Your Security Deposit Rights in Texas

Texas does not limit how much a landlord can charge as a security deposit, so the amount is whatever your lease sets. The landlord must refund the deposit, with a written itemized list of anything it keeps, within 30 days after you surrender (move out of and give back) the unit, but that duty begins only after you give a written forwarding address. A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith owes you $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees, and a tenant who skips the last month's rent and tells the landlord to use the deposit instead can owe three times that rent.

How much can a Texas landlord charge?

No Texas statute caps residential security deposits, so the time to negotiate the amount is before you sign. Texas law defines a security deposit as money paid in advance, other than a rental application deposit or advance rent, mainly to secure your performance under the lease. Rent you prepay is therefore not part of your deposit.

Three protections apply whatever the amount:

• Your deposit rights cannot be waived. A lease clause that gives up your right to a refund or to an itemized list of deductions is unenforceable.
• The landlord must keep accurate records of every security deposit it holds.
• A sale does not erase the deposit. A new owner becomes liable for your deposit from the date it takes title and must give you a signed statement acknowledging the exact amount. This rule does not apply to a mortgage lender that takes the property through foreclosure.

For how Texas compares with states that cap deposits, see our overview of state security deposit laws.

When does the 30-day deadline start?

Texas Property Code section 92.103 gives the landlord until the 30th day after you surrender the unit to refund the deposit. Section 92.107 adds a condition: the landlord does not have to refund the deposit or send an itemized list until you give it a written statement of your forwarding address. Leaving without one does not forfeit your deposit, but the landlord's duty to refund does not start until you send it, so give your forwarding address in writing on or before the day you move out.

For a lease signed or renewed on or after September 1, 2025, two newer rules make the notice easier to give and to prove:

• Email counts. Notices under the deposit law, including your forwarding address and the landlord's itemized list, can be sent by email if you and the landlord or its agent have emailed each other before. The landlord can designate a specific email address for these notices; if it has, use that address.
• Agents count. The landlord's managing agent, leasing agent, or resident manager is its agent for these notices, so giving your forwarding address to any of them counts as giving it to the landlord.

These rules do not cover a lease signed before September 1, 2025, that has not been renewed since. Under an older lease, deliver your forwarding address on paper, by hand or by mail, and keep proof.

The landlord is presumed to have met the deadline if it mails the refund or itemized list with a postmark on or before the 30th day, even if it reaches you later. To compare this deadline with other states, see security deposit return timelines by state.

Does your lease require notice before you move out?

A Texas lease can make advance notice of move-out a condition of refunding your deposit. Under section 92.103(b), that condition is effective only if it is underlined or printed in conspicuous bold print in the lease. If the clause is in ordinary type, the landlord cannot use it to deny your refund. If it is underlined or in bold, it binds you, so give the notice it requires in writing, on time, and keep a copy. Our guide to Texas lease rights covers move-out notice and other lease terms.

What can the landlord deduct?

The landlord may deduct damages and charges you are legally responsible for under the lease or because you broke it, such as unpaid rent or the cost of fixing damage you caused. It may not keep any part of the deposit for normal wear and tear, which Texas law defines as deterioration that results from the intended use of the home. Deterioration from negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse by you, a member of your household, or a guest does not count as normal wear and tear. Our guide to normal wear and tear vs. damage has examples of each.

When the landlord keeps any part of the deposit, it must send the balance with a written description and itemized list of all deductions. The only exception is when you owed rent at move-out and there is no dispute about the amount. If you sue, the landlord must prove that keeping the money was reasonable.

If you sign a lease and never move in, the landlord cannot keep your deposit or prepaid rent if a replacement tenant it accepts moves in by your lease's start date, whether you or the landlord found that tenant. When the landlord finds the replacement, it can deduct either the lease cancellation fee set in your lease or its actual costs of finding the new tenant, including a reasonable amount for its time.

What happens if the landlord acts in bad faith?

Section 92.109 sets the penalties:

If you gave your forwarding address by move-out day, a landlord that has neither refunded the deposit nor sent an itemized list by the 30th day after you surrendered the unit is presumed to have acted in bad faith.

Example: your deposit is $1,500. Within 30 days, the landlord refunds $600 with an itemized list that keeps $900 to repaint walls that show only ordinary fading. If a court finds the landlord kept the $900 in bad faith, the landlord owes $100 + (3 x $900) = $2,800, plus your reasonable attorney's fees.

Can you use the deposit as your last month's rent?

No. Under section 92.108, you may not withhold any part of the last month's rent on the grounds that the deposit covers it. A tenant who does is presumed to have acted in bad faith and, if found in bad faith, owes the landlord three times the rent withheld plus the landlord's reasonable attorney's fees in a suit for that rent. Withholding $1,400 in rent can cost you $4,200 plus those fees. Pay the final month as usual and collect the deposit after you leave; last month's rent vs. security deposit explains how the two payments differ.

How to get your deposit back in Texas

1. Before you sign, negotiate the deposit amount and look for an underlined or bold clause that requires move-out notice.
2. At move-in, photograph every room and send the landlord a dated list of existing damage. Texas's deposit law does not require a move-in checklist, so your own records may be the only proof of the unit's starting condition.
3. Before you leave, give any required notice, pay the last month's rent, clean, return all keys, and give your forwarding address in writing.
4. If 30 days pass without a refund or itemized list, send the landlord a written demand that cites sections 92.103 and 92.109 and sets a date to pay. The Texas State Law Library's security deposit guide links to demand letter and court petition forms.
5. File in justice court if the landlord does not pay. Texas justice courts hear claims up to $20,000, and our guide to small claims court for deposit disputes covers what to bring.