How Long Does a Texas Landlord Have to Send the Itemized Security Deposit Statement?

A Texas landlord has 30 days after the day the tenant surrenders the premises and gives a forwarding address in writing to return the security deposit or deliver a written, itemized statement of the deductions, under Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103–92.109.

The rule in one list

• Return deadline: 30 days after the day the tenant surrenders the premises and gives a forwarding address in writing.
• Itemized deductions: required in writing.
• Forwarding address: the tenant should give one in writing; it affects the deadline or the remedy.
• Penalty for wrongful withholding: Bad-faith retention: $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees. A landlord who neither returns nor itemizes within 30 days is presumed to have acted in bad faith.
• Small claims limit: $20,000.
• Statute: Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103–92.109.

What the statement has to do

• List each deduction separately with its amount; a single "cleaning and repairs" line is the kind of statement courts reject.
• Cover only damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, and charges the lease allows.
• Keep the receipts, invoices, or estimates behind each line; the tenant can demand them and a court will.
• State the balance being returned and enclose it, or state that the deductions exceed the deposit.

What missing the deadline costs

Bad-faith retention: $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees. A landlord who neither returns nor itemizes within 30 days is presumed to have acted in bad faith. The statute does not ask whether the deductions were fair; it asks whether the tenant got the statement in time. In Texas the tenant's written forwarding address is part of the timeline, so record the date you received it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does the 30-day clock start at move-out or at lease end?
A: At the day the tenant surrenders the premises and gives a forwarding address in writing. When the two differ, the earlier date is the safer one to work from; a court will not credit you for days the tenant was already gone.

Q: Can I send the itemized statement by email in Texas?
A: Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103–92.109 sets the deadline; use a delivery method you can prove, such as certified mail, and keep a copy. Email alone is hard to prove if the tenant denies receiving it.

Q: What if repairs are not finished within 30 days?
A: Send the statement anyway, with the estimate for the unfinished work marked as an estimate, and follow with the final figures. A late statement is the failure Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103–92.109 penalises; an estimated one is not.

Sources Checked

• Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103–92.109 (the Texas statute cited above)
• LeaseLenses Texas deposit and notice data set, last reviewed 2026-09-19; the same data powers the Texas document tools
• Texas landlord-tenant overview and the Texas deposit rules page

This page is general legal information for Texas, not legal advice. Statutes change; read the current text before relying on a deadline in court.