{
  "meta": {
    "name": "Deposit Record ruleset: Texas",
    "description": "The verified Texas security-deposit rules that https://deposit.orygn.tech/texas is built from: each rule as a machine payload, its plain-English summary, its exact citation, the verbatim text of its source where quoted (sourceType says when that is not statute text), the official source URL it was verified against, and the date a human last checked it.",
    "state": "TX",
    "page": "https://deposit.orygn.tech/texas",
    "dataUrl": "https://deposit.orygn.tech/data/texas.json",
    "lastReviewed": "2026-06-25",
    "citeAs": "Deposit Record, Texas Security Deposit Return (verified June 25, 2026), https://deposit.orygn.tech/texas",
    "publisher": {
      "name": "Orygn LLC",
      "url": "https://orygn.tech/"
    },
    "license": "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): free to reuse and quote with attribution to Deposit Record and a link to the page. The statutes themselves are public law.",
    "disclaimer": "General information, not legal advice. Every rule cites the source it was verified against; rely on the source, and on a lawyer for your situation.",
    "fields": {
      "summary": "plain-English statement of the rule, as rendered on the page",
      "value": "the machine payload the calculator uses (days, triggers, caps, multipliers); its keys are named for what they hold and explained by the summary",
      "citation": "exact pin-cite for the rule: a statute, an enacting act, a case or agency guidance (see sourceType)",
      "statuteQuote": "verbatim text quoted from the document at sourceUrl. Despite the name, not every quote is statute text: sourceType says what it is. An automated weekly check compares each quote with its source.",
      "statuteQuoteCitation": "pin-cite for statuteQuote alone, when the quote is narrower than the rule's citation",
      "sourceType": "what statuteQuote is. Absent or 'codified': codified statute text. 'session-law': a clause of the enacting act that was never codified. 'case': a court's words. 'agency': an agency's reading of the statute, which shows how the law is enforced in practice but is not what the statute says.",
      "sourceUrl": "the official source the rule was verified against, and where its quote is found. Some official hosts block automated clients.",
      "readableUrl": "an unofficial, easier-to-read copy of the same text, for people; rely on sourceUrl",
      "derivation": "'verbatim' for a literal statutory rule; 'synthesized' for our reading across sections, which the page labels as our interpretation. Absent means the rule is not labelled either way.",
      "effectiveDate": "when the rule's current text took effect, recorded as provenance. Read effectiveDateIsFloor before using it.",
      "effectiveDateIsFloor": "true means effectiveDate is only the earliest date we could prove this text was already in force. The real effective date is earlier and unverified, so do not present it as 'effective <date>'.",
      "lastVerified": "the date a human last checked this rule against sourceUrl",
      "confidence": "'high', 'medium' or 'low': our confidence in the rule as stated",
      "amendedBy": "the most recent notable amending act",
      "notes": "traps and edge cases, as rendered on the page"
    },
    "stateFields": {
      "stateCode": "two-letter state code",
      "stateName": "state name",
      "slug": "the state page is https://deposit.orygn.tech/{slug}",
      "lastReviewed": "when a human last reviewed this ruleset as a whole. Single rules are re-verified between reviews, so a rule's lastVerified can be later.",
      "summary": "plain-English summary of the state's return rules, as on the page",
      "letterFooter": "the source line printed at the foot of the generated letter",
      "cities": "city-level records; see meta.cityFields",
      "localLaw": "the state's position on local deposit rules. preempted is true only where a statute forecloses them, and citation then carries it; summary says what we have and have not read.",
      "sources": "the primary sources the page is built on",
      "pendingLegislation": "law signed but not yet in force (status 'enacted-not-in-force') or a bill a reader deciding today should know about ('pending'). The rule objects describe the law as it stands; this is the one forward-looking field. citySlug is set when the act is a city ordinance.",
      "stabilized": "New York only: the separate Gen. Oblig. Law 7-107 rules for rent-stabilized units, which reach leases entered into on or after appliesToLeasesFromISO. Each member that has a citation is a rule object."
