Texas landlord tenant law: the rules a landlord meets

Texas security deposit law

Most you can take

No cap in statuteNo statute sets this

Back to the tenant within

30 daysTex. Prop. Code § 92.10330 days after the tenant surrenders the premises; a lease requirement of advance notice of surrender is enforceable only if underlined or in conspicuous bold.

Rent and late fees

Late fee

12% of the monthly rentTex. Prop. Code § 92.019Presumed reasonable up to 12% of monthly rent for a structure with 4 or fewer units, 10% for more than 4 units; more only if it reflects actual uncertain damages. Must be in a written lease.

Grace period before a fee

2 daysTex. Prop. Code § 92.019

Texas rent increase laws and rent control

Notice before a rent increase

No statutory period confirmedTex. Prop. Code § 91.001; Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 214.902No statute sets a notice period for a rent increase; a month-to-month tenancy can be ended on one month's notice, which is how a change is usually imposed. Cities may adopt rent control only during a disaster housing emergency with the governor's approval.

Rent control

Local rent control bannedTex. Prop. Code § 91.001; Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 214.902

Entering the property: notice to the tenant

Notice before you enter

No statute sets thisNo statute sets this

Ending a tenancy and eviction notices

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

30 daysTex. Prop. Code § 91.001One month's notice unless the parties agreed in writing to a different period.

Unpaid rent

3 daysTex. Prop. Code §§ 24.005(a), 24.0042“3-day notice to vacate”No statutory right to pay and stayUnless a written lease sets a shorter or longer period. For suits filed from January 1, 2026, a tenant who was not late before that month must get a notice to pay rent or vacate, while a tenant with earlier late payments may get a plain notice to vacate. A period ending on a weekend or holiday runs to the next business day.

Another breach of the lease

3 daysTex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)“3-day notice to vacate”The statute does not say whether the breach can be fixedThe same notice to vacate applies to any default under the lease, unless a written lease sets a different period. The statute gives no right to cure a non-rent breach.

Lockouts and shutoffs

No statute bans itTex. Prop. Code §§ 92.008, 92.0081

The Texas eviction process, step by step

Disclosures a Texas lease has to carry

• Give a signed written notice stating whether the landlord is aware the dwelling is in a 100-year floodplain and whether it has flooded in the last five years, in the lease, an addendum or a separate document at or before signing. (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135)
• The lease must state in underlined or bold print the tenant's remedies for the landlord's failure to repair conditions affecting health or safety. (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.056(g))
• Give the tenant a telephone number for reporting emergencies affecting health or safety (answered 24 hours a day where there is an on-site management office). (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.020)
• In a multiunit complex, give the tenant a signed copy of any towing or parking rules before the lease is signed, under a heading 'Parking' or 'Parking Rules' in capitals, underlined or bold. (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0131)
• Include language that tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in situations involving family violence or a military deployment or transfer; without it, a tenant leaving for family violence is released from unpaid rent. (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.016(f))