Dallas Security Deposit Rules 2026–27: Sold Buildings, Broken Leases, Deposit-Free Fees, Email Notices and Dallas County Small Claims
A Dallas renter's deposit dispute often doesn't follow the simple "I moved out, where's my money?" pattern. The complex changed owners halfway through your lease. You signed a lease, then got a job in Austin before move-in day. You paid a monthly "deposit alternative" fee and now a collection letter says you owe for carpet. Or the property manager says your forwarding-address email "doesn't count."
Texas Property Code Chapter 92, Subchapter C, has a specific rule for each of these situations, and two of those rules took effect on September 1, 2025. This guide works through them, then shows what a deposit suit in a Dallas County justice court costs and how it runs, using fee schedules and court packets the county publishes.
If you just need the basic 30-day refund timeline and a wear-and-tear checklist, our Houston and San Antonio guides (linked at the end) cover that ground. The statewide law is the same in Dallas.
The Core Rules in Two Minutes
Everything below rests on a few sections of the statute:
30 days. The landlord must refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after you surrender the premises (§ 92.103).
Itemized list. If anything is kept, you get the balance plus a written description and itemized list of all deductions (§ 92.104). Normal wear and tear can never be deducted.
Forwarding address. The landlord does not have to send the refund or the list until you give a written statement of your forwarding address. But you do not lose the deposit just because you never gave one (§ 92.107).
Bad faith. A landlord who in bad faith keeps a deposit owes $100, plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 92.109). Missing the 30-day deadline creates a presumption of bad faith, and in court the landlord must prove any deduction was reasonable.
Now for the situations those basics don't settle.
Situation 1: Your Building Was Sold
Large Dallas apartment communities change hands often. Section 92.105 says that when the owner's interest ends (by sale, assignment, death, receivership, bankruptcy or otherwise), the new owner is liable for returning deposits from the date it acquired title.
The new owner must also give you a signed statement acknowledging that it is responsible for your deposit and stating the exact dollar amount. The former owner stays liable for deposits it received until the new owner has received them or taken on the liability, unless a written contract says otherwise.
What to do:
Find your original lease and the receipt or bank record showing what you paid.
If you never got the new owner's signed statement, ask for it in writing and keep a copy of your request.
If the amount in the statement is wrong, dispute it in writing now, not at move-out.
One exception: these rules do not apply to a mortgage lender that takes title by foreclosure (§ 92.105(c)). If your building went through foreclosure, talk to legal aid or a lawyer about who holds your money.
A related protection: your claim to the deposit takes priority over the landlord's other creditors, including a bankruptcy trustee (§ 92.103(c)).
Situation 2: You Signed but Never Moved In
Section 92.1031 covers a tenant who signs a lease and then does not occupy the unit. The landlord may not keep the deposit or prepaid rent if a replacement tenant satisfactory to the landlord moves in on or before the lease start date, whether you found that person or the landlord did.
If the landlord found the replacement, it may deduct either a lease cancellation fee written into the lease or its actual costs of finding the replacement, including a reasonable amount for its time. It can't keep the whole deposit.
Practical steps:
Tell the landlord in writing, as early as possible, that you will not move in.
Offer a replacement applicant if you can, and keep proof that you did.
Ask in writing whether the unit was re-rented and on what date.
Note: a rental application deposit is not a security deposit under § 92.102. Different rules in Subchapter I of Chapter 92 govern application deposits, so ask the property what its written application deposit policy says.
Situation 3: You Paid a Fee Instead of a Deposit
Many Dallas complexes now offer a monthly "deposit alternative." Section 92.111, added in 2021, sets the rules. If a landlord offers this option, it must:
also offer you the choice of a regular deposit,
not use your choice to decide whether to approve your application, and
tell you in writing that you can end the fee arrangement at any time and switch to a deposit, and what each option costs.
The agreement must be in writing and signed by both sides, and the fee must be a recurring fee of equivalent amount paid with rent.
Here is the part that matters at move-out. If the landlord buys insurance with the fee, it cannot file a claim for damages or unpaid rent unless it notifies you within 30 days after you surrender the unit. That notice must include an itemized list of damages and unpaid rent, with the dates rent was due.