    },
    "cityFields": {
      "city": "city name",
      "citySlug": "stable machine key for the city",
      "applies": "true if the city adds a rule on top of state law. false is an explicit record that we found no city rule, and only for the kinds of rule listed in checkedFor.",
      "summary": "plain-English statement of the city rule, as rendered on the page",
      "coverageQuestion": "asked before any city math: whether the ordinance covers this rental at all. Absent means it applies citywide.",
      "interest": "the city deposit-interest rule and its rate data (machine payload)",
      "cap": "a city ceiling on the deposit. Absent means not recorded, which is not the same as none: see checkedFor.",
      "checkedFor": "the kinds of deposit rule we actually searched for in this city ('interest', 'cap', 'deadline', 'itemization'). A row says nothing about kinds it does not list.",
      "citation": "exact pin-cite for the city rule",
      "sourceUrl": "the official source the city rule was verified against",
      "lastVerified": "the date a human last checked this city rule against sourceUrl",
      "confidence": "'high', 'medium' or 'low': our confidence in the city rule as stated",
      "notes": "what to re-check and where the rule stops, as rendered on the page"
    },
    "schema": "Every published key is described here: meta.fields for rule objects, meta.stateFields for the other keys of rules, meta.cityFields for each entry of rules.cities. Every key of rules not in meta.stateFields is one rule object, named for what it governs (deadline, cap, penalty and so on).",
    "version": "465c340",
    "dataHash": "ee7224577266cd33",
    "about": "version is the git commit these files were built from, ending in -dirty if the tree had uncommitted changes. dataHash is a fingerprint of a state's rules object and changes when, and only when, that object changes: poll it, not version or lastReviewed, to detect new data."
  },
  "rules": {
    "stateCode": "TX",
    "stateName": "Texas",
    "slug": "texas",
    "lastReviewed": "2026-06-25",
    "summary": "Texas landlords must refund the security deposit and provide a written, itemized list of any deductions within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the property, though the duty is suspended until the tenant gives a written forwarding address. Texas requires no interest on deposits and sets no cap on the deposit amount. Acting in bad faith is costly: $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus the tenant’s attorney’s fees.",
    "letterFooter": {
      "label": "Texas Property Code, Chapter 92",
      "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm"
    },
    "deadline": {
      "summary": "Refund the deposit, and send any itemized statement, within 30 calendar days after the tenant surrenders the property. The 30-day clock effectively runs from the later of surrender or the date you receive the tenant’s written forwarding address.",
      "value": {
        "days": 30,
        "dayType": "calendar",
        "triggerBasis": "later-of",
        "triggerEvents": [
          "surrender",
          "written-forwarding-address"
        ],
        "suspendUntilForwardingAddress": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(a) (with § 92.107)",
      "statuteQuote": "(a) Except as provided by Section 92.107, the landlord shall refund a security deposit to the tenant on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders the premises.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.103",
      "derivation": "synthesized",
      "effectiveDate": "1996-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "amendedBy": "Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 744",
      "notes": "The \"later of\" framing is our combined reading, not statutory text: § 92.103(a) keys the 30-day clock to surrender alone (\"except as provided by Section 92.107\"), while § 92.107 separately suspends the duty until a written forwarding address is received. Texas case law supports running the operative window from the written-address date (Ackerman v. Little, 679 S.W.2d 70 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1984, no writ)). \"Surrender\" is undefined and litigated (key return vs. lease end vs. abandonment). The 30 days are calendar days; if day 30 falls on a weekend or Texas legal holiday, the Code Construction Act (Gov’t Code § 311.014(b)) likely extends it to the next business day. Separately, § 92.103(c): the tenant’s claim to the deposit takes priority over the claim of any creditor of the landlord, including a trustee in bankruptcy. The deposit is the tenant’s money first, even if the landlord owes creditors."
