A Texas landlord may deduct damages and charges from a security deposit when the tenant is legally responsible for them under the lease or because the tenant breached the lease. Depending on the circumstances, this may include unpaid rent, tenant-caused damage, excessive cleaning, missing keys or remotes, and certain other authorized charges.
However, a landlord cannot deduct for normal wear and tear or automatically pass every turnover expense to the tenant.
The central question is not simply whether the landlord spent money after the tenant moved out. The question is whether the tenant was legally responsible for the condition or charge—and whether the amount withheld is reasonable and properly documented.
Quick answer: Texas landlords can deduct for tenant-caused damage and other amounts the tenant legally owes. They cannot deduct for deterioration caused by ordinary use, age, or a pre-existing condition.
This article provides general information for Texas rental-property owners. It is not individualized legal advice. Landlords should consult a qualified Texas attorney when lease terms, damages, or deductions are disputed.
What can a Texas landlord legally deduct?
Under Texas Property Code §92.104, a landlord may deduct damages and charges for which the tenant is legally liable under the lease or because the tenant breached the lease. The same law prohibits a landlord from retaining any part of the deposit for normal wear and tear.
Depending on the lease and the facts, potentially deductible amounts may include:
- Unpaid rent
- Physical damage caused by the tenant, household members, or guests
- Excessive cleaning required because of the condition in which the property was returned
- Missing keys, garage remotes, gate devices, or other landlord-owned property
- Unpaid utilities or other amounts the tenant is legally obligated to pay
- Certain enforceable lease-violation charges
- Reasonable reletting or early-termination charges when legally applicable
None of these expenses is automatically deductible. The landlord should connect every deduction to the lease, the tenant’s responsibility, the documented condition of the property, and a reasonable amount.
What is normal wear and tear in Texas?
Texas Property Code §92.001 defines normal wear and tear as deterioration resulting from the intended use of a rental home. It does not include deterioration caused by negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse by the tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a guest.
Normal wear and tear may include:
- Carpet that has gradually worn in normal walking areas
- Minor wall scuffs from ordinary use
- Faded or aged paint
- Loose hardware caused by age
- Minor wear on countertops or fixtures
- An older appliance that stops working because of age
- Other deterioration expected from normal occupancy
A security deposit is not intended to pay for routine ownership expenses or restore an older rental home to brand-new condition.
What is considered tenant-caused damage?
Tenant-caused damage generally results from negligence, carelessness, accident, abuse, or a lease violation rather than ordinary use.
Possible examples include:
- Large holes in walls
- Broken doors or windows
- Significant carpet stains, burns, or tears
- Pet damage
- Missing or damaged fixtures
- Unauthorized alterations
- Broken appliances caused by misuse
- Excessive trash or abandoned belongings
- Damage caused by household members or guests
Texas government guidance distinguishes carpet worn by ordinary foot traffic from abnormal damage, such as carpet damaged by a tenant-caused leak.
The same condition may be ordinary wear in one situation and tenant damage in another. The item’s age, condition at move-in, length of tenancy, severity of the damage, and apparent cause all matter.
Can a Texas landlord deduct cleaning expenses?
A landlord may be able to deduct reasonable cleaning costs when the tenant is legally responsible under the lease or when the property is returned substantially dirtier than its documented move-in condition.
Potentially supportable cleaning deductions may include:
- Removing excessive trash or abandoned belongings
- Cleaning appliances with significant grease or food buildup
- Treating heavy stains or excessive grime
- Removing unauthorized paint, adhesives, or alterations
- Addressing animal waste or substantial pet-related residue
- Completing cleaning the tenant was contractually required to perform but did not
Routine cleaning performed between every tenancy is not automatically chargeable to the departing tenant. Light turnover cleaning may remain an ordinary ownership expense, especially if the property was returned in a condition consistent with normal use.
The landlord should compare the move-in and move-out records, review the lease, and charge only for work reasonably connected to the tenant’s responsibility. A standard cleaning deduction imposed regardless of the property’s actual condition may be difficult to justify.
Can unpaid rent or other lease charges be deducted?
A landlord may generally deduct rent the tenant legally owes from the security deposit.
A tenant cannot simply designate the deposit as the final month’s rent. Texas Property Code §92.108 states that a tenant may not withhold the last month’s rent on the grounds that the security deposit will cover it.
