Texas Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Texas residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Texas's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: No statewide statutory limit. Texas does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 30 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: No statewide statute. Late fees: Reasonable safe-harbor caps: generally 12% for <=4 units; 10% for >4 units; must be in lease, with a grace period of 2 full days. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 unless lease provides otherwise days. (Entry notice citation: No statewide statute.)

Required disclosures

A Texas lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • tenant remedies/security devices
• • parking/towing
• • flood disclosure
• • right to repair/remedy notices where applicable

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Texas: 3 unless lease provides shorter/longer as allowed This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 (3 days, unless lease specifies otherwise).)

What actually distinguishes Texas

Texas sets no statewide statutory cap on the security deposit amount — the lease itself is what controls how much you can charge, so put the amount and any pet/move-in fees in writing.

There's no statewide statutory notice period for landlord entry in Texas, which means the lease is the only thing establishing that expectation — silence in the lease leaves it genuinely undefined.

At 3 unless lease provides shorter/longer as allowed, Texas's notice period for nonpayment is on the short end nationally — landlords can move to the next step quickly, but that also means less room for a paperwork mistake to cost you time.

Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies in Texas is 30 unless lease provides otherwise days — different from the 30-day default most other states use, so don't assume the general rule applies here.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Texas's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Texas landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at Tex. Prop. Code § 92.101 et seq (no statutory cap), with the return deadline set by Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103 (30 days). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Texas's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Texas landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Texas-specific clauses built in automatically.