Texas tenant screening laws

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).

The Texas Fair Housing Act bars refusing to rent, or setting different terms, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability. Disability discrimination includes refusing reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, or refusing reasonable modifications the tenant pays for. Race discrimination includes discrimination based on hair texture or protective hairstyles such as braids, locks and twists (Tex. Prop. Code § 301.021; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.025; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.0045; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.041; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.081; Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010).

• Familial status covers pregnancy and living with a child under 18 as a parent or custodian, with the custodian's written permission, or while seeking custody (Tex. Prop. Code § 301.004).
• Narrow exemptions exist, such as an owner of no more than three single-family houses renting without a broker, and an owner living in a building of up to four units; none allows a discriminatory advertisement (Tex. Prop. Code § 301.041; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.022).
• Complaints go to the Texas Workforce Commission within one year, and a private lawsuit may be filed within two years (Tex. Prop. Code § 301.0015; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.081; Tex. Prop. Code § 301.151).
• Texas limits occupancy to three adults per bedroom unless fair housing law requires more, or for up to one month for someone escaping family violence (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010).
• Source of income is not a protected class in the Texas Act, and cities may not require landlords to accept federal housing vouchers (Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 250.007).