If you challenge the claim and the landlord or a court finds the notice wrong, the debt is void, and any insurance claim for it must be withdrawn or repaid. If the insurer pays a valid claim, the landlord cannot collect the same amount from you. An insurer seeking reimbursement under a subrogation clause must do so before the first anniversary of your move-out and must include the landlord's evidence and a copy of the settled claim. You keep every defense you would have had against the landlord.
Unless the agreement says otherwise, the fee is not refundable and does not cancel your duty to pay rent and damages beyond normal wear and tear.
Situation 4: No Deposit at All, Then a Collections Letter
If your lease required no deposit, § 92.110 says the landlord must notify you in writing of its claim for damages on or before the date it reports the claim to a credit bureau or debt collector. If it skips that notice, it forfeits the right to collect those charges. The one catch: the duty only applies once you've given your forwarding address.
If a collection agency contacts you about a Dallas move-out charge, ask the landlord for a copy of the written notice and the date it was sent.
Situation 5: Your Email "Doesn't Count"
A 2025 law (H.B. 2037, effective September 1, 2025) added two sections:
§ 92.112: a managing agent, leasing agent or resident manager is the landlord's agent for deposit notices. Giving your forwarding address to the leasing office counts.
§ 92.113: deposit notices may be sent by email if you and the landlord or its agent have previously communicated by email. The landlord may designate a specific address for this. Check your lease or portal for one.
So if you and the leasing office have emailed before, an email with your forwarding address is a valid way to give notice. Use the designated address if there is one, and save the sent message.
Quick Reference: Which Rule Applies
Your situation | Section | Key rule |
Building sold | 92.105 | New owner liable; must give signed statement with exact amount |
Never moved in | 92.1031 | No forfeiture if a replacement moves in by lease start |
Monthly fee instead of deposit | 92.111 | Insurance claim needs itemized notice within 30 days |
No deposit, then collections | 92.110 | Written notice before credit or collection report |
Notice by email | 92.112 and 92.113 | Allowed if you have emailed before; leasing staff count |
Refund deadline | 92.103 | On or before the 30th day after surrender |
A Trap That Runs the Other Way
Don't skip your last month's rent "because the landlord has my deposit." Under § 92.108, a tenant who does that is presumed to act in bad faith and can owe three times the rent withheld plus the landlord's attorney's fees.
Taking It to a Dallas County Justice Court
If a written demand doesn't work, a deposit claim usually goes to small claims in a justice of the peace (JP) court. Dallas County JP 4-1 says a small claims case can be for no more than $20,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including attorney fees.
Where to file. According to the county's court pages, you can generally file in the precinct where the defendant lives, where the contract was to be performed, or where the property is located. Each precinct has two JP courts, and you can choose either one. Some courts require e-filing. JP 4-1, for example, requires all small claims petitions to be filed through eFile Texas.
What it costs. JP 3-1's fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, lists:
Item | Fee |
Small claims, filing fee only | $54.00 |
Small claims, filing plus service on a Dallas County defendant | $134.00 |
Each additional defendant (service) | $80.00 |
Appeal filing fee | $64.00 |
Confirm the exact amount with your court before paying. Each court posts its own schedule. If you can't afford the fees, ask the clerk about filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.
Serving the landlord. The county's small claims self-help packet says you cannot serve the papers yourself. Use a constable, sheriff, the clerk (by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, restricted delivery) or a private process server. If you win, you're awarded the fees you paid.
Documents to bring:
the lease, including any fee-in-lieu agreement or deposit statement from a new owner,
proof of payment of the deposit,
your forwarding-address letter or email and proof of when it was sent,
move-in and move-out photos or video, and
the itemized list you received, or proof that none arrived within 30 days.
If You Lose
The county packet explains two options. You may file a motion for new trial within 14 days of the judgment (and send it to the other side within one day). Or you may appeal to county court within 21 days of the judgment, or of the denial of a motion for new trial. An appeal requires a $500 appeal bond or cash deposit, or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. The county court then hears the case from scratch.
Your Dallas Deposit Action Plan
Identify which situation above fits your case and read that section of the statute.
Give your forwarding address in writing, to the leasing office or by email if you have emailed before.
Mark day 30 after you surrender the unit.
Send a written demand that cites the section that applies.
If needed, file in the right JP precinct with your documents.
More Help
More help in Dallas: Dallas financial help guides
Related Guides
Sources
This guide gives general information, not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer or legal aid about your situation.
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