How much a landlord can charge, and which deductions are actually legal
This page covers how much a landlord may charge in Texas, and which deductions from a residential deposit are lawful. It assumes the tenancy has ended and the question is what may be withheld.
It does not cover:
Texas has no cap.
Caps frequently carry exceptions — smaller landlords, furnished units, or pets are treated differently in most states. Read the provision itself rather than relying on the headline figure.
| Claimed deduction | Permitted in Texas |
|---|---|
| Damage the tenant is legally liable for | Permitted, if substantiated |
| Unpaid rent | Permitted, if substantiated |
| Other charges specified in the lease | Permitted, if substantiated |
| Claimed deduction | Permitted in Texas |
|---|---|
| Normal wear and tear (expressly prohibited by § 92.104) | Not permitted |
| Last month’s rent (§ 92.108 forbids using the deposit to cover monthly rent) | Not permitted |
| Advance-notice requirements that are not underlined or in bold | Not permitted |
Whether a specific charge is lawful depends on the facts — how old the damage is, whether the lease addressed it, and whether the landlord can document the cost. A charge being in the "permitted" column does not make it automatically collectable.
When the landlord provides no written itemization, Texas law gives tenants a strong position: the landlord forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit, and forfeits the right to sue you for property damage.
In Texas the burden sits with the landlord. This matters strategically: if the burden is theirs, your task is to request the documentation rather than to prove the deduction wrong. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(b) ↗
A flat penalty of $100.
A landlord who fails either to return the deposit or to provide a written description and itemization of deductions by the 30th day is presumed to have acted in bad faith (§ 92.109(d)). Once bad faith is established, the $100 is a fixed statutory sum that requires no separate finding.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (d) ↗A landlord who withholds in bad faith may be liable for 3x the portion wrongfully withheld.
Treble damages are calculated on the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, NOT on the full deposit — this is the opposite of Pennsylvania’s approach and the two must never be cross-cited. The presumption of bad faith under § 92.109(d) means you generally do not have to prove bad faith yourself: the landlord bears the burden under § 92.109(c) of proving that the retention was reasonable.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (c), (d) ↗The tenant may recover the landlord's attorney fees.
Reasonable attorney fees are recoverable under both § 92.109(a) and § 92.109(b)(2). Note that in Texas small claims (justice court), attorney representation by a lawyer is generally not permitted for the plaintiff, so in practice this fee is often realized only in district court. Treat it as a real statutory right but not as money you will see in a justice court judgment.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (b)(2) ↗When a landlord acts in bad faith and provides neither a written itemization nor a list of deductions, they simultaneously forfeit: ① the right to withhold any part of the deposit, and ② the right to sue the tenant for property damage — and owe the tenant’s attorney fees. This is the harshest missing-itemization penalty among these five states.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(b) ↗Not providing a written forwarding address does not forfeit your refund, but the 30-day return clock does not start. Providing it is the single easiest step — a note or a certified letter starts the clock.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(b) ↗““You did not give 30 days’ notice, so I’m keeping $500.””
§ 92.103(b) provides that an advance-notice clause binds tenants only when printed underlined or in bold. If the lease contains no such marking, the landlord cannot deduct on that basis. Produce the original lease clause so the marking can be verified.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(b)
““You owed rent at move-out and it was undisputed, so I deducted directly.””
The statute does allow deduction without itemization in that situation. But the amount deducted cannot exceed the actual rent owed and cannot include other items. Provide the precise rent owed and how it was calculated, along with any other deductions taken without itemization.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104(c)
““This is normal wear and tear, the deduction was reasonable.””
§ 92.104 expressly prohibits normal wear and tear as a basis for deduction. And if the landlord provided no written itemization, that is bad faith — forfeiting all deduction rights and exposing them to $100 + 3x + attorney fees.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104(a)(4), 92.109
Some widely circulated summaries of Texas deposit law state things the statute does not say. We list the disagreements rather than picking a side silently.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Some generic checklists | Starts when you move out |
| Statute text Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107 | Requires a written forwarding address as well |
What we follow: Vacate the premises + provide a written forwarding address (late provision does not forfeit rights)
The statute expressly conditions this on providing a forwarding address. But § 92.107(b) also provides that failing to provide one does not forfeit the refund right — so we present it as “the clock has not started” rather than “you have lost your rights.”
Every figure on this page comes from the official text, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked against the source.
| Statute | Last verified | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(a), Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(a) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(b) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (d) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (c), (d) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (b)(2) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(b) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
Primary reference: Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 92, Subchapter C. Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Amendments are recorded on the site changelog.
A self-help letter is the right starting point for a single deposit you can document. Get legal help if:
Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.
→ All Texas tenant rights topics
The statute does not permit deductions for: normal wear and tear (expressly prohibited by § 92.104); last month’s rent (§ 92.108 forbids using the deposit to cover monthly rent); advance-notice requirements that are not underlined or in bold.
The landlord. When the landlord provides no written itemization, Texas law gives tenants a strong position: the landlord forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit, and forfeits the right to sue you for property damage.
Texas has no cap.
No. Normal wear and tear (expressly prohibited by § 92.104)