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Security deposit · Texas

30 days, but only after you send an address.

By housr editorsStatute text checked 2026-10-05Legal review pending
A named legal reviewer hasn't signed this page yet. We read and quoted the statute ourselves on 2026-10-05. Until review, this page isn't indexed by search engines. This is information, not legal advice. See legal review.
The short answerTex. Prop. Code §92.103, §92.107
Deadline30 calendar days
Before it appliesForwarding address
If kept in bad faith$100, three times the portion wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorney's fees, for bad faith

The rule

In Texas, the clock starts when: you surrender the unit. The landlord then has 30 calendar days, but the duty to refund depends on your address. The statute says:

“…is not obligated to return a tenant's security deposit… until the tenant gives the landlord a written statement of the tenant's forwarding address…”

Bad-faith withholding: “$100, three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees” (§92.109).

For example, if you returned the keys on Oct 25, 2026 and gave your address the same day, the date would be Nov 24, 2026. Use the Clock for your own dates.

What the landlord has to send

A written description and itemized list of all deductions (not required when you owe undisputed rent).

“Except as provided by Section 92.107, the landlord shall refund a security deposit to the tenant on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders the premises.”
Tex. Prop. Code §92.103(a)
“The tenant does not forfeit the right to a refund of the security deposit or the right to receive a description of damages and charges merely for failing to give a forwarding address to the landlord.”
Tex. Prop. Code §92.107(b)
“A landlord who fails either to return a security deposit or to provide a written description and itemization of deductions on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders possession is presumed to have acted in bad faith.”
Tex. Prop. Code §92.109(d)

Do this

On move-out day

Send your forwarding address in writing: in Texas it decides when the refund is owed. Photograph every room before you return the keys.

Deductions and wear and tear

The landlord may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear (§92.104(b)).

For a charge to replace something old, Fair Charge works out a prorated estimate from the item's age and useful life, and says where the useful life comes from. See also the item guides for carpet, paint and cleaning.

If the deadline passes

$100, three times the portion wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorney's fees, for bad faith. Missing the 30 days is presumed bad faith.

“A landlord who in bad faith retains a security deposit in violation of this subchapter is liable for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees in a suit to recover the deposit.”
Tex. Prop. Code §92.109(a)

The usual first step is a written demand that states the date the deposit was due and cites the statute. Our demand letter does that and carries any disputed deductions.

Texas warnings

  • A lease clause that makes advance notice of surrender a condition of the refund only counts if it is underlined or in conspicuous bold print. Tex. Prop. Code §92.103(b)
  • Don't withhold the last month's rent against the deposit: Texas presumes bad faith and makes the tenant liable for three times the rent withheld. Tex. Prop. Code §92.108

Your next steps

Sources

  1. Tex. Prop. Code §92.103, §92.107 · checked 2026-10-05
  2. Tex. Prop. Code §91.001 (notice to vacate) · checked 2026-10-05
  3. Tex. Gov't Code §27.031(a)(1) · checked 2026-10-05

Information, not legal advice. Statutes are quoted from official legislature sites; summaries are ours. Spotted an error? Tell us.