overhead. An initial fee plus a daily fee counts as one late fee, so apply these reasonableness rules to the combined total.

Example: rent is $1,800. In a duplex, combined fees up to $1,800 x 12% = $216 for the month are considered reasonable without relying on damages, whether charged as a flat fee or as $75 up front plus $10 a day. In a 20-unit building, that threshold is $1,800 x 10% = $180.

A landlord who collects an unlawful late fee owes the tenant $100, plus three times the late fee collected, plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees. A lease clause waiving these rules is void.

Which duties can a lease not waive or shift?

Section 92.006 bars waiving your duties on security deposits, security devices, ownership disclosure, and utility cutoffs, and voids any lease clause that waives the tenant's right to a jury trial in a chapter 92 case. Repairs that affect health or safety stay your duty, with narrow exceptions. A written lease can make the tenant pay for drain stoppages caused by foreign objects in lines serving only that unit, for damage to doors, windows, or screens, and for damage from windows or doors left open. The repair agreement must be underlined or in bold in the lease or a separate written addendum, specific and clear, and made knowingly and voluntarily with consideration (something of value exchanged). You cannot shift costs caused by your negligence under this provision. A landlord who owns a single rental can shift more repairs to the tenant under stricter conditions. Our Texas repair obligations guide explains the repair notice process.

Security devices and rekeying

Without any request from the tenant, the home must have, at your expense:

• a window latch on each exterior window
• a doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt on each exterior door
• a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each exterior door
• a pin lock plus a handle latch or security bar on each exterior sliding glass door

You must rekey locks operated by a key, card, or combination at your expense within 7 days after each tenant turnover. If you skip a required device or the rekeying, the tenant can install or rekey it and deduct the cost from rent. After a written request, the tenant can also end the lease or sue for one month's rent plus $500 and attorney's fees if you do not comply in time. The usual deadline is 3 days after you receive the request. The 7-day period applies only if the lease includes all notices required by section 92.164(b) in bold or underlined print, covering required security devices, installation exceptions, and the tenant's right to install or rekey and deduct reasonable costs from rent.

Other limits on Texas lease terms

• Lockouts are not evictions. Even with a lockout clause, you must give advance written notice, post a notice saying where the tenant can get a new key 24 hours a day, and hand over the key whether or not rent is paid. Removing a tenant for good takes a court eviction; see our Texas eviction process guide.
• Occupancy. You may not allow more than three adults per bedroom, with exceptions for fair housing requirements and for someone fleeing family violence for up to one month (section 92.010).
• Cash. You must accept cash rent unless the written lease requires a check, money order, or other traceable payment. If you take cash, give a written receipt and record the payment.
• Firearms. A lease cannot bar a tenant or guest from lawfully keeping a firearm or ammunition in the unit or in a vehicle in tenant parking.
• Oral leases. Chapter 92 defines a lease as a written or oral agreement, so most of its duties apply either way, but a late fee requires a written lease. Our article on whether a verbal rental agreement is binding covers the rest.