State Guide
Landlord–tenant law in Texas
The rules that come up in practice — returning a deposit, charging a late fee, raising the rent — each read against the Texas statute and quoted on its own page.
Security deposit return
Full rule →30 days
The 16th shortest of 49 states with a deadline.
Tex. Prop. Code 92.103(a)
Late fee limit
Full rule →12% of rent where the structure has 4 or fewer dwelling units; 10% where it has more
No fee until rent is 2 days late.
Tex. Prop. Code 92.019
Rent increase notice
Full rule →30 days
From the month-to-month termination rule, not a rent-increase statute. The 4th shortest of 49.
Tex. Prop. Code 91.001
What is distinctive about Texas
- Deposits: 30 days. Landlord is not obliged to refund until the tenant gives a written forwarding address (92.107).
- Late fees: capped at 12% of rent where the structure has 4 or fewer dwelling units; 10% where it has more. A 2-day grace period is mandatory.
- Rent increases: 30 days, borrowed from the termination rule because Texas has no rent-increase statute.
The mistake that costs the most here
Charging a late fee above Texas’s cap. The clause is void rather than reduced, and the tenant’s signature does not save it — which tends to surface in an eviction hearing, exactly when the lease needs to hold up.
Where these figures come from
Each rule above was read against the section it cites and the statutory wording is quoted on the dedicated page, so you can check it rather than take our word for it. That matters more than it sounds on this subject: when we read all 51 jurisdictions we found several widely-published figures to be wrong, including a Kentucky deposit deadline that does not exist, a South Dakota one reported as 14 days when the statute says 21, and late-fee caps for nine states that actually come from their self-storage statutes.
Local ordinances can add requirements the state does not, and statutes move — Washington, Connecticut, Nevada, Rhode Island and Maryland have all changed in the last three years. Each figure carries the date we read it.
States with the same deposit deadline
Common questions about Texas
- How long does a Texas landlord have to return a security deposit?
- 30 days under Tex. Prop. Code 92.103(a).
- What is the maximum late fee in Texas?
- 12% of rent where the structure has 4 or fewer dwelling units; 10% where it has more, under Tex. Prop. Code 92.019. A fee above the cap is unenforceable even if the lease says otherwise.
- How much notice before a rent increase in Texas?
- 30 days under Tex. Prop. Code 91.001, which is the month-to-month termination rule — Texas has no statute specifically about rent increases.
- Does Texas have rent control?
- No statewide frequency limit is verified for Texas. Only California, Oregon and Washington cap the amount of an increase statewide; some cities do so locally.
Let the software know the Texas rules
Pacific Rentals Pro checks a lease’s late fee against the Texas cap, counts the deposit deadline from the move-out date, and works out the latest day to serve a rent increase. Same verified data as this page.
Start free →Texas rules last read against their cited sources on November 6, 2026. General information, not legal advice — verify the current text before relying on it, and check your city and county, which can impose more than the state does.