How to become a landlord in Texas

Prepare the property, application process and lease before move-in, then track the safety and management steps that follow possession. Use the detailed Texas topics in this guide for the applicable notices, documents, conditions and deadlines (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135).

• Compare similar homes by location, size, condition and included services. Budget for taxes, insurance, utilities you pay, maintenance, turnover and vacancy, with a reserve for unexpected work. Check local rental registration, licensing, inspection, zoning and safety requirements for the address. Use actual bills and rent receipts to update the plan (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052).
• Prepare lawful selection criteria and the required printed notice and acknowledgment when providing applications. Review the application-fee, application-deposit and response rules before collecting money or ordering reports. Apply fair-housing requirements and keep the criteria, report information, decision notices, receipts and communications together with appropriate access limits (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.3515).See Application and screening fees on the Texas page
• Confirm the parties, home, dates, rent, deposits, utilities, payment methods and entry arrangements in the lease. Prepare the flood notice, repair-remedy and early-termination statements, emergency phone contact and other applicable disclosures. Deliver the required signed lease copy and retain delivery records; use the disclosure topic to check each item’s timing and conditions (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.056; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.020; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.024).See Required disclosures and lease language on the Texas page
• Complete repairs and document the starting condition with dated photos. Check required security devices and alarms, schedule the required rekeying and record completion. Explain rent payments, routine repair requests and urgent contacts to the resident. Organize the ledger, receipts, notices, maintenance history and communications, and calendar lease events and deadlines (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.153; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.156; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.258).See Locks and security devices on the Texas page

Give the flood notice of 92.0135 in the lease, an addendum or a separate signed document at or before signing, and put an underlined or bold notice of the tenant's repair remedies in every lease. Include the two early-termination statements too; without them, a tenant who leaves under those sections owes no overdue rent. The landlord must also give tenants a telephone number for reporting emergencies, disclose the record owner and any off-site manager on request, and deliver a complete copy of the signed lease within three business days (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.016; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0161; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.017; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.056; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.020; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.201; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.024; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0131).

• Parking or towing rules in a multiunit complex: give the tenant a signed copy before the lease is signed; if they sit in the lease or an attachment, the paragraph title must read Parking or Parking Rules and be capitalized, underlined or bold (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0131).
• Tenant selection criteria must be made available with the rental application (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.3515).
• Some landlord rights exist only if the lease grants them in a particular form: a lock change for unpaid rent, a contractual landlord's lien (underlined or conspicuous bold), charging the tenant for security device damage (underlined), deducting rekeying costs after a breach (underlined or bold), a move-out notice condition on the deposit refund (underlined or bold), and landlord remedies for a disabled smoke alarm (underlined or bold) (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(d); Tex. Prop. Code § 54.043; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.162(b); Tex. Prop. Code § 92.156(e); Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(b); Tex. Prop. Code § 92.2611(d)).
• Offering a fee in lieu of a deposit requires written notice of the tenant's options and a signed agreement (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.111).
• The lease copy may be given on paper, electronically if the tenant asks, or by e-mail if the parties have e-mailed about the lease (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.024(e)).
• A lease may not bar a tenant or guest from lawfully possessing, carrying, transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition in the unit, in a vehicle in tenant parking, or on the way in or out, unless state or federal law prohibits it (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.026).
• A guarantor who is not a tenant is liable only for the original lease term, unless the original lease states the last date a renewal will bind the guarantor and the other terms 92.021 requires (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.021).

On a tenant's request, disclose the name and street or post office box address of the record title holder, and the name and street address of any off-site management company, within seven days. You can meet this in advance by putting the information in the lease or written rules, or by posting it continuously in the unit or at the on-site office (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.201; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.202; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.205; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.020; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.003).

• Liability arises only after the tenant also gives written notice that remedies may be used if you do not answer within seven days; the tenant may then get a court order, the cost of finding the information, one month's rent plus $100, fees, and may end the lease (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.202; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.205).
• Rent owed on the notice date is a defense, but not for willfully false information (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.206; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.204).
• Keep the information current and correct it within seven days after a tenant's written notice (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.203).
• A management company named in writing to the tenant is the owner's sole agent for service of process in tenant suits (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.003).
• Give tenants a telephone number for reporting emergencies; with an on-site office it must be answered 24 hours a day and posted outside the office (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.020).

Give each tenant a written notice, substantially equivalent to the statutory form, stating whether you are aware the home is in a 100-year floodplain; the form also warns that most renters insurance does not cover flood loss. If you know flooding damaged the home at least once in the five years before the lease takes effect, give a second notice about that. The notices go in a lease paragraph, an addendum or a separate document given at or before signing, and both parties sign it (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135).

• If neither box on the floodplain notice is checked, the tenant should assume the home is in the floodplain (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(b)).
• You need not say the home is in the floodplain if it has been raised above the 100-year flood level under federal rules (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(c)).
• Leases shorter than 30 days, and short occupancy under a contract of sale, are exempt (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(a-1)).
• If you skip the notice and the tenant loses at least half the value of their belongings to a flood, the tenant may end the lease within 30 days, and you refund prepaid rent within 30 days after termination (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(f), (g)).
• Flooding includes overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid runoff from an established water source, and excessive rainfall (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(a)).

Install at least one smoke alarm in each bedroom, in the hallway serving multiple bedrooms, and on each level of the unit, and test each one when the tenant moves in. During the tenancy, inspect and repair an alarm within a reasonable time after the tenant reports a problem or asks. On request, an alarm must be able to alert a person with a hearing impairment (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.255; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.254; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.258; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.260; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.2611).

