Not legal advice. This is a free reference compiled from official government sources. Laws change and local details matter. Confirm every deadline with the official source or a licensed attorney before you rely on it.
Last verified: · Confidence: high
Texas landlord deadlines
Statewide rules for Texas. Cities and counties can add their own rules. Statutes and agency pages: tcss.legis.texas.gov.
Refund the security deposit, with an itemized list of any deductions, within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the premises Verified
Deadline: Within 30 days after move-out
Refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises. If you keep any part, send the balance with a written description and itemized list of all deductions. You may not keep any part for normal wear and tear. The clock depends on the tenant giving a written forwarding address.
Applies to: any number of units, when you hold a security deposit · Layer: Texas · Topic: Security deposit return
Who it covers: Counts from the date the tenant surrenders the premises. No itemized list is needed if the tenant owes rent and there is no dispute about the amount.
"the landlord shall refund a security deposit to the tenant on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders the premises." tcss.legis.texas.gov
"the landlord shall give to the tenant the balance of the security deposit, if any, together with a written description and itemized list of all deductions." tcss.legis.texas.gov
"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" tcss.legis.texas.gov
"The landlord may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear." tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 92.103, 92.104, 92.107. A refund or accounting mailed and postmarked by the deadline is presumed on time (92.1041). Bad-faith retention: $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees (92.109).
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction
Smoke alarms: one in each bedroom, tested and working when the tenant takes possession Verified
Deadline: When the lease starts
Install at least one smoke alarm in each separate bedroom (plus corridor and per-level alarms where required), and confirm each one works at the beginning of the tenant's possession by testing it. During the lease you must inspect and repair an alarm when the tenant reports a problem.
"A landlord shall install at least one smoke alarm in each separate bedroom in a dwelling unit." tcss.legis.texas.gov
"The landlord shall determine that the smoke alarm is in good working order at the beginning of the tenant's possession by testing the smoke alarm with smoke, by operating the testing button on the smoke alarm, or by following other recommended test procedures of the manufacturer for the particular model." tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 92.255 and 92.258. You do not have to supply batteries after move-in if the alarm worked when the tenant took possession.
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction
Floodplain and past-flooding notice, signed at or before lease signing Verified
Deadline: At or before signing the lease
Give every tenant the statutory written notice on whether you know the home is in a 100-year floodplain, and, if you know flooding damaged it in the past five years, a second notice saying so. Put them in the lease, an addendum or a separate document given at or before signing, and have both parties sign.
Who it covers: Not required for leases shorter than 30 days or certain sale-related occupancies.
"A landlord shall provide to a tenant a written notice substantially equivalent to the following:" tcss.legis.texas.gov
"If a landlord knows that flooding has damaged any portion of a dwelling at least once during the five-year period immediately preceding the effective date of the lease, the landlord shall provide a written notice to a tenant" tcss.legis.texas.gov
"must be included in a paragraph of the lease, as an addendum to the lease, or in a separate written document given to the tenant at or before execution of the lease." tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 92.0135 (effective January 1, 2022). If the notice is missing and the tenant suffers substantial flood loss, the tenant may end the lease.
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction
Tell a tenant who owns and manages the property within 7 days after they ask (or put it in the lease) Verified
Deadline: Within 7 days after a tenant asks, unless it is already in the lease or written rules
Disclose the record owner's name and address (and any off-site management company) in writing within seven days after a tenant asks, or post it as allowed, or include it in the lease or rules beforehand.
"giving the information in writing to the tenant on or before the seventh day after the day the landlord receives the tenant's request for the information;" tcss.legis.texas.gov
"including the information in a copy of the tenant's lease or in written rules given to the tenant before the tenant requests the information." tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 92.201. Government officials asking in an official capacity must also get it within 7 days.
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction
At least 3 days' written notice to vacate before filing an eviction suit, unless the lease sets a different period Verified
Deadline: At least 3 days before filing an eviction (forcible detainer) suit, unless the written lease sets a shorter or longer period
Before filing an eviction (forcible detainer) suit against a tenant who defaults or holds over, give at least three days' written notice to vacate, unless the written lease sets a shorter or longer period. For nonpayment by a tenant who was not late before that month, the notice must be a notice to pay rent or vacate.
"the landlord must give a tenant who defaults or holds over beyond the end of the rental term or renewal period at least three days' written notice to vacate the premises before the landlord files a forcible detainer suit, unless the parties have contracted for a shorter or longer notice period" tcss.legis.texas.gov
"written notice under this section shall be given in the form of a notice to pay rent or vacate." tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 24.005 (current text including the 2025 amendments). A holdover suit must also follow the month-to-month termination rule in 91.001. Delivery methods are set out in 24.005; check them before serving notice.
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction
Month-to-month tenancy: give notice at least one month before the termination date, unless a signed lease sets a different period Verified
Deadline: At least one month before the termination date (month-to-month tenancies), unless a signed lease sets a different period
To end a month-to-month tenancy, give notice of termination. The tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after the day the notice is given. A lease signed by both parties can set a different notice period or say no notice is needed.
Who it covers: Monthly and month-to-month tenancies. Fixed-term leases end on their own date unless the lease says otherwise.
"A monthly tenancy or a tenancy from month to month may be terminated by the tenant or the landlord giving notice of termination to the other." tcss.legis.texas.gov
"a landlord and a tenant have agreed in an instrument signed by both parties on a different period of notice to terminate the tenancy or that no notice is required" tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 91.001. For rent periods shorter than a month (for example weekly), the notice period equals one rent period (91.001(c)).
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction
Rekey key, card or combination locks within 7 days after each tenant turnover Verified
Deadline: Within 7 days after the lease starts
At your expense, rekey every security device operated by a key, card or combination no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date (the day a new tenant moves in after all previous occupants have moved out). Tenants can also ask for more rekeying at their expense.
Who it covers: Each new tenant's move-in after the previous occupants have left.
"a security device operated by a key, card, or combination shall be rekeyed by the landlord at the landlord's expense not later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date." tcss.legis.texas.gov
""Tenant turnover date" means the date a tenant moves into a dwelling under a lease after all previous occupants have moved out." tcss.legis.texas.gov
Notes: Tex. Prop. Code 92.156 and 92.151. Does not apply to closet or other interior doors. The calendar dates this from the lease start; use the actual move-in date if it differs.
Last verified 2026-10-21 · Confidence: high · Status: verified · Report a correction