Security Deposit Return in Texas: The 30-Day Rule
Texas landlords have 30 days to return your deposit — but the clock only starts once you give a written forwarding address. Prop. Code § 92.103 explained.
In Texas your landlord has 30 days to return the deposit or send an itemized list of deductions — but the 30 days do not start until you give them a written forwarding address. That single condition is why most Texas deposit disputes are lost before they begin. The rules are Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103 and 92.104.
- Deadline: 30 days from surrender of the premises
- Clock starts: only once the landlord has your written forwarding address
- Itemization: required for every deduction (§ 92.104)
- Statute: Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103
- What bad faith costs the landlord: the deposit plus $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld
The forwarding-address trap
This is the part that catches people. Texas law gives the landlord 30 days, but the obligation to mail anything is suspended until you have provided a written statement of your forwarding address. No address, no deadline, no violation.
In practice that means a tenant who moves out, waits six weeks and then complains has often given the landlord a complete defence without realising it. A phone call does not count. A text might, but it is not worth arguing about.
What the landlord must send
Within the 30-day window, either the full deposit, or the balance together with a written itemised list describing each deduction and the charge attached to it. A single line reading “cleaning and damages — $650” does not satisfy § 92.104.
One exception worth knowing: if you owe rent at the end of the tenancy and there is no good-faith dispute about it, the landlord is not required to provide the itemised list before keeping the deposit.
If the 30 days have passed
Missing the deadline creates a presumption that the landlord acted in bad faith, and the consequences are the harshest of any state covered here.
- The landlord owes: the deposit itself, plus $100, plus three times the portion wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
- Send a written demand first. State your move-out date, the date you supplied the forwarding address, the deposit amount, and that the § 92.103 period has expired.
- Justice court handles these claims without a lawyer. Bring the lease, the dated forwarding-address letter and your move-out photographs.
The presumption of bad faith is rebuttable, so a landlord who can show a genuine reason for the delay may avoid the multiplier. It still shifts the argument decisively in your favour.
What can legitimately be deducted
Unpaid rent, and damage beyond normal wear and tear. Normal wear and tear is explicitly excluded by statute — deterioration that happens from ordinary use, without negligence or carelessness, is not chargeable.
Charges that routinely appear and routinely do not survive scrutiny: blanket “carpet replacement” on a carpet already near the end of its life, repainting after an ordinary tenancy, and administrative or re-letting fees that were never disclosed in the lease.
How Texas compares to other states
| State | Deadline | Notable difference |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 30 days | Clock conditional on written forwarding address; treble damages for bad faith |
| California | 21 days | Receipts required for any deduction over $125 |
| New York | 14 days | Missing the deadline forfeits the right to keep anything |
Texas gives landlords the longest window of the three and attaches a precondition that favours them. It also carries the strongest financial penalty once that window is missed. The practical consequence: in Texas, your paperwork at move-out matters more than in almost any other state.
What your lease controls
It cannot shorten the statutory period or waive the itemisation duty. It can define the move-out condition you are held to, disclose non-refundable fees that are separate from the deposit, and set out cleaning obligations — and those clauses are where most defensible deductions originate.
If the dispute is about leaving early rather than the deposit, see what your early termination clause says and what breaking the lease actually costs.
When you need a lawyer
Rarely for the deposit alone — justice court is built for self-represented claims. Worth consulting one if the landlord is counterclaiming for unpaid rent or lease breach, if there is an eviction on your record arising from the same tenancy, or if the treble-damages calculation puts the amount above the justice court limit.
General information, not legal advice. Verify the current statute before relying on it.
Sources
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103 — statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- Texas State Law Library, security deposit refunds — guides.sll.texas.gov