Texas landlord tenant laws live almost entirely in Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, and the single most expensive mistake an owner can make is missing the 30-day security deposit deadline. Miss it, act in bad faith, and you owe the tenant $100 plus three times the wrongfully withheld portion plus their attorney fees. That is Section 92.109, and yes, it is worth knowing by heart.
Sounds harsh right. Because it is. I have watched landlords lose JP court rulings over a $900 deposit and walk out owing four grand once the math finished. So before we get into leases and repairs and evictions, lets put the rule book on the table so you know what you are actually working with.
I run Kendall Creek Properties here in Austin, and I have managed Central Texas rentals long enough to know that most owners get into trouble not because they are bad people, but because they have never sat down and read the statute. This guide fixes that. Every rule below is tied to the section number and a link to the actual law at statutes.capitol.texas.gov so you can verify everything yourself.
The Texas Property Code Is Your Primary Reference
Three chapters cover almost everything that happens between a Texas landlord and a residential tenant:
- Chapter 92 covers residential tenancies. Deposits, repairs, entry, lease termination, security devices, retaliation. This is the one you live in.
- Chapter 91 covers general landlord and tenant provisions including notice for ending month-to-month tenancies.
- Chapter 24 covers forcible entry and detainer, which is the legal name for the eviction process in JP court.
Texas does not have statewide rent control and the Legislature has explicitly preempted cities from passing their own rent caps. That gives owners real pricing freedom (we will talk about what that looks like in Austin in a minute), but it does not loosen any of the operational rules. The flexibility is on price. The legal exposure is on process.
Austin Metro Context (What the Market Actually Looks Like)
A statute is easier to apply when you can see the local context, so here is a snapshot from current Austin MLS data via Kendall Creek Properties (May 2026):
- 3,378 active residential lease listings inside the City of Austin with an average asking rent of $2,351
- Round Rock: 260 active leases, average $2,329
- Georgetown: 235 active leases, average $2,347
- Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville: each in the 130 to 230 active range, averaging between $2,256 and $2,417
The Austin core is loose right now. 78705 (the UT-adjacent zip) is sitting on 815 active leases. 78704 has 211 at a $3,269 average. That matters because a soft market is exactly when owners try shortcuts on screening or skip the move-in walkthrough to fill a vacancy fast, and that is where deposit disputes are born nine months later.
So lets walk through the rules that protect you when the market is doing what it is doing.
Lease Agreements in Texas
Texas does not require a written lease for terms under one year. You could shake hands and call it a lease. Please do not. The Texas Apartment Association (TAA) lease is the de facto standard across the state and gets updated every legislative session to reflect new statutes. Most Austin attorneys recommend it for both single-property owners and full portfolios.
Your written lease should cover:
- Rent amount, due date, and accepted payment methods
- Late fee policy (more on what is actually legal below)
- Lease term, holdover terms, and renewal mechanics
- Maintenance request procedure and tenant responsibilities
- Pet policies, pet deposits, and pet fees
- Rules about modifications, paint, satellite dishes, locks
- Disclosure of who is authorized to act on behalf of the owner (Section 92.201 requires this)
That last one is the one most self-managing owners miss. Section 92.201 requires you to disclose, in writing, the name and street address of the property owner (or an authorized manager) and someone authorized to receive notices. If you do not, the tenant can serve notice to anyone collecting rent and that counts. Small thing, big trap.
For more on what belongs in your lease, see our breakdown of Texas lease agreement requirements.
Security Deposit Rules
Texas Property Code Sections 92.101 through 92.110 govern security deposits. Three things to memorize:
- 30-day return deadline (Section 92.103). The clock starts the day the tenant surrenders the property and provides a forwarding address in writing. If you owe a refund, send it within 30 days. If you are keeping any portion, send the refund plus an itemized list of deductions within 30 days.
- Itemized list requirement (Section 92.104). The deductions must be for actual damages beyond normal wear and tear, and the list has to be itemized. “Cleaning and repairs, $850” is not itemized. “Carpet pet stain replacement bedroom 2, $620” is itemized.
