How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Texas?

Texas statute sets no cap on the deposit, so the amount is whatever the lease says. What Tex. Prop. Code 92.103 does fix is how and when the deposit comes back.

How much notice does a Texas landlord give before entering?

Texas statute sets no notice period before the landlord enters, so this lease uses at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time, and no notice in an emergency.

What does a Texas landlord have to disclose with the lease?

Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Texas checklist has seven items: name and address of the owner and of any manager, a 24-hour emergency phone number for repairs and a copy of the signed lease to the Tenant within three business days. The other four are on the checklist in the document. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.

Which Texas statutes does this lease cite?

Tex. Prop. Code 92.103, Tex. Prop. Code 92.104, Tex. Prop. Code 91.001 and Tex. Prop. Code 92.201, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.

Should a lawyer look at this Texas lease before I use it?

It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Texas statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Texas landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

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Texas Residential Lease Agreement

A plain-language lease for a house or apartment in Texas. The deposit, notice and disclosure clauses follow Texas statute, cited in the document. Download the blank PDF or e-sign it online; electronic signatures are recognized under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws.

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Different state?

Page one of the Texas Residential Lease Agreement — Page 1 of the PDF. Tinted boxes are the placed fields, one color per role.

Texas rules in this lease

Security deposit cap: No cap in the statute
Deposit return: Within 30 days after the Tenant surrenders the Premises and gives a written forwarding address, the Landlord returns the deposit with an itemized list of any deductions for unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy: Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with at least one month's written notice.
Landlord entry: No notice period in the statute; the lease uses 24 hours
Disclosures: 8 items, listed below with the section that requires each one
Statutes: Tex. Prop. Code 92.103, Tex. Prop. Code 92.104, Tex. Prop. Code 91.001, Tex. Prop. Code 92.201. Read the Texas statute
Rules read on: 2026-10-23

A general form, not legal advice, and not a claim that it complies with any law. Rules change and vary by city. Check the statute cited here, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on it.

What is different in Texas

Pick Texas and three parts of this lease change: the security deposit clause, the notice clause for a month-to-month tenancy and the disclosures checklist, each rewritten from the Texas statute. The rest of the document reads the same in every state.

Texas sets no ceiling on the deposit and no rule about where it is kept, so the amount and the account are the landlord's call. The return is the part the statute fixes: the rule, quoted in full below, says when and how the deposit comes back, and requires an itemized statement of anything kept, turns on the tenant's forwarding address and leaves ordinary wear out of the deductions.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy works the same from both sides in Texas. Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with at least one month's written notice.

On entry the Texas statute is silent, so the lease fills the gap with at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time and no notice in an emergency, and the footer says the statute set no period.

The disclosures checklist carries seven Texas items on top of the federal lead paint notice, among them the late fee amount and when it applies, each with the section that requires it and a line for the landlord's initials.

This row notes no city or county overlay for Texas; if the property is in a city with its own rental ordinance, check it before signing. The state clauses follow four sections of Texas law, read on October 23, 2026 and listed in the Statutes row above; the same citations print in the footer of the PDF.

Read the Texas clauses

The wording below is what prints in the PDF for Texas, word for word, under the headings Security deposit, Entry, Ending the lease and default, and Disclosures.

Security deposit

Within 30 days after the Tenant surrenders the Premises and gives a written forwarding address, the Landlord returns the deposit with an itemized list of any deductions for unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear.

Entry

The Landlord may enter at reasonable times to inspect, repair or show the Premises after at least 24 hours' notice, and without notice in an emergency.

Ending the lease and default

Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with at least one month's written notice. If rent is unpaid or a term is broken, the Landlord gives the written notice Texas law requires before ending the tenancy, and the Tenant is responsible for rent through the end of the term unless the Premises is re-rented sooner.

Disclosures the Landlord initials

Lead-based paint and hazards, for a building built before 1978, with the EPA pamphlet (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
Name and address of the owner and of any manager (Prop. Code 92.201)
A 24-hour emergency phone number for repairs (Prop. Code 92.020)
A copy of the signed lease to the Tenant within three business days (Prop. Code 92.024)
Parking and towing rules, given before signing, for a multi-unit property (Prop. Code 92.0131)
Tenant remedies for repairs, in bold or underlined text (Prop. Code 92.056)
Whether the Premises is in a 100-year floodplain and any flooding in the past five years (Prop. Code 92.0135)
The late fee amount and when it applies (Prop. Code 92.019)

Footer of the PDF: Texas clauses follow Tex. Prop. Code 92.103, Tex. Prop. Code 92.104, Tex. Prop. Code 91.001, Tex. Prop. Code 92.201 as read on 2026-10-23.

Texas lease questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Texas?: Texas statute sets no cap on the deposit, so the amount is whatever the lease says. What Tex. Prop. Code 92.103 does fix is how and when the deposit comes back.
When does the security deposit come back in Texas?: Within 30 days after the Tenant surrenders the Premises and gives a written forwarding address, the Landlord returns the deposit with an itemized list of any deductions for unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Texas?: Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with at least one month's written notice.
How much notice does a Texas landlord give before entering?: Texas statute sets no notice period before the landlord enters, so this lease uses at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time, and no notice in an emergency.
What does a Texas landlord have to disclose with the lease?: Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Texas checklist has seven items: name and address of the owner and of any manager, a 24-hour emergency phone number for repairs and a copy of the signed lease to the Tenant within three business days. The other four are on the checklist in the document. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.
Which Texas statutes does this lease cite?: Tex. Prop. Code 92.103, Tex. Prop. Code 92.104, Tex. Prop. Code 91.001 and Tex. Prop. Code 92.201, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.
Should a lawyer look at this Texas lease before I use it?: It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Texas statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Texas landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

Who this is for. A Texas lease is one half of a landlord's paperwork; proving a notice was received is the other. Both are covered at free e-signatures for landlords.

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