Texas Landlord-Tenant Laws 2026: What Renters and Landlords Need to Know
Texas Landlord-Tenant Laws 2026: What Renters and Landlords Need to Know
Texas eviction appeals changed for petitions filed on or after January 1, 2026. Most guides still describe the old process, or the whole one. Senate Bill 38 now requires a tenant appealing a justice-court eviction judgment to swear under penalty of perjury to two things at once: a good faith belief that they have a meritorious defense, and that the appeal isn’t filed just to delay. The tenant also has to pay rent into the court’s registry to stay in the unit while the appeal is pending. The county court then has to hold trial within 21 days. The 5-day window to file the appeal hasn’t changed. What happens after filing has. Eviction suits filed before January 1, 2026 stay under the old rules — this only reaches the newer filings. A second correction: Texas’s “2-day grace period” isn’t a grace period at all. It’s the trigger date for when a late fee becomes chargeable, and the fee itself is capped by percentage, not just “reasonable.” Texas Property Code Title 8, Chapter 92, is still the right starting point for everything else.
Security Deposits in Texas
| Requirement | Texas Law |
|---|---|
| Maximum Deposit | No statutory limit |
| Return Deadline | 30 days after move-out, with an itemized list of any deductions |
| Interest Required? | Not required |
| Missing-Itemization Penalty | Landlord forfeits the right to withhold anything and can’t sue the tenant for property damage (§ 92.104’s itemization duty, enforced via § 92.109) |
| Bad-Faith Retention Penalty | A separate, harsher remedy: $100, plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney’s fees (§ 92.109(a)) |
| Bad-Faith Presumption | Triggers automatically if the landlord doesn’t return the deposit or account for deductions within 30 days of getting the tenant’s forwarding address — rebuttable, but the landlord carries the burden once it’s triggered |
These are two different penalties for two different failures, not one blended rule. Skip the itemized list entirely, and the landlord loses the whole argument over damage deductions. Full stop, no multiplier needed. Provide a list but withhold in bad faith anyway, and the landlord owes the $100-plus-triple-damages formula instead. A tenant who wants either remedy needs to give a written forwarding address. That’s what starts the 30-day clock the bad-faith presumption runs on.
Lease Agreements and Disclosures
Texas’s statute of frauds sets the actual threshold: a lease running longer than one year has to be in writing to be enforceable (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 26.01(b)(5)). A lease of a year or less can be oral and still binding, though harder to prove in a dispute. Required disclosures before or at signing:
- Lead-based paint hazards for housing built before 1978 (federal requirement)
- Known flooding history and current flood-zone status
- Smoke detector information
- The tenant’s right-to-repair procedure under § 92.056/§ 92.0561
- The name and address of the owner or an authorized managing agent
Rent Control, Rent Increases, and the Late Fee Rules
| Rule | Texas Law |
|---|---|
| Rent Control | Barred for ordinary use, but not absolutely — a city may impose it during a declared disaster-related housing emergency if the governor approves the ordinance (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 214.902) |
| Rent Increase Notice | 30 days for month-to-month, unless the lease says otherwise; no separate statute caps the increase amount |
| Late Fee Trigger | Can’t be charged until any part of the rent is unpaid a full 2 days after the due date (§ 92.019) |
| Late Fee Cap | Presumed reasonable at 12% of rent for a property of 4 units or fewer, 10% for more than 4 units — a higher fee is allowed only if the landlord can show actual uncertain damages that justify it |
| Late Fee Violation Penalty | $100, plus three times the late fee actually charged in violation, plus attorney’s fees |
The “2-day grace period” framing that circulates online undersells this rule twice over. First, it’s not a grace period on the rent itself. It’s the earliest a late fee can attach — the rent is still due on the due date. Second, “must be reasonable” isn’t the actual standard. The statute names specific percentages. A landlord charging above them needs to justify it with real numbers, not just call the fee reasonable.
Eviction Process in Texas
| Eviction Type | Notice Period | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Payment of Rent | 3-day notice to vacate, unless the lease specifies a different period | Tenant must pay in full within the notice period or face a forcible-detainer filing |
| Lease Violation / No-Cause (Fixed Term) | 3-day notice, or whatever the lease specifies | Same default period as nonpayment unless the lease sets its own |
| No-Cause (Month-to-Month) | 30 days’ written notice | Applies to periodic tenancies without a fixed term |
After a justice-court judgment for the landlord, the tenant has 5 calendar days to file an appeal. That number hasn’t changed. What the tenant has to do to make the appeal stick has, for eviction suits filed on or after January 1, 2026. Senate Bill 38 added a sworn statement under penalty of perjury covering two things: a good faith belief in a meritorious defense, and that the appeal isn’t just to run out the clock. The tenant must also pay rent into the court’s registry to remain in the unit while the case is pending in county court. The county court then has to hold trial within 21 days of the appeal. Missing the 5-day filing window is jurisdictional. The county court can’t hear a late appeal no matter the merits, and there’s no built-in extension. A suit filed before 2026-01-01 isn’t reached by any of this — only the filing date of the eviction petition decides which rules apply, not when the appeal itself gets filed.
