Texas Lease Agreement

1. The basics. Landlord and tenants, the address, the term, rent and due date, deposit, utilities, pets, smoking and entry.
2. What the Texas Property Code requires in the lease. The tenant's repair remedies in bold or underlined print (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.056(g)), the early termination statements for family violence, military service, sexual offenses and stalking (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.016(f), Tex. Prop. Code § 92.017(g), Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0161(g)), the flood disclosure (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135), and the landlord's right to change locks if you plan to use it (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(d)(1)).
3. Good to put in. The owner of record and any off-site manager (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.201), a 24-hour emergency phone number (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.020), and the late fee terms (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019).

This form prints all of these with the statute next to each clause. Give the tenant a complete copy within three business days after everyone signs (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.024).

The Texas Property Code sets no maximum deposit. The landlord must refund it on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the unit (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(a)), with a written, itemized list of deductions, and may not keep any part for normal wear and tear (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.104). The clock waits until the tenant gives a written forwarding address, but the tenant does not lose the deposit by not giving one (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.107). A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith owes $100, three times the amount wrongfully withheld and the tenant's attorney's fees, and missing the 30 days creates a presumption of bad faith (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109).

Want move-out notice as a condition of the refund? Choose "Required, in writing" - Texas enforces it only if the clause is underlined or in bold, so the form prints it that way (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103(b)). The landlord has to prove deductions were reasonable (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(c)), so walk through the unit at move-in with a move-in checklist.

A late fee is allowed only if it is in a written lease, it is reasonable, and rent has remained unpaid two full days after the due date (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019(a)). It counts as reasonable if it is not more than 12% of the month's rent for a building with four or fewer units, or 10% for a building with more than four (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019(a-1)); an initial fee and daily fees count together as one fee (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019(b)). The penalty for breaking the rule is $100, three times the fee collected and the tenant's attorney's fees (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019(c)).

The form does the math: pick the building size and it caps the fee at 12% or 10% of the rent and never starts it earlier than two full days after the due date.

Every Texas lease of 30 days or more needs two notices in the wording set by law: whether the landlord is aware the home is in a 100-year floodplain, and whether the landlord is aware it flooded at least once in the last five years (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(b), Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(d)). They can be a paragraph of the lease, and the landlord and tenant must both sign the document that contains them (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(e)). If the landlord skips them and the tenant's belongings are badly damaged in a flood, the tenant may end the lease (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135(f)). Pick the two answers in the form and the lease checks the right boxes.

Yes, but only if that right is written in the lease (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(d)(1)), after an advance written notice, and the tenant must get a key to the new lock at any hour, whether or not the rent is paid (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(f)). A landlord who breaks these rules owes one month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages and attorney's fees (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(h)). The lease includes the lockout clause with the key right in bold.

The landlord must make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects an ordinary tenant's health or safety after notice (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052). If the landlord does not, the tenant may end the lease, repair and deduct within the limit of one month's rent or $500, whichever is greater (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0561(b)), or go to court (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0563). The lease must explain these remedies in bold or underlined print (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.056(g)) - this form does. The repair duty cannot be waived in the lease: knowingly doing so costs one month's rent plus $2,000 (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0563(b)).

If the tenant stays after the end date and you accept rent, the lease becomes month to month. Either side can end it with written notice; it ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after the notice is given (Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001).

For unpaid rent, since January 1, 2026 a Texas landlord must give at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing an eviction, unless the lease sets a different period (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)). Use our Texas eviction notice for that step.

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