How long a landlord has to return your deposit, and what you can claim if they miss it
This page covers residential security deposits in Texas, where a landlord has kept some or all of a deposit after a tenancy ends.
It does not cover:
Lease terms and local ordinances can change what applies. Where a city has its own deposit rules, those may differ from the state statute below.
Measured from vacating the premises and providing a written forwarding address.
Forwarding address provided (clock has started)
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(a), Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(a) ↗Measured from no forwarding address yet — the return clock has not started.
Forwarding address not provided (no forfeiture — clock simply has not started)
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(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) ↗The clock does not start on the day you decided to leave. In Texas it starts vacating the premises and providing a written forwarding address — for most leases that is the date you hand back the keys, not the date your notice period began.
““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
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.
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30 days, counted from vacating the premises and providing a written forwarding address. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(a), Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(a).
A landlord who withholds in bad faith may be liable for 3x the portion wrongfully withheld. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a), (c), (d)
It runs from vacating the premises and providing a written forwarding address — the date you vacated and returned the keys, not the date your notice period began.
No — Texas small-claims procedure is inexpensive, and § 92.109 expressly allows attorney fees to be awarded.