- Bad faith penalty (Section 92.109). Bad faith retention exposes you to $100 plus three times the wrongfully withheld amount plus the tenant’s attorney fees. Failure to send the itemized list within 30 days creates a legal presumption of bad faith.
Texas has no statutory cap on the deposit amount (unlike some states). Customary practice in the Austin market is one month’s rent for tenants with strong credit and two months for marginal applicants. Charging more than that starts to look unreasonable in court, even though it is technically allowed.
At Kendall Creek we run a move-in walkthrough with timestamped photos and a written checklist signed by the tenant. Same thing at move-out. The deposit dispute we have lost the fewest of is the one where the photo evidence makes the answer obvious before anyone files anything. The deposit dispute we never want is the one where the only proof is the property manager’s memory of what the place looked like nine months ago.
For deeper coverage, read Texas security deposit laws.
Repair and Maintenance Obligations
Section 92.052 requires landlords to make a diligent effort to repair conditions that materially affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant. The tenant has to be current on rent and must give the landlord written notice of the problem (the lease can waive the written requirement, but most do not).
What counts as a “reasonable time” to repair is not defined by the statute, but Section 92.0561 creates a presumption that seven days is reasonable for most conditions. Emergencies (gas leak, sewage backup, no heat in winter, no AC during a Central Texas summer heat advisory) require faster action and most JP courts read “reasonable” pretty literally when a tenant is sleeping in a 95-degree apartment.
If you fail to repair after proper notice, Section 92.056 gives the tenant the right to:
- Terminate the lease
- Have the condition repaired and deduct the cost from rent (capped at one month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater)
- Sue for actual damages, one month’s rent plus $500, court costs, and attorney fees
That last bucket is where landlords get hurt. Lose a repair-and-deduct case over a $400 water heater and you can walk out owing $2,500 once attorney fees are added in.
In our PM practice we treat the 7-day clock as the absolute outer limit, not the goal. Real working number is 48 hours for habitability issues, same day for HVAC during a heat advisory. If you self-manage and you cannot guarantee that response time, this is the one operational area where bringing in a property manager who handles maintenance actually pays for itself in avoided liability.
Right of Entry
Texas Property Code Section 92.0081 governs lockouts and exclusion, but the statute does not specify a required notice period for routine entry. That gap gets filled by the lease itself. The TAA lease specifies 24 hours’ notice. Most attorneys consider 24 hours the customary standard.
Genuine emergencies (active water leak, fire, gas odor, suspected break-in) are the only times you can enter without notice. “I want to show the unit to a prospective buyer” is not an emergency. “The HVAC vendor had a cancellation and can come today” is not an emergency. Both require notice.
A pattern of unannounced entries can rise to the level of harassment or constructive eviction. I have seen owners lose this one badly. The fix is simple: schedule entries, document the notice, and keep a log.
Eviction Process
Texas has one of the faster eviction processes in the country, but speed is only on your side if you follow every step. Chapter 24 of the Texas Property Code governs forcible entry and detainer (the legal name for eviction).
The basic timeline:
- Notice to Vacate (Section 24.005). Default is 3 days unless the lease shortens or lengthens the period. Must be in writing. Can be delivered in person, by mail, or posted on the inside of the main entry door under specific conditions.
- File the eviction suit in the appropriate Justice of the Peace precinct. In Travis County that is whichever JP precinct the property sits in.
- Hearing is set between 10 and 21 days after filing.
- Judgment. If the landlord wins, the tenant has 5 days to appeal.
- Writ of possession issues after the appeal window closes. The constable executes the writ and physically removes the tenant if needed.
Realistic end-to-end timeline in Travis County right now is 4 to 8 weeks from posting the notice to physical possession, assuming the tenant does not file a defense or appeal. Add 4 to 6 weeks if they appeal.