• Alarms must be listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual or United States Testing and installed per the manufacturer, on a ceiling at least 6 inches from a wall or on a wall 6 to 12 inches below the ceiling unless the instructions say otherwise (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.254; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.257).
• Units occupied, or given a certificate of occupancy, before September 1, 2011 may use battery-powered alarms that are not interconnected, with limits on replacements (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.255(b)).
• You need not supply batteries after move-in if the alarm worked at move-in; for damage the tenant caused, you repair only if the tenant pays in advance (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.258).
• If you fail to act within seven days after the tenant's written notice, the tenant may get a court order, a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $100, fees, or end the lease (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.259; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.260).
• A landlord may recover damages from a tenant who disables an alarm; a court order, a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $100, costs and attorney's fees also require an underlined or bold lease notice and a separate written notice giving the tenant seven days to fix it (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.2611).
• The subchapter does not apply to buildings of five or more stories where a local ordinance regulates smoke alarms, among other exemptions (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.253).

Without being asked, a landlord must equip each unit, at the landlord's expense, with a window latch on every exterior window; a keyed dead bolt or doorknob lock, a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on every exterior door; and a pin lock plus a handle latch or security bar on every exterior sliding glass door. Rekey every key, card or combination device within seven days after each new tenant moves in, at your expense. Repair or replace a broken device when the tenant asks, and rekey or change locks at the tenant's expense whenever the tenant requests (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.153; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.156; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.158; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.161; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.164).

• Keyed dead bolts and keyless bolting devices go at least 36 inches from the floor and no higher than 48 inches (54 for installs before September 1, 1993), with a strike plate and, for newer installs, a one-inch throw (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.154).
• Tenant requests are presumed handled in a reasonable time within seven days, or within 72 hours when the tenant reports an unauthorized entry or attempt at the unit, or one at another unit or a violent crime at the complex in the prior two months (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.161).
• A tenant's request may be oral unless an underlined or bold lease term requires writing (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.159).
• If you fail to install or rekey a required device, the tenant may do it and deduct the cost. If it is still not done three days after you receive the tenant's written request (seven days if the lease carries the notice in 92.164(b), unless the tenant reported a break-in or violent crime), the tenant may end the lease or sue for a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500 and other relief (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.164; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.165).
• The subchapter does not cover hotels, accredited college or preparatory school housing, or short occupancy under a contract of sale (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.152).
• A keyless bolting device may be omitted in some housing for tenants over 55 or with a disability (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.153(e), (f)).

Texas does not cap the amount of a security deposit. A security deposit is any advance of money meant mainly to secure the tenant's performance under the lease, other than a rental application deposit or rent paid in advance (Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.101 to 92.113).

• A landlord who requires a deposit may offer a recurring fee in lieu of it, but must also offer the deposit, may not use the tenant's choice when deciding the application, and needs a written agreement signed by both sides (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.111).
• A fee in lieu of a deposit counts as a security deposit unless the parties signed the written agreement and the fee buys insurance covering both damages and unpaid rent the tenant owes (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.111(g), (h)).

A landlord must keep accurate records of all security deposits. Nothing in the deposit subchapter requires paying interest or holding an owner-landlord's deposits in a separate account. A real estate license holder (a broker or sales agent) is different: while engaged in real estate brokerage, commingling other people's money or failing to deposit trust funds within a reasonable time with a Texas-authorized title company or in a trust or escrow account at a Texas-authorized bank is grounds for license discipline (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.106; Tex. Occ. Code § 1101.652).

• The tenant's claim to the deposit ranks ahead of the landlord's creditors, including a bankruptcy trustee (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(c)).

No section of Property Code chapter 92 requires a general move-in condition inspection, checklist or photo record. The only move-in checks it requires are testing each smoke alarm and, where the landlord installed a fire extinguisher under a local ordinance or other law, inspecting it. A dated record of the unit's condition at move-in is still useful evidence if a deposit deduction is disputed (Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.258; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.263).

• In a tenant's suit over the deposit, the landlord must prove that keeping any part of it was reasonable (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(c)).
• Normal wear and tear, which can never be deducted, means deterioration from intended use; it does not include damage from negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse by the tenant, household members or guests (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.001(4); Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104(b)).

Texas does not cap application fees. When you give out a rental application, you must make available printed notice of your tenant selection criteria and the grounds for denial, such as criminal history, rental history, current income, credit history, or inaccurate or incomplete information, and the applicant signs an acknowledgment. If you reject an applicant without having made that notice available, you must return the application fee and any application deposit (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.3515; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.351; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.352; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.353; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.354).

• The acknowledgment must include a statement substantively equivalent to the one 92.3515(c) sets out; it may be part of the application if the notice is underlined or in bold (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.3515(c)).
• An application fee is a nonrefundable payment to offset screening costs; an application deposit is refundable if the applicant is rejected (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.351).
• An applicant is deemed rejected if you do not give notice of acceptance by the seventh day after a completed application; rejecting one co-applicant rejects all (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.352).
• Notice by telephone, or by mail postmarked by the required date, is presumed given; a deadline on a weekend or holiday runs to the end of the next day (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.353).
• Bad-faith failure to refund costs $100, three times the amount wrongfully kept and attorney's fees, and a waiver in the application is void (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.354; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.355).
• Keep what a reporting agency may report separate from the criteria a landlord may lawfully use. The State Law Library's housing resource distinguishes the federal seven-year arrest-record limit from convictions that may be reported indefinitely under federal law. It also flags that Texas section 20.05's criminal-record time limit may be unenforceable because of federal preemption. Do not promise a universal seven-year cutoff or treat every available record as permission to deny housing. Check the record type, dates, outcome, applicable reporting authority and fair-housing protections with the provider and qualified legal help; resolve mismatches and required notices separately (Texas State Law Library: housing and criminal records; Tex. Bus. & Com. Code section 20.05).