Texas Security Deposit Demand Letter - Get Your Money Back

Under Texas Property Code 92.103, 92.104, 92.107, and 92.109, the deposit response usually has to be sent within 30 days after surrender, once a written forwarding address is given of the move-out timeline described by the state rule.

Texas Property Code 92.104 lets the landlord deduct only damages and charges for which the tenant is legally liable under the lease or because the lease was breached. If the landlord keeps any part of the deposit, the landlord must send the balance, if any, together with a written description and itemized list of all deductions.

Texas has an important tenant-side trap too: the 30-day clock is tied to surrender of the premises, but Texas Property Code 92.107 says the landlord does not have to return the deposit or send the damage accounting until the tenant provides a written forwarding address. If you moved out and only sent the new address by text or phone, fix that first before escalating.

Texas Property Code 92.001 defines normal wear and tear as deterioration from the intended use of the dwelling, including age-related breakage or malfunction, and says it does not include deterioration caused by negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse. That definition matters because many Texas withholding disputes are really fights over whether the landlord is calling ordinary aging "damage" to justify keeping money.

Common Texas problems include flat painting charges with no explanation, carpet replacement billed at full cost even when the flooring was already old, generic cleaning deductions after ordinary move-out, and itemized lists that still do not identify what was actually wrong in the unit. Those are the fact patterns where the tenant should compare the paperwork against the statute, not just against the landlord's opinion.

If your issue is narrower than a full refund dispute, work through the Texas carpet cleaning guide, the Texas deposit deadline guide, and the Texas no itemized deduction list guide before sending the formal letter.

Texas has some of the clearest penalty language in the country. Under Texas Property Code 92.109, a landlord who in bad faith retains a security deposit is liable for $100, three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.

The same section also says a landlord who in bad faith fails to provide the required written description and itemized list forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the deposit or sue the tenant for property damage, and a landlord who misses the 30-day deadline is presumed to have acted in bad faith. That is why a Texas demand letter should always lock down the surrender date and forwarding-address date.