Other amounts may be deductible when legally enforceable and applicable to the facts, potentially including:
- Properly assessed late fees
- Utilities owed to the landlord
- Returned-payment charges
- Authorized lease-violation charges
- Reletting or early-termination costs
- Damages caused by failure to provide required move-out notice
A charge appearing on an account ledger is not automatically collectible. The lease provision authorizing it and any applicable Texas law should be reviewed before including it in the deposit accounting.
Can a landlord charge for carpet replacement?
A Texas landlord may be able to deduct for carpet damage caused by the tenant, but not for ordinary aging or wear.
Before assessing a carpet deduction, the landlord should consider:
- The carpet’s age and condition at move-in
- The length of the tenancy
- Whether the condition is ordinary traffic wear or actual damage
- Whether cleaning or a localized repair would correct the problem
- Whether complete replacement is reasonably necessary
- How much of the expense is fairly attributable to the tenant’s damage
Large permanent stains, burns, pet damage, or substantial tearing may support a deduction. Gradually worn carpet ordinarily does not.
The landlord should not automatically charge the full price of brand-new carpet when the removed carpet was already aged or deteriorated. Texas Property Code does not establish a universal residential carpet-depreciation schedule, so the landlord must evaluate the reasonableness of the deduction based on the evidence and circumstances.
Can a landlord deduct repainting costs?
Repainting is not automatically deductible.
Fading, aging paint, and minor scuffing from ordinary occupancy may qualify as normal wear and tear. Repainting between tenants as part of an owner’s usual turnover process does not, by itself, establish tenant liability.
A deduction may be more supportable when repainting is required because of:
- Large or excessive wall damage
- Unauthorized paint colors
- Permanent marks or heavy staining
- Poorly repaired holes
- Smoke residue attributable to a lease violation
- Damage beyond ordinary residential use
The landlord should separate repainting caused by tenant damage from work that would have been necessary because of age or normal turnover.
Can a landlord deduct for missing keys or remotes?
A landlord may be able to deduct the reasonable replacement cost of landlord-owned items the tenant was required to return, such as:
- House or mailbox keys
- Garage-door remotes
- Gate remotes
- Pool or amenity cards
- Other access devices
The lease and move-in records should establish what the tenant received and was required to return. The deduction should correspond to a reasonable replacement or access-restoration cost—not an unrelated penalty unless an enforceable lease provision and applicable law authorize it.
What documentation should a Texas landlord keep?
Good documentation helps establish both tenant responsibility and the reasonableness of the amount withheld.
Important records include:
- The signed lease and applicable addenda
- The security-deposit payment record
- The tenant’s Inventory and Condition Form
- Dated move-in and move-out photographs
- Move-in and move-out inspection reports
- Relevant maintenance and inspection records
- The tenant’s written move-out notice
- The tenant’s written forwarding address
- Vendor estimates, invoices, receipts, or statements
- Communications concerning damage or lease violations
- Records showing the age and prior condition of carpet, paint, appliances, and fixtures
- The final deposit accounting and proof it was sent
The move-in condition is especially important. Without a reliable baseline, it may be difficult to prove that a condition developed during the tenancy.
How should a landlord calculate a reasonable deduction?
A practical deduction process is:
- Confirm responsibility. Identify the lease provision, damage, or breach supporting the charge.
- Compare conditions. Confirm the problem was not pre-existing.
- Separate damage from normal wear. Consider age, ordinary use, and length of tenancy.
- Choose the appropriate remedy. Use cleaning or repair instead of replacement when reasonable.
- Consider prior age and condition. Do not use the deposit to provide the owner with an unjustified upgrade.
- Document the amount. Retain an invoice, estimate, receipt, or other reliable cost support.
- Describe the deduction clearly. Explain what was damaged, where it was located, and what corrective work was required.
An estimate may be useful when work cannot be completed before the accounting deadline, but the amount must still be reasonable and connected to a charge for which the tenant is legally responsible. Landlords should be especially careful with unusually large or disputed estimated costs.
What is the Texas security-deposit deadline?
Texas Property Code §92.103 generally requires a residential landlord to refund the security deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the property.
However, §92.107 states that the landlord is not obligated to return the deposit or provide the written description of deductions until the tenant gives the landlord a written forwarding address. The tenant does not permanently forfeit the deposit merely by failing to provide that address.