    },
    "forwardingAddress": {
      "summary": "You are not obligated to return the deposit or send the itemized statement until the tenant gives you a written forwarding address. But the tenant does not lose the right to a refund by failing to provide one. Your duty is suspended, not erased.",
      "value": {
        "required": true,
        "mustBeWritten": true,
        "suspendsObligation": true,
        "forfeitsRightIfNotProvided": false
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107(a)–(b)",
      "statuteQuote": "(a) 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 for the purpose of refunding the security deposit. (b) The tenant does not forfeit the right to a refund of the security deposit or the right to receive a description of damages and charges merely for failing to give a forwarding address to the landlord.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.107",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "The forwarding address must be WRITTEN; oral notice does not trigger the duty."
    },
    "itemization": {
      "summary": "If you keep any part of the deposit, you must give the tenant the balance (if any) together with a written description and itemized list of all deductions.",
      "value": {
        "required": true,
        "mustBeWritten": true,
        "excusedWhen": "Itemization is not required if the tenant owes rent at surrender AND there is no controversy about the amount of rent owed (§ 92.104(c))."
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104(c)",
      "statuteQuote": "(c) If the landlord retains all or part of a security deposit under this section, 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. The landlord is not required to give the tenant a description and itemized list of deductions if: (1) the tenant owes rent when he surrenders possession of the premises; and (2) there is no controversy concerning the amount of rent owed.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.104",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "No statutory format or photo-documentation requirement for the itemized list in Texas."
    },
    "deductions": {
      "summary": "You may deduct damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease or for breaching it. You may not retain any part of the deposit to cover normal wear and tear.",
      "value": {
        "allowed": [
          "Unpaid rent and other charges the tenant owes under the lease",
          "Damage to the premises beyond normal wear and tear caused by the tenant, a household member, guest, or invitee",
          "Other charges for which the tenant is legally liable under the lease or for breaching it"
        ],
        "disallowed": [
          "Normal wear and tear"
        ],
        "normalWearAndTearDefinition": "\"Normal wear and tear\" means deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling, including, for the purposes of Subchapters B and D, breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition, but the term does not include deterioration that results from negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse of the premises, equipment, or chattels by the tenant, by a member of the tenant's household, or by a guest or invitee of the tenant. (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.001(4), quoted in full)",
        "documentationThresholdUsd": null,
        "photosRequiredWhenDeducting": false
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104(a)–(b); definition at § 92.001(4)",
      "statuteQuote": "(a) Before returning a security deposit, the landlord may deduct from the deposit damages and charges for which the tenant is legally liable under the lease or as a result of breaching the lease. (b) The landlord may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.104",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "A valid deduction must meet BOTH halves of § 92.104(a): the charge must be one the tenant is liable for under the lease or for breaching it, AND it must not be for normal wear and tear (§ 92.104(b)). The damage-vs-normal-wear line is the single most litigated issue, and the tool never classifies a specific deduction for the user. On scope: the § 92.001 definitions open \"in this chapter,\" so the core \"normal wear and tear\" definition applies chapter-wide, including § 92.104; only the inclusion clause \"breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition\" is expressly tied to Subchapters B and D. § 92.104(b)'s bar stands on its own regardless."
    },
    "interest": {
      "summary": "Texas does not require landlords to pay or accrue interest on residential security deposits, and does not require holding the deposit in a separate or escrow account.",
      "value": {
        "required": false
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92, subch. C (no interest provision)",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "Confirmed by negative search across subch. C (§§ 92.101–92.113). No interest, escrow, or separate-account requirement exists. A lease could contractually require interest."
    },
    "cap": {
      "summary": "Texas sets no statutory cap on the amount of a residential security deposit.",
      "value": {
        "hasCap": false,
        "capMonths": null
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92, subch. C (no cap provision)",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "Confirmed by negative search. (A separate cap applies to manufactured-home lots under ch. 94, not standard residential dwellings.)"