What you cannot do, ever, under any circumstances:
- Change the locks while the tenant is in possession (the very narrow exception in Section 92.0081 for nonpayment with proper notice has so many procedural traps that almost every landlord who tries it loses)
- Shut off utilities to force them out (Section 92.008)
- Remove their belongings
- Remove doors or windows
- Threaten or harass
Self-help eviction will cost you actual damages, one month’s rent plus $1,000, attorney fees, and possibly punitive damages. Pay the court filing fee. Use the process.
Full breakdown in our Texas eviction process guide.
Fair Housing Compliance
Federal law (the Fair Housing Act) prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. Texas adopts those protections. The City of Austin adds sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, student status, and source of income (which includes Section 8 housing choice vouchers within Austin city limits).
Every part of your operation has to be consistent: advertising language, screening criteria, application fees, lease terms, maintenance response time, lease renewal decisions, deposit requirements. Inconsistency is what gets owners sued, not malice. If you waive a criminal background check for one applicant and enforce it for another with similar credit, you have just created your own evidence.
The TAA application and screening forms apply consistent criteria across all applicants and document the decision. If you build your own process, write down your criteria, apply them mechanically, and keep the records. See our guide on tenant screening in Texas for the operational version.
Late Fees and Grace Periods
Texas does not require a grace period. If rent is due on the 1st, it is late on the 2nd unless your lease says otherwise. Most Austin leases include a 3-day or 5-day grace period before the late fee triggers, but that is contract terms, not statute.
The legality of your late fee is governed by Section 92.019. The fee must be a reasonable estimate of uncertain damages to the landlord from late payment. The statute creates a safe harbor: for a property with 4 or fewer units, a fee of 12% of monthly rent is presumed reasonable. For larger properties, 10% is the safe harbor.
You cannot charge a late fee at all unless the lease specifies it in writing. You cannot front-load fees that compound daily without a contractual basis. And you cannot retroactively apply a new late fee that was not in the signed lease.
In our practice we use a 5-day grace period and a 10% late fee, both spelled out in the lease, and we apply them on day 6 every single time. Inconsistency on late fees (waiving for one tenant and enforcing for another) is the kind of thing that surfaces in a fair housing complaint later.
Smoke Detectors and Security Devices
Section 92.251 through 92.262 requires landlords to install and maintain working smoke detectors in every rental unit. The detector has to be in a location that meets local building code (usually one per bedroom plus one per floor).
Section 92.153 requires specific security devices on every exterior door:
- A keyless deadbolt (a deadbolt that locks from inside without a key, sometimes called a privacy lock)
- A pin lock or door viewer on every exterior door
- A sliding door pin lock or security bar on sliding doors
If a tenant requests rekeying in writing under Section 92.156, you must rekey within 7 days. The cost can be passed to the tenant if the lease says so, but the obligation to actually do the work is yours.
The penalty for missing security devices is liability for any damages a tenant suffers as a result. If somebody breaks in through an unsecured sliding door and the tenant is harmed, you are exposed. Get it inspected at every turn. We do this between every tenant at Kendall Creek’s rental properties.
Retaliation Is Illegal
Section 92.331 prohibits landlords from retaliating against tenants who exercise legal rights. Retaliation includes:
- Filing eviction within 6 months of a good-faith complaint about a repair or code violation
- Raising rent or reducing services in retaliation
- Refusing to renew a lease in retaliation
- Threatening to do any of the above
The penalty is a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, actual damages, court costs, and attorney fees. The statute presumes retaliation if the landlord acts within 6 months of the tenant’s protected action, which means you have to be very careful about timing on rent increases or non-renewals right after a maintenance complaint.
Best practice: if you have a legitimate non-retaliatory reason to non-renew (the tenant has been chronically late, you are moving in yourself, you are selling), document the reason before any tenant complaint and keep the paper trail.
Property Management as an Alternative
This article is the operational version of what a Texas property manager does for owners every day. Stay current on statute changes, document everything consistently, apply policies the same way to every tenant, respond to maintenance within statutory windows, run evictions through JP court properly, handle deposit returns within 30 days every time.
That is not hard right. It is just a lot of small things done correctly every time, which is exactly the kind of work that erodes when you are also working a day job and only thinking about your rental on weekends. Owners come to our property management service usually after one of these has bitten them and the lesson got expensive.