Landlords should document:
- When the tenant surrendered possession
- When keys and access devices were returned
- When the written forwarding address was received
- When the accounting and refund were mailed or delivered
The inspection and accounting process should begin promptly instead of being delayed until the end of the applicable period.
What must the itemized deposit accounting include?
When a landlord retains all or part of a deposit, Texas Property Code §92.104 generally requires the landlord to provide:
- The remaining balance of the deposit, if any
- A written description of the damages and charges
- An itemized list of all deductions
The statute contains a narrow exception when the tenant owes rent upon surrender and there is no dispute about the amount of rent owed. In that situation, the landlord is not required by §92.104 to provide the written description and itemized list.
Landlords should not assume this exception applies whenever an account shows unpaid rent—especially if the amount is disputed or the deposit also covers damage or other charges. Providing a clear accounting is generally the more transparent and defensible practice.
What happens when damages exceed the deposit?
A security deposit limits the amount immediately available to apply against the balance. It does not necessarily limit the tenant’s total contractual liability.
When supported damages and lawful charges exceed the deposit, a landlord may:
- Apply the deposit to the properly documented balance.
- Send an accounting showing how the deposit was applied.
- Identify the remaining amount claimed.
- Request payment from the former tenant.
- Consider lawful collection or court remedies if the balance remains unpaid.
Before pursuing an additional balance, the landlord should confirm that every charge is authorized, reasonable, documented, and not attributable to normal wear and tear. Legal review is advisable before reporting a disputed balance to a third-party collector or filing suit.
What happens if a landlord wrongfully withholds the deposit?
Texas Property Code §92.109 places the burden on the landlord to prove that retaining any portion of the deposit was reasonable.
A landlord who retains a deposit in bad faith may be liable for:
- $100
- Three times the portion wrongfully withheld
- The tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees
A landlord who, in bad faith, fails to provide the required written description and itemization may also forfeit the right to retain the deposit or sue the tenant for damages to the property. The statute creates a presumption of bad faith when the landlord fails to timely return the deposit or provide the required accounting.
Final deposit-accounting checklist
Before completing the accounting, confirm that you have:
- Verified the surrender date and written forwarding address
- Reviewed the signed lease and addenda
- Compared move-in and move-out records
- Excluded pre-existing conditions and normal wear and tear
- Confirmed the tenant’s responsibility for every deduction
- Considered the age and prior condition of damaged items
- Used cleaning or repair instead of replacement when reasonable
- Documented each amount
- Prepared a clear written itemization
- Returned the remaining deposit within the applicable period
- Retained proof of mailing or delivery
If the property recently changed management companies, also confirm that the transferred deposit matches the tenant’s lease and prior accounting. See How Security Deposits Are Transferred Between Property Management Companies.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Texas landlord keep the entire security deposit?
A landlord may retain the entire deposit when properly supported damages and lawful charges equal or exceed it. The deposit cannot be kept automatically or used to cover normal wear and tear.
Does a landlord have to attach receipts to the accounting?
Texas Property Code §92.104 generally requires a written description and itemized list of deductions, but it does not expressly require every receipt to be attached to the initial accounting. Landlords should still retain invoices, estimates, photographs, and other evidence supporting the deductions.
Can a landlord use an estimate before repairs are completed?
A reasonable estimate may help support a deduction when the work cannot be completed before the accounting deadline. The amount should be tied to the tenant’s responsibility and reliable cost information. Large, unusual, or disputed estimates should receive legal review.
Does a tenant lose the deposit by failing to provide a forwarding address?
No. The tenant does not forfeit the right to the deposit merely by failing to provide a forwarding address. However, the landlord’s obligation to return the deposit or provide the accounting does not arise until the tenant supplies a written forwarding address.
Who handles the deposit when a property is professionally managed?
That depends on the management agreement and how the deposit is held. A full-service property manager may conduct the move-out inspection, assemble the supporting documentation, calculate appropriate deductions, issue the accounting, and return the remaining funds.
Sugarland Property Management Group assists rental-property owners with move-in and move-out documentation, maintenance coordination, lease enforcement, and security-deposit accounting throughout Sugar Land, Richmond, Missouri City, Katy, Pearland, Stafford, Rosenberg, Houston, and surrounding Greater Houston communities.
Learn more about our property management services and Sugar Land property management services.