Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103, a Texas landlord must refund a security deposit — minus lawful, itemized deductions — on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises. But there's a catch that trips up more Texas landlords than the deadline itself: under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107, that 30-day obligation doesn't even begin until the tenant gives the landlord a written forwarding address.
That's the rule in one sentence. The rest of this guide is how to count the 30 days, when the clock actually starts, what you can lawfully deduct, the itemization requirement, and the bad-faith penalty that makes getting this wrong expensive.
When the 30-day clock starts
Two things have to happen before the deadline runs:
- The tenant surrenders the premises — moves out and gives up possession (returning the keys or otherwise relinquishing the unit).
- The tenant gives the landlord a written forwarding address where the deposit or the itemized deductions can be sent.
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107 is explicit that the landlord is not obligated to return the deposit or give a written description of deductions until the tenant furnishes that forwarding address. The day both conditions are met is day 0; the refund (or the itemized statement plus any balance) has to go out on or before day 30.
Note the asymmetry that catches tenants and reassures landlords: a tenant does not forfeit the deposit by failing to provide a forwarding address. The obligation is simply suspended until they do. So a landlord holding a deposit for a tenant who vanished without an address hasn't missed any deadline — the clock never started.
The forwarding-address trap
The most common landlord mistake is treating move-out day as the trigger and mailing the deposit to the old unit or to no address at all. If the tenant later surfaces with a written forwarding address, the 30 days run from that date, not from move-out — so document when you receive it.
The mirror-image mistake is worse: assuming you can sit on the deposit indefinitely because no address ever came. The moment a written address arrives — email, text, or letter, as long as it's in writing — the 30-day countdown begins, and the bad-faith presumption in § 92.109 is waiting at the end of it.
There's also a lease-drafting rule tied to surrender. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(b), if your lease requires the tenant to give advance notice of surrender as a condition of getting the deposit back, that clause is only enforceable when it's underlined or printed in conspicuous bold in the lease. Bury it in ordinary body text and it doesn't bind the tenant.
What you can deduct — and the itemization rule
Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104 lets a landlord deduct charges the tenant is legally obligated to pay under the lease, plus damage to the premises — but not normal wear and tear. Ordinary wear from reasonable use (faded paint, minor carpet wear, small nail holes) is the landlord's cost, not the tenant's.
When you do deduct, § 92.104 requires you to give the tenant a written description and itemized list of every deduction. The one exception: if the tenant owed rent at the time of surrender and there's no bona fide dispute about that rent, the landlord doesn't have to provide the itemized list. Outside that narrow case, an itemized statement is mandatory — a lump-sum "damages: $X" with no breakdown does not satisfy the statute.
The line between ordinary wear and tear and damage is where deposit disputes live. Dated move-in and move-out photos, a signed condition inventory, and a written walkthrough record are the landlord's evidence if the tenant challenges a deduction.
The bad-faith penalty makes mistakes expensive
Texas backs the 30-day rule with real teeth. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109, a landlord who in bad faith retains a deposit is liable for:
- $100, plus
- three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, plus
- the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.
Two features make this dangerous for a careless landlord. First, § 92.109 presumes bad faith if the landlord fails to return the deposit or provide the written itemized description on or before day 30. Second, the landlord — not the tenant — carries the burden of proving that any retention was reasonable.
Worked example: a landlord withholds $1,200 of a deposit, provides no itemized list, and blows past day 30. If a court finds bad faith, exposure is $100 + (3 × $1,200) + the tenant's attorney's fees = $3,700 plus fees — on a $1,200 dispute. The penalty math, not the deposit, is the real number.
(Don't confuse this with Tex. Prop. Code § 92.108, which runs the other direction: it penalizes a tenant who wrongfully withholds the last month's rent by treating the deposit as rent. That's a separate provision — the landlord-side penalty is § 92.109.)
No deposit cap — but the lease still does the work
Texas sets no statutory ceiling on how much a landlord can charge as a security deposit. That freedom is exactly why the return mechanics matter so much: the larger the deposit, the larger the § 92.109 multiplier if you mishandle the refund.
The upstream fix is a lease that already names Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103 and § 92.104, defines ordinary wear and tear, lists permitted deduction categories, states the landlord's address for notices, and — if it conditions the refund on advance notice of surrender — prints that clause in the conspicuous bold § 92.103(b) requires. None of that is in a generic free template.
For the parallel rule in another big state, see Florida's 15-day / 30-day deposit rule — same idea, very different mechanics.
Common mistakes
Counting from move-out instead of from the forwarding address. The 30 days run from § 92.107's written-address trigger, not from the day the tenant handed back the keys.
Skipping the itemized list. Unless the tenant owed undisputed rent at surrender, § 92.104 requires a written, itemized description of deductions. A lump sum invites the § 92.109 bad-faith presumption.
Deducting for ordinary wear and tear. Repainting and routine carpet wear between tenancies are turnover costs, not deductions — unless the lease defines a specific, exceeded standard.
Burying the advance-notice clause. A surrender-notice condition that isn't underlined or in conspicuous bold is unenforceable under § 92.103(b).
Build a compliant Texas lease — $29 one-time, generated in minutes, with the § 92.103 deposit-return clause, itemization language, and your notice address baked in.
Statutory references
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103 — 30-day deadline to refund the deposit or provide an itemized deduction statement after surrender; (b) conspicuous-bold requirement for advance-notice clauses.
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104 — permitted deductions (excluding normal wear and tear); written itemized-list requirement.
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107 — 30-day obligation is triggered by the tenant's written forwarding address; deposit is not forfeited if none is given.
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109 — bad-faith retention penalty ($100 + 3× the wrongfully withheld amount + attorney's fees); day-30 bad-faith presumption; landlord's burden of proof.