Keeping Up with Changes
Texas Legislature meets in regular session every two years (odd-numbered years). Each session brings updates to Chapter 92. The 89th Legislature in 2025 made several changes affecting application fees, security deposit handling for service members, and notice requirements for water sub-metering. The 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027 and you should expect more changes then.
TexasLawHelp.org and the Texas State Law Library keep up-to-date plain-language summaries. The Texas Apartment Association sends a session-end summary to members. If you self-manage and you only update your lease and process when something breaks, you are running behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the security deposit limit in Texas?
There is no statutory cap on security deposit amounts in Texas. Customary practice in Austin is one to two months’ rent. Charging significantly more than two months can be challenged as unreasonable, but the statute itself does not set a hard ceiling.
How long does a Texas landlord have to return a security deposit?
30 days after the tenant surrenders the property and provides a forwarding address in writing. If deductions are taken, an itemized list of those deductions must accompany any refund within the same 30-day window under Texas Property Code Section 92.103.
Can a Texas landlord enter without notice?
No, except in genuine emergencies. The Texas Property Code does not set a specific notice period, but the standard lease (and standard practice across Austin) is 24 hours’ written notice. Routine entry without notice can expose the landlord to harassment or constructive eviction claims.
How long does the eviction process take in Texas?
A typical uncontested eviction in Travis County runs 4 to 8 weeks from the date the Notice to Vacate is delivered to the date the constable executes the writ of possession. A contested eviction with an appeal can stretch to 10 to 14 weeks.
What is a “reasonable” late fee in Texas?
For properties with 4 or fewer units, Section 92.019 creates a safe harbor at 12% of monthly rent. For larger properties, the safe harbor is 10%. The fee must be specified in the written lease and applied consistently.
Are Texas landlords required to provide air conditioning?
The Texas Property Code does not specifically require air conditioning in residential rentals. However, if AC is provided and breaks during a Central Texas summer, repair is required under Section 92.052 because failure to maintain a habitable temperature materially affects health and safety. Most Travis County JP courts treat AC failure during a heat advisory as an emergency repair.
Can a tenant withhold rent for repairs in Texas?
Not exactly. Texas does not allow blanket rent withholding. A tenant who has given proper written notice and waited a reasonable time can use the “repair and deduct” remedy under Section 92.0561, capped at one month’s rent or $500 whichever is greater. The tenant cannot simply stop paying.
Does Austin have additional landlord requirements beyond Texas law?
Yes. The City of Austin’s Repeat Offender Program requires registration of properties with repeated code violations, and Austin’s fair housing ordinance adds source of income (including Section 8 vouchers), sexual orientation, gender identity, and student status as protected classes beyond the federal list. Always check City of Austin and Travis County rules in addition to state law.
What happens if a landlord refuses to fix a serious repair?
Under Section 92.056 the tenant can terminate the lease, repair and deduct (capped), or sue for actual damages, one month’s rent plus $500, court costs, and attorney fees. The landlord must have received written notice and failed to act within a reasonable time.
Can a Texas landlord raise rent during a lease term?
Not on a fixed-term lease unless the lease itself contains a rent escalator clause. On a month-to-month tenancy under Chapter 91, the landlord can raise rent with at least one month’s written notice (or whatever notice period the lease requires).
Related Kendall Creek Properties Resources
- Texas eviction process explained step by step
- Texas security deposit laws for owners
- Texas lease agreement requirements
- Landlord maintenance responsibilities in Texas
- Tenant screening in Texas
- When to hire a property manager in Austin
Bottom Line
Texas gives owners real flexibility on pricing and screening. It also writes the operational rules in plain language and enforces them in JP court without much patience for ignorance of the statute. The landlords who do well long-term are the ones who treat Chapter 92 like a checklist, not a guideline. Know the section numbers. Document everything. Apply your policies the same way every time.
If you would rather have someone else handle this end of the business, that is exactly what we do at Kendall Creek Properties. Get in touch through our contact page and we will walk through what your property would look like under management.