Houston Security Deposit Rules 2026–27: Texas 30-Day Refund Deadline, Itemized Deductions, Forwarding Address and the $100-Plus-Triple Penalty
Most Houston renters only think about their security deposit twice: the day they hand it over and the week after they move out, when they start checking the mailbox. Texas law, though, puts most of the work in the days just before and just after you leave. If you know the rules, you can usually tell within a month whether your landlord has played fair. If not, you will know exactly what to send and where to file.
Texas has one statewide security deposit law. It is in Chapter 92, Subchapter C of the Texas Property Code (Sections 92.101 to 92.113), and it applies the same way in Houston, Pasadena, Katy, or anywhere else in Harris County. The City of Houston does not have its own deposit ordinance, so the state statute is the rulebook. This guide walks through that law in the order you will actually live it: before you move out, the 30 days after, and what to do if the money never shows up.
The Short Version
Your landlord has 30 days after you surrender the unit to refund your deposit or explain in writing why they kept some or all of it.
They cannot charge you for normal wear and tear.
You need to give them a written forwarding address. Until you do, the 30-day duty to refund or itemize does not kick in. You do not lose the deposit, though.
A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can owe you $100, plus three times the amount wrongly withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
You cannot skip your last month's rent and tell the landlord to "keep the deposit." That can cost you three times the rent you held back.
Before You Move Out: Three Things That Protect Your Money
1. Read your lease for an advance-notice clause
Many Houston apartment leases require 30 days' written notice before you move. Texas law says a lease clause that makes advance notice a condition of getting your deposit back is enforceable only if it is underlined or printed in conspicuous bold (Section 92.103(b)). If your lease has that clause in bold, give the notice the lease asks for, in writing, and keep a copy. If the clause is in ordinary type, the landlord cannot use it to keep your deposit, but giving notice is still good practice.
2. Give your forwarding address in writing
This is the step renters skip most often. Under Section 92.107, the landlord does not have to return your deposit or send an itemized list of deductions until you give a written statement of your forwarding address for the refund. The statute also says you do not forfeit the deposit just because you forgot. The clock simply does not start until you give the address.
Put it in an email or letter that says something like: "My forwarding address for return of my security deposit is…". Since September 1, 2025, Section 92.113 allows notices under this part of the law to go by email if you and the landlord have already communicated by email. The landlord can name a specific email address for this. Also, a managing agent, leasing agent, or resident manager counts as the landlord's agent for these notices (Section 92.112), so emailing or handing the letter to the leasing office counts.
3. Document the condition of the unit
The law puts the burden on the landlord. In a lawsuit over a deposit, the landlord must prove that keeping any part of it was reasonable (Section 92.109(c)). Your evidence still matters, though. On move-out day, take date-stamped photos and video of every room, inside appliances, the floors and the walls. Return all keys and get a receipt or an email confirming the date you turned them in. That date usually marks when you "surrendered" the premises.
What Counts as Normal Wear and Tear in Texas
Section 92.104(b) bars a landlord from keeping any part of a deposit to cover normal wear and tear. Chapter 92 defines normal wear and tear as deterioration that comes from the intended use of the home. It does not cover damage from negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse by you, someone in your household, or a guest.
The Texas Attorney General's renters' rights page gives an example. Carpet that is simply more worn after a year of people walking on it is wear and tear, and the landlord cannot bill you for new carpet. A leaking water bed that leaves the carpet mildewed is damage you can be charged for.
Rule | Where it is in the Property Code |
Refund or itemized list due by day 30 after surrender | Sections 92.103 and 92.104 |
No deductions for normal wear and tear | Section 92.104(b) |
Written forwarding address starts the duty | Section 92.107 |
Bad faith presumed if day 30 passes with nothing | Section 92.109(d) |
$100 plus three times the amount withheld plus attorney's fees | Section 92.109(a) |
What the landlord can deduct, under Section 92.104(a), are damages and charges you are legally liable for under the lease or because you broke the lease. That can include unpaid rent, unpaid utilities the lease made you pay, or lease-break charges if you left early.
The 30 Days After You Leave
What the landlord must send
On or before the 30th day after you surrender the premises, the landlord must do one of these things (Section 92.103(a) and 92.104(c)):
refund the full deposit, or
refund the balance, along with a written description and itemized list of all deductions.
One exception: the landlord does not have to itemize if you owed rent when you moved out and there is no dispute about how much rent you owed.