Maintenance and Repair Obligations
Implied Warranty of Habitability
Texas landlords must make a diligent effort to repair conditions materially affecting health or safety (§ 92.052); a lease can’t waive this duty.
Repair-and-Deduct — and the Cap Most Guides Skip
Section 92.0561 sets a specific two-notice sequence: written notice to the landlord describing the problem and the repair the tenant intends to make, then a second notice stating the tenant’s intent to actually repair and deduct, or to terminate. The waiting period between the two isn’t a flat 7 days the way most guides frame it — it depends on the condition, and two of the four paths carry a condition most guides skip entirely. Sewage backups or flooding allow the tenant to move immediately. A cut-off water supply gets a 3-day wait with no extra step. Inadequate heating or cooling also gets 3 days, but only after a local housing, building, or health official has notified the landlord in writing that the lack of heat or cooling materially affects health or safety — without that official notice, the 3-day path for a broken A/C or furnace isn’t open yet. Everything else affecting health or safety gets the full 7 days. The repair itself has to be done by a company, contractor, or repairman listed in the phone or business directory — the statute specifically bars the tenant, the tenant’s immediate family, or the tenant’s employer or employees from doing the work themselves and still deducting the cost. What most guides leave out entirely is the dollar limit: the deduction in any one month can’t exceed one month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater, and that ceiling resets every month rather than applying once per tenancy. For a subsidized tenant, the “one month’s rent” side of that comparison means the fair market rent for the unit, not the reduced amount the tenant actually pays — a materially higher cap than a reader would guess from their own rent check.
Tenant Rights and Protections
| Protection | Texas Law |
|---|---|
| Entry Notice | No statute sets a specific number of hours or days; the standard is reasonable notice at a reasonable time |
| Retaliation Protection | Six-month presumption against retaliation for repair requests, code complaints, or exercising a lease/statutory right (§ 92.331) — but the presumption doesn’t apply at all if the tenant is delinquent in rent, and certain evictions under § 92.332 are exempted outright |
| Domestic Violence / Family Violence | Early termination on a protective order or a healthcare provider’s documentation of family violence, plus 30 days’ written notice (§ 92.016) — termination is immediate, no 30-day wait, if the tenant lived with the abuser; rent and other sums already owed before termination are still due |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a grace period for rent in Texas? Not exactly. § 92.019 sets when a late fee can first attach — a full 2 days after the due date — not a delay on the rent itself. The fee is capped at 12% of rent (4 units or fewer) or 10% (more than 4 units) unless the landlord can justify more with real damages.
What changed about Texas eviction appeals in 2026? Senate Bill 38, reaching eviction suits filed on or after January 1, 2026. The 5-day filing deadline is the same as before, but a tenant now has to swear both that they have a meritorious defense and that the appeal isn’t just to delay, plus pay rent into the court registry to keep possession during the appeal — and the county court must try the case within 21 days.
Can a Texas tenant repair something and deduct the cost from rent? Yes, under § 92.0561’s two-notice procedure, up to one month’s rent or $500 per month, whichever is greater — and only using a listed company, contractor, or repairman, never the tenant or their own family or employer. How long the tenant has to wait between notices depends on the problem: immediately for sewage or flooding, 3 days for no water, 7 days for most other health or safety issues. A broken heater or A/C also gets 3 days, but only once a local housing, building, or health official has told the landlord in writing that it’s a health or safety problem — skip that step and the 3-day path isn’t available yet. Skipping a notice, doing the repair yourself, or exceeding the cap can void the remedy.
Does Texas allow rent control anywhere? Only in one narrow case: a city may adopt it during a declared disaster-related housing emergency, and only with the governor’s approval. Outside that, local rent control is barred statewide.
What documentation does a family-violence victim need to end a Texas lease early? A protective order or a licensed healthcare provider’s documentation of the violence, plus 30 days’ written notice — unless the tenant lived with the abuser, in which case the lease ends immediately with no waiting period.