Texas landlords must refund the security deposit and provide a written, itemized list of any deductions within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the property — though the duty is suspended until the tenant gives a written forwarding address. Texas requires no interest on deposits and sets no cap on the deposit amount. Acting in bad faith is costly: $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus the tenant’s attorney’s fees.
All rules verified June 25, 2026
Covers residential rentals of a Texas dwelling. Commercial leases, manufactured-home lots, and short-term/hotel stays follow different law — for those, consult an attorney.
Refund the deposit and any itemized statement within 30 calendar days after the tenant surrenders the property. The 30-day clock effectively runs from the later of surrender or the date you receive the tenant’s written forwarding address.
(a) 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.
The "later of" framing is our combined reading, not statutory text: § 92.103(a) keys the 30-day clock to surrender alone ("except as provided by Section 92.107"), while § 92.107 separately suspends the duty until a written forwarding address is received. Texas case law supports running the operative window from the written-address date (Ackerman v. Little, 679 S.W.2d 70 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1984, no writ)). "Surrender" is undefined and litigated (key return vs. lease end vs. abandonment). The 30 days are calendar days; if day 30 falls on a weekend or Texas legal holiday, the Code Construction Act (Gov’t Code § 311.014(b)) likely extends it to the next business day.
You are not obligated to return the deposit or send the itemized statement until the tenant gives you a written forwarding address. But the tenant does not lose the right to a refund by failing to provide one — your duty is suspended, not erased.
(a) The landlord is not obligated to return a tenant’s security deposit or give the tenant a written description of damages and charges until the tenant gives the landlord a written statement of the tenant’s forwarding address for the purpose of refunding the security deposit. (b) 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.
The forwarding address must be WRITTEN; oral notice does not trigger the duty.
You may deduct damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease or for breaching it. You may not retain any part of the deposit to cover normal wear and tear.
(a) Before returning a security deposit, the landlord may deduct from the deposit damages and charges for which the tenant is legally liable under the lease or as a result of breaching the lease. (b) The landlord may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear.
A valid deduction must meet BOTH halves of § 92.104(a): the charge must be one the tenant is liable for under the lease or for breaching it, AND it must not be for normal wear and tear (§ 92.104(b)). The damage-vs-normal-wear line is the single most litigated issue, and the tool never classifies a specific deduction for the user. On scope: the § 92.001 definitions open "in this chapter," so the core "normal wear and tear" definition applies chapter-wide, including § 92.104; only the inclusion clause "breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition" is expressly tied to Subchapters B and D. § 92.104(b)'s bar stands on its own regardless.
If you keep any part of the deposit, you must give the tenant the balance (if any) together with a written description and itemized list of all deductions.
(c) If the landlord retains all or part of a security deposit under this section, the landlord shall give to the tenant the balance of the security deposit, if any, together with a written description and itemized list of all deductions. The landlord is not required to give the tenant a description and itemized list of deductions if: (1) the tenant owes rent when he surrenders possession of the premises; and (2) there is no controversy concerning the amount of rent owed.
No statutory format or photo-documentation requirement for the itemized list in Texas.
A landlord who in bad faith retains a deposit owes $100 + three times the portion wrongfully withheld + the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees. A bad-faith failure to itemize forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit (and to sue for damages). Missing the 30-day deadline presumes bad faith, and the landlord bears the burden of proving retention was reasonable.
(a) 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. (b) A landlord who in bad faith does not provide a written description and itemized list of damages and charges ... forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the premises [and] is liable for the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees. (c) ... the landlord has the burden of proving that the retention of any portion of the security deposit was reasonable. (d) 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.
Two DISTINCT remedies, do not conflate them. (a) bad-faith RETENTION = $100 + three times the portion WRONGFULLY WITHHELD (not the whole deposit, not total deductions) + the tenant’s attorney’s fees. (b) bad-faith FAILURE TO ITEMIZE = forfeit the right to keep any of the deposit AND the right to sue the tenant for damage to the premises + fees, with NO $100 and NO tripling. The $100 has never been inflation-adjusted. The (d) presumption is rebuttable and arises from missing the later-of deadline the engine computes (not raw surrender). "Bad faith" is a fact question for a court — more than mere negligence; a dishonest disregard of the tenant’s rights, rebuttable by an honest mistake or reasonable belief (Wilson v. O’Connor, 555 S.W.2d 776 (Tex. Civ. App.—Dallas 1977); Pulley v. Milberger, 198 S.W.3d 418 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2006, pet. denied); Johnson v. Waters at Elm Creek, 416 S.W.3d 42 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2013, pet. denied)). The tool never declares the landlord liable.
A tenant may not skip the last month’s rent and treat the deposit as covering it. A tenant who does is presumed to have acted in bad faith and can owe you three times the rent wrongfully withheld plus your reasonable attorney’s fees.
(a) The tenant may not withhold payment of any portion of the last month’s rent on grounds that the security deposit is security for unpaid rent. (b) A tenant who violates this section is presumed to have acted in bad faith. A tenant who in bad faith violates this section is liable to the landlord for an amount equal to three times the rent wrongfully withheld and the landlord’s reasonable attorney’s fees in a suit to recover the rent.
This is the only tenant-facing penalty in subchapter C. It does not relieve the landlord of the duty to account for the actual deposit on time; treat the skipped rent as an ordinary unpaid-rent charge the tenant owes.
A “security deposit” is any money — other than a rental-application deposit or advance rent — held to secure the lease. A refundable pet deposit is a security deposit and is included. A genuinely non-refundable, lease-disclosed fee and prepaid/last-month’s rent are not part of the refundable deposit. What the money does controls, not what it is labeled.
“Security deposit” means any advance of money, other than a rental application deposit or an advance payment of rent, that is intended primarily to secure performance under a lease of a dwelling that has been entered into by a landlord and a tenant.
Verbatim for the § 92.102 definition and its exclusions (application deposit, advance rent). Synthesized: that a refundable pet deposit functions as a security deposit, and that calling a refundable deposit a "non-refundable fee" does not defeat ch. 92 — characterization is judged on function. Application deposits are governed by §§ 92.351–92.354, not subchapter C.
Texas does not require landlords to pay or accrue interest on residential security deposits, and does not require holding the deposit in a separate or escrow account.
Confirmed by negative search across subch. C (§§ 92.101–92.113). No interest, escrow, or separate-account requirement exists. A lease could contractually require interest.
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