Texas: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
A Texas landlord must refund your security deposit no later than 30 days after you surrender the premises — but that duty doesn't even start until you give the landlord a written forwarding address. Texas sets no cap on how much a landlord can charge as a deposit, and doesn't require interest or a separate account. A landlord can deduct for damage and charges you're legally liable for under the lease, but never for normal wear and tear. A landlord who withholds your deposit in bad faith owes you $100, three times the amount wrongfully withheld, and your attorney's fees.
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This is the general rule in Texas. Ezel applies current Texas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.101-92.109 |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 30 days after the tenant surrenders the premises, but the landlord has no obligation to refund or account until the tenant gives a written forwarding address |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes, if any portion is withheld — unless the tenant owed rent at move-out and the amount owed isn't disputed |
| What can be deducted | Damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease or from breaching it. Normal wear and tear may never be deducted. |
| Maximum deposit amount | None — Texas sets no statutory maximum |
| Interest on the deposit? | No state-mandated interest |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | Bad-faith retention: $100 plus 3x the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees. Bad-faith failure to itemize: forfeits the right to withhold any amount or sue for damages, plus attorney's fees. Missing the 30-day deadline is a rebuttable presumption of bad faith. |
| Separate account or bond required? | No separate account or bond required; the tenant's claim to the deposit is simply prior to any claim of the landlord's creditors |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Texas's security deposit rules sit in Property Code Chapter 92, Subchapter C
(§§ 92.101-92.109) — the same chapter that governs residential tenancies
generally.
Deadline to return the deposit
The baseline rule is 30 days after you surrender the premises: "the landlord
shall refund a security deposit to the tenant on or before the 30th day after
the date the tenant surrenders the premises." (§ 92.103(a)). But a separate
section makes that duty conditional: "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." (§ 92.107(a)). Practically, if you give your
forwarding address only after you've moved out, the landlord's obligation
doesn't attach until that address is in hand. The statute is also clear that
you don't lose your right to a refund just because you were slow to send an
address (§ 92.107(b)).
Itemized statement required?
Only if the landlord actually withholds part of the deposit. If the landlord
keeps any amount, Texas law requires "a written description and itemized list
of all deductions" (§ 92.104(c)) — with one exception: no itemized list is
required if you owed rent when you moved out and there's no dispute about how
much you owed.
What can be deducted
A landlord may deduct "damages and charges for which the tenant is legally
liable under the lease or as a result of breaching the lease" (§ 92.104(a)).
The one deduction the statute flatly forbids: "The landlord may not retain any
portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear." (§ 92.104(b)).
Maximum deposit amount
None. Texas Property Code § 92.102 defines what a security deposit is but
sets no ceiling on the amount — a landlord can lawfully ask for any amount
negotiated in the lease.
Interest on the deposit?
Texas's security-deposit subchapter doesn't require a landlord to pay
interest on a held deposit.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
Two distinct remedies exist, and they cover different failures. If a landlord
in bad faith retains a deposit, the tenant can recover "$100, three times the
portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant's reasonable
attorney's fees" (§ 92.109(a)). If instead the landlord in bad faith simply
fails to provide the required itemized description, the landlord "forfeits
the right to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring suit
against the tenant for damages to the premises" and owes attorney's fees
(§ 92.109(b)) — a full forfeiture that doesn't require proving the specific
withheld amount was unreasonable. A landlord who misses the 30-day deadline
entirely "is presumed to have acted in bad faith" (§ 92.109(d)), though that
presumption can be rebutted — for example, by showing the refund was
postmarked on time under the mailbox-rule presumption in § 92.1041. In any
suit, the landlord bears the burden of proving the retention was reasonable
(§ 92.109(c)).
Separate account or bond required?
No. Texas doesn't require a landlord to segregate a deposit in its own
account or post a bond. The only related protection is that a tenant's claim
to the deposit outranks any claim by the landlord's own creditors, including
in a bankruptcy (§ 92.103(c)).
What trips people up
The 30-day clock doesn't start running just because you moved out. If you
haven't yet given the landlord a written forwarding address, the landlord's
duty to refund or account hasn't even begun — send the address in writing
(and keep proof) as soon as you can.
No deposit cap doesn't mean no rules. Texas landlords can charge any
amount as a deposit, but the itemization, wear-and-tear, and bad-faith rules
apply regardless of how large the deposit is.
A postmark can save a landlord who mailed on time. Because § 92.1041
treats a timely postmark as proof of a timely refund or accounting, a check
that arrives a few days late in the mail isn't automatically proof of a
missed deadline.
Common questions
Do I have to give my forwarding address to get my deposit back? Yes —
the landlord's obligation to refund or account doesn't start until you do,
though you don't forfeit your right to the deposit just by being late with it.
Can my landlord charge me for repainting or new carpet after I move out?
Only if the condition goes beyond normal wear and tear. Ordinary
deterioration from everyday use — including things like worn carpet or aged
paint — can't be deducted under § 92.104(b).
What if my landlord ignores my deposit entirely? Missing the 30-day
deadline is presumed bad faith under § 92.109(d), which can support a claim
for $100 plus three times the wrongfully withheld amount plus your attorney's
fees under § 92.109(a).
Statutes and sources
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(a) — 30-day refund deadline.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-103/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(a)-(b) — forwarding-address precondition.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-107/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104(a)-(c) — permitted deductions, wear-and-tear bar, itemization requirement.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-104/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Tex. Prop. Code § 92.102 — definition of security deposit; no cap.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-102/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a)-(d) — bad-faith penalties and presumption.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-109/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Tex. Prop. Code § 92.1041 — mailbox-rule postmark presumption.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-1041/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(c) — tenant's priority claim over the landlord's creditors.
https://law.justia.com/codes/texas/property-code/title-8/chapter-92/subchapter-c/section-92-103/ (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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