    },
    "penalty": {
      "summary": "A landlord who in bad faith retains a deposit owes $100, plus three times the portion wrongfully withheld, plus the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees. A bad-faith failure to itemize forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit (and to sue the tenant for damage to the premises). Missing the 30-day deadline creates a rebuttable presumption of bad faith, and in any suit by the tenant the landlord bears the burden of proving retention was reasonable.",
      "value": {
        "standard": "bad-faith",
        "badFaithFlatUsd": 100,
        "multiplier": 3,
        "multiplierBase": "wrongfully-withheld",
        "multiplierIsDiscretionaryCeiling": false,
        "attorneyFees": true,
        "forfeitureForFailureToItemize": true,
        "deadlinePresumptionDays": 30,
        "burdenOnLandlord": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(a)–(d)",
      "statuteQuote": "(a) A landlord who in bad faith retains a security deposit in violation of this subchapter is liable for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees in a suit to recover the deposit. (b) A landlord who in bad faith does not provide a written description and itemized list of damages and charges in violation of this subchapter: (1) forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the premises; and (2) is liable for the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees in a suit to recover the deposit. (c) In an action brought by a tenant under this subchapter, the landlord has the burden of proving that the retention of any portion of the security deposit was reasonable. (d) A landlord who fails either to return a security deposit or to provide a written description and itemization of deductions on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders possession is presumed to have acted in bad faith.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.109",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "This section holds two separate penalties, and they work differently. Wrongfully keeping money in bad faith, under (a), costs $100, plus three times the portion wrongfully withheld (not the whole deposit), plus the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees. Failing to send the itemized list in bad faith, under (b), has its own price: the landlord forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit and the right to sue the tenant for damage to the premises, and owes the tenant’s attorney’s fees. There is no $100 or tripling under (b), and the $100 in (a) has never been adjusted for inflation.\n\nThe (d) presumption is rebuttable, and by its text it runs from the 30th day after the tenant surrenders possession. This tool measures it from the later-of deadline it computes, which follows the § 92.107 forwarding-address suspension; that is our reading, disclosed wherever the date appears.\n\n\"Bad faith\" is a fact question for a court: more than a mistake or negligence, it means a dishonest disregard of the tenant’s rights, and an honest error or reasonable belief can rebut it (Wilson v. O’Connor, 555 S.W.2d 776 (Tex. Civ. App.—Dallas 1977); Pulley v. Milberger, 198 S.W.3d 418 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2006, pet. denied); Johnson v. Waters at Elm Creek, 416 S.W.3d 42 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2013, pet. denied)). This tool never decides whether anyone acted in bad faith."
    },
    "deliveryByEmail": {
      "summary": "For leases entered into or renewed on or after September 1, 2025, the deposit refund notice and itemized statement may be delivered by email if you and the tenant had previously communicated by email.",
      "value": {
        "allowed": true,
        "conditions": "Leases entered/renewed on or after 2025-09-01, where the parties previously communicated by email; the landlord may designate a specific email address."
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.113 (added by HB 2037, 2025)",
      "statuteQuote": "(a) Notice and other communications required or permitted by this subchapter may be sent by e-mail if the tenant and the landlord or landlord’s agent have previously communicated by e-mail. (b) The landlord or landlord’s agent may designate a specific e-mail address for a tenant to use for the purpose of Subsection (a).",
      "sourceUrl": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB02037F.HTM",
      "effectiveDate": "2025-09-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "amendedBy": "HB 2037 (89th Leg., R.S., 2025), eff. Sept. 1, 2025",
      "notes": "The email-delivery rule is § 92.113. Its companion § 92.112 (added by the same Act) is a separate provision making a managing agent, leasing agent, or resident manager the landlord's agent for these notices, not the email rule itself. HB 2037 was broader than deposits: it also added parallel manufactured-home provisions in Chapter 94 and amended the Subchapter B repair-notice rules. The § 92.112–92.113 sections and dates are correct as shown. The rule applies only to leases entered into or renewed on/after 2025-09-01; earlier leases stay under prior law. The § 92.1041 mailbox/postmark presumption still references U.S. mail, so emailing the accounting is permitted but does not by itself invoke it."
