Texas security deposit rules.
The Texas rules for residential security deposits in plain English: how much can be charged, how fast it comes back, whether interest is owed, and what catches operators out.
Last reviewed · Statute: Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103 · Not legal advice
How much can be charged
No statutory limit on the deposit amount. A 2025 bill to cap deposits at one month’s rent (HB 2901) died in committee.
When it has to come back
30 days from termination and receipt of forwarding address, with itemised deductions.
Interest
No interest is required.
Where the money has to sit
No segregation requirement.
What catches operators out
- Bad-faith retention triggers $100 + 3× wrongfully withheld + reasonable attorney’s fees, one of the more punitive regimes.
- The landlord need not refund or itemise until the tenant gives a written forwarding address, but the tenant does not forfeit the deposit by failing to do so. In any suit the landlord bears the burden of proving deductions were reasonable.
What this looks like with Standby in Texas.
When a resident takes a Standby certificate there is no cash deposit to hold, so the cap, the return deadline and the interest rules above have nothing to attach to. You are covered up to the full deposit and draw on it when you need to.
When a resident pays cash instead, Standby handles that deposit under your lease and Texas law, so your team is not tracking return deadlines by hand.
This page summarises the most common single-family and multifamily residential rule in Texas. Furnished units, senior leases, mobile-home tenancies and short-term rentals can differ, and city ordinances may override the state default. Check the statute before relying on a figure for a specific lease.