States/Texas
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Texas renter billing guide

Texas Rental Charges & Security Deposit Guide

Plain-English guidance built from the Texas Property Code, Texas Attorney General materials and Public Utility Commission rules. Start with the charge you received, then verify the source directly.

Last reviewed: August 30, 2026Primary law: Property Code § 92.103 ↗
Texas highlights: the main residential security-deposit refund period is 30 days after surrender, but a written forwarding address is important because the landlord’s refund/itemization duty is delayed until it is provided. Deposit deductions cannot cover normal wear and tear. Texas also has detailed PUC rules for covered submetered and allocated apartment water/wastewater billing.
Deposit refund period30 days

Subject to the written forwarding-address rule in § 92.107.

Forwarding addressGive it in writing

The landlord’s refund/itemization obligation is delayed until written notice is provided.

Normal wear and tearNot deductible

Texas Property Code § 92.104 expressly excludes normal wear from deposit deductions.

Covered apartment water billingPUC rules apply

Submetered and allocated water/wastewater billing has lease, calculation, record and complaint rules.

Texas charge guides

These pages are indexable because their legal layer has been checked against primary Texas statutes or official state-agency materials.

What makes Texas different

The written forwarding-address rule is especially important in Texas. A tenant does not lose the underlying right to a refund merely by failing to provide an address, but the landlord is not obligated to return the deposit or provide the written damage-and-charge description until a written forwarding address is supplied.

Texas also defines “normal wear and tear” in statute, which makes that definition a key reference point for carpet, paint and other condition-related deductions.

Core official sources