    },
    "mailboxRule": {
      "summary": "The law presumes you refunded or accounted on time if the refund or accounting is placed in the U.S. mail and postmarked on or before the deadline date. It is a presumption, not a guarantee, but it puts the postmark evidence on your side.",
      "value": {
        "applies": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.1041",
      "statuteQuote": "A landlord is presumed to have refunded a security deposit or made an accounting of security deposit deductions if, on or before the date required under this subchapter, the refund or accounting is placed in the United States mail and postmarked on or before the required date.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.1041",
      "effectiveDate": "1996-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "amendedBy": "Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 744"
    },
    "lastMonthRent": {
      "summary": "A tenant may not skip the last month’s rent and treat the deposit as covering it. A tenant who does is presumed to have acted in bad faith and can owe you three times the rent wrongfully withheld plus your reasonable attorney’s fees.",
      "value": {
        "multiplier": 3,
        "attorneyFees": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.108(a)–(b)",
      "statuteQuote": "(a) The tenant may not withhold payment of any portion of the last month’s rent on grounds that the security deposit is security for unpaid rent. (b) A tenant who violates this section is presumed to have acted in bad faith. A tenant who in bad faith violates this section is liable to the landlord for an amount equal to three times the rent wrongfully withheld and the landlord’s reasonable attorney’s fees in a suit to recover the rent.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.108",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "This is the only tenant-facing penalty in subchapter C. It does not relieve the landlord of the duty to account for the actual deposit on time; treat the skipped rent as an ordinary unpaid-rent charge the tenant owes."
    },
    "scope": {
      "summary": "These rules cover residential rentals of a dwelling in Texas. They do not cover commercial leases, manufactured-home lot tenancies (a different Texas statute), or hotel/short-term stays.",
      "value": {
        "residentialOnly": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.101",
      "statuteQuote": "This subchapter applies to all residential leases.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.101",
      "effectiveDate": "1996-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "Manufactured-home lot tenancies are governed by Chapter 94 (different rules, including a cap). Commercial leases and transient lodging are outside Chapter 92 subchapter C."
    },
    "noticeOfSurrender": {
      "summary": "A lease can require the tenant to give advance notice before moving out as a condition of the refund, but only if that requirement is underlined or in conspicuous bold print in the lease. If it is not, you cannot use a missed-notice clause to keep the deposit.",
      "value": {
        "mustBeConspicuous": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(b)",
      "statuteQuote": "A requirement that a tenant give advance notice of surrender as a condition for refunding the security deposit is effective only if the requirement is underlined or is printed in conspicuous bold print in the lease.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.103",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "notes": "A missed move-out-notice clause is a deduction question (what the tenant owes), not a reason to delay or defeat the deadline."
    },
    "depositDefinition": {
      "summary": "A “security deposit” is any money (other than a rental-application deposit or advance rent) held to secure the lease. A refundable pet deposit is a security deposit and is included. A genuinely non-refundable, lease-disclosed fee and prepaid/last-month’s rent are not part of the refundable deposit. What the money does controls, not what it is labeled.",
      "value": {
        "petDepositCounts": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.102",
      "statuteQuote": "A security deposit is any advance of money, other than a rental application deposit or an advance payment of rent, that is intended primarily to secure performance under a lease of a dwelling that has been entered into by a landlord and a tenant.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.102",
      "derivation": "synthesized",
      "effectiveDate": "1996-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "amendedBy": "Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 744, § 2",
      "notes": "Verbatim for the § 92.102 definition and its exclusions (application deposit, advance rent). Synthesized: that a refundable pet deposit functions as a security deposit. The point that a charge labeled a \"fee\" but used to secure performance is still a security deposit is anchored in the statute, not a named case: § 92.102 (money \"intended primarily to secure performance\") and § 92.111(g) (a fee in lieu of a deposit \"is a security deposit for purposes of this chapter,\" except the insurance-coverage carve-out in § 92.111(h)). Application deposits are governed by §§ 92.351–92.354, not subchapter C."