Under Section 92.1041, the landlord is presumed to have met the deadline if the refund or itemized list is mailed and postmarked on or before the due date, so keep the envelope.
If your building was sold
If your landlord sold the property while you lived there, Section 92.105 makes the new owner responsible for your deposit from the date they took title. The new owner is supposed to give you a signed statement acknowledging the deposit and its exact dollar amount. The old owner stays liable until the new owner receives the deposit or takes on the liability. The exception is a mortgage lender that took the property by foreclosure.
If you never moved in
If you signed a lease but did not move in, Section 92.1031 says the landlord cannot keep your deposit or prepaid rent if a replacement tenant the landlord accepts moves in on or before your lease start date. That holds whether you or the landlord found the replacement. If the landlord found them, the landlord may deduct either a lease cancellation fee stated in the lease or its actual costs of finding the new tenant.
Day 31: If the Money or the List Never Arrives
Under Section 92.109(d), a landlord who fails to return the deposit or give you an itemized list within 30 days of surrender is presumed to have acted in bad faith. That presumption matters because bad faith is what triggers the penalties:
Bad-faith withholding (Section 92.109(a)): the landlord can owe $100 + three times the part of the deposit wrongfully withheld + your reasonable attorney's fees.
Bad-faith failure to itemize (Section 92.109(b)): the landlord forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit and the right to sue you for damage to the unit, and can owe your attorney's fees.
Step-by-step
Confirm your dates. Write down the day you returned the keys and the day you sent your forwarding address. Count 30 days from the later of the two.
Send a written demand. Email or mail the landlord, using the address on your lease or the management office. Name the amount, cite Texas Property Code Sections 92.103 and 92.109, and give a deadline of about 10 days. Attach your photos. Keep proof that you sent it.
Read any itemized list carefully. Look for charges that are really wear and tear, charges with no receipt or description, and charges for problems that were there when you moved in.
File in justice court if needed. Justice of the peace courts in Texas hear small claims cases. Harris County's Justice Courts website lists the precincts, forms and filing options. File in the precinct where the rental is located, and bring your lease, your forwarding-address letter, the itemized list (if any), photos and your demand letter.
File a complaint with the Texas Attorney General. The AG's Consumer Protection Division accepts complaints online. It does not act as your lawyer, but a complaint creates a record.
If you are a low-income tenant
Lone Star Legal Aid, headquartered at 1415 Fannin Street in Houston, provides free civil legal help to eligible low-income residents. Call 713-652-0077 locally or (800) 733-8394 toll free, or apply online. Harris County also runs an eviction defense program that connects qualifying tenants facing eviction with legal representatives in justice court or county civil court at law. If your deposit dispute is tangled up with an eviction, ask about that program.
A Trap to Avoid: Using the Deposit as Last Month's Rent
It is tempting to skip the last month's rent and let the landlord keep the deposit. Texas law forbids this. Section 92.108 says a tenant may not withhold any part of the last month's rent on the grounds that the deposit covers it. A tenant who does it is presumed to have acted in bad faith and can owe the landlord three times the rent withheld plus the landlord's attorney's fees. Pay the last month and pursue the deposit separately.
No Deposit, or a "Fee Instead of a Deposit"?
More Houston complexes now offer a monthly fee in place of a deposit. Section 92.111 sets the rules:
The landlord must also offer you the option of paying a regular deposit, and cannot use your choice to decide whether to approve your application.
You must get written notice that you can end the fee arrangement at any time and switch to a deposit, plus the charges for each option.
The fee must be a recurring fee of the same amount, paid with rent. It is generally not refundable.
You are still responsible for rent and for damage beyond normal wear and tear. The landlord still cannot charge you for normal wear and tear.
Before claiming against insurance bought with that fee, the landlord must send you an itemized list of damages or unpaid rent no later than the 30th day after you surrender the unit.
If your lease had no deposit at all, Section 92.110 says the landlord must notify you in writing of any 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 loses the right to collect. (This does not apply if you never gave a forwarding address.)
Checklist to Print or Save
Copy of your lease, with any bold or underlined notice clause marked
Written move-out notice, if your lease requires one
Written forwarding address (email or letter), with the date sent
Move-out photos and video
Key-return receipt or email
Your 30-day deadline date on the calendar
Copy of any itemized deduction list and the postmarked envelope
Demand letter and proof of delivery
Related Guides
Sources
This guide gives general information, not legal advice. Laws and programs change; check the official sources above before you act.
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