    },
    "ownershipChange": {
      "summary": "If the property changed owners during the tenancy, by sale, assignment, death, receivership, or bankruptcy, the new owner becomes liable for the return of the deposit from the date they take title, and must give the tenant a signed statement acknowledging that they acquired the property and are responsible for the deposit, stating its exact dollar amount. The former owner stays liable until the new owner receives or assumes the deposit, unless a written contract between them says otherwise. A mortgage lienholder that takes title by foreclosure is not covered by this liability rule.",
      "value": {
        "liabilityShiftsToNewOwner": true
      },
      "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code § 92.105",
      "statuteQuote": "If the owner's interest in the premises is terminated by sale, assignment, death, appointment of a receiver, bankruptcy, or otherwise, the new owner is liable for the return of security deposits according to this subchapter from the date title to the premises is acquired.",
      "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
      "readableUrl": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.105",
      "effectiveDate": "1984-01-01",
      "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
      "confidence": "high",
      "amendedBy": "Acts 2015, 84th Leg., ch. 1198 (S.B. 1367), § 5 (added (b-1)), eff. Jan. 1, 2016",
      "notes": "Subsection (b) requires the new owner to deliver the tenant a signed statement acknowledging that the new owner has acquired the property and is responsible for the security deposit, and specifying the exact dollar amount. Subsection (b-1): the former owner remains liable until the new owner receives or assumes the deposit, unless a written contract says otherwise. Subsection (c): a real estate mortgage lienholder who acquires title by foreclosure is exempt from (a); a third party who buys at the foreclosure sale is an ordinary new owner under (a), not exempt. How the old and new owner settle the deposit between themselves is fact-specific and often contested; the tool flags § 92.105 and points to an attorney rather than deciding it."
    },
    "cities": [
      {
        "city": "Houston",
        "citySlug": "houston",
        "applies": false,
        "summary": "No municipal override. Texas Property Code ch. 92 governs statewide.",
        "checkedFor": [
          "interest"
        ],
        "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (no Houston deposit ordinance)",
        "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
        "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
        "confidence": "high"
      },
      {
        "city": "Dallas",
        "citySlug": "dallas",
        "applies": false,
        "summary": "No municipal override. Texas Property Code ch. 92 governs statewide.",
        "checkedFor": [
          "interest"
        ],
        "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (no Dallas deposit ordinance)",
        "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
        "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
        "confidence": "high"
      },
      {
        "city": "Austin",
        "citySlug": "austin",
        "applies": false,
        "summary": "No municipal override. Texas Property Code ch. 92 governs statewide.",
        "checkedFor": [
          "interest"
        ],
        "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (no Austin deposit ordinance)",
        "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
        "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
        "confidence": "high"
      },
      {
        "city": "San Antonio",
        "citySlug": "san-antonio",
        "applies": false,
        "summary": "No municipal override. Texas Property Code ch. 92 governs statewide.",
        "checkedFor": [
          "interest"
        ],
        "citation": "Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (no San Antonio deposit ordinance)",
        "sourceUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm",
        "lastVerified": "2026-06-25",
        "confidence": "high"
      }
    ],
    "localLaw": {
      "preempted": false,
      "summary": "We found no Texas city with its own security deposit rules. Be aware of the limit of that check: it looked for city deposit-interest requirements, which is the kind of local rule the other states we cover actually have. It did not rule out a city cap or a city deadline, and Texas has more than 1,200 incorporated municipalities.",
      "lastVerified": "2026-09-06"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "Texas Property Code Chapter 92 (official, statutes.capitol.texas.gov)",
        "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm"
      },
      {
        "label": "Texas Property Code Chapter 92 (readable mirror, Public.Law; may lag the newest sections, such as the 2025 §§ 92.112–92.113)",
        "url": "https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_chapter_92"
      },
      {
        "label": "Texas Government Code § 311.014 (Code Construction Act, weekend and holiday deadline extension)",
        "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.311.htm"
      },
      {
        "label": "HB 2037 (2025) enrolled text: added § 92.113 (email notice) and § 92.112 (agents for notice)",
        "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB02037F.HTM"
      },
      {
        "label": "Texas case law cited in the rule notes: Ackerman v. Little (forwarding-address timing); Wilson v. O'Connor, Pulley v. Milberger, and Johnson v. Waters at Elm Creek (bad faith)"
      }
    ]
  }
}