Free Texas Tenant Welcome Letter Template

Last reviewed September 2026

Written by LawLease Editorial

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Texas Tenant Welcome Letter

This Tenant Welcome Letter is built with Texas as the governing state. These are the Texas landlord-tenant rules that most often bear on it, with the statute for each.

Texas rules at a glance

Texas rules for a Tenant Welcome Letter
Landlord entry	No statutory notice requirement — the lease controls
Late fees	Only after rent is unpaid 2 full days; safe harbor 12% of rent (≤4 units) or 10% (5+ units)Tex. Prop. Code §92.019
Security deposit limit	No statutory cap
Deposit return	30 days after surrender, once the tenant gives a written forwarding addressTex. Prop. Code §§92.103, 92.107
Itemized deductions	Any deduction must come with a written description and itemized list. Normal wear and tear can never be deducted (§92.104).

Security deposits in Texas

Texas places no limit on the size of a security deposit and does not require it to be held in a separate or interest-bearing account. The rules are about the refund — and the penalties for getting it wrong are steep.

30-day refund — The landlord must refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises (§92.103(a)). The clock doesn’t start until the tenant gives a written forwarding address — but a tenant doesn’t forfeit the deposit merely by failing to give one (§92.107).
Itemized deductions — Any deduction must come with a written description and itemized list. Normal wear and tear can never be deducted (§92.104).
Advance-notice conditions — A lease clause requiring advance notice of move-out as a condition of the refund is only enforceable if it is underlined or in conspicuous bold print (§92.103(b)).
Bad-faith penalty — A landlord who fails to refund or itemize within 30 days is presumed to have acted in bad faith; bad-faith retention costs $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus the tenant’s attorney’s fees (§92.109).
No “last month” offset — A tenant may not withhold the last month’s rent on the theory that the deposit covers it; doing so is presumed bad faith and exposes the tenant to three times the rent withheld (§92.108).
Email notices — For leases signed or renewed on or after September 1, 2025, deposit-related notices may go by email if the parties have previously communicated by email (§92.113, HB 2037).

Rent, late fees & returned payments

Texas is one of the few states with a precise late-fee statute. A late fee is only collectible if notice of it is in a written lease, it is reasonable, and rent has remained unpaid two full days after the due date (§92.019(a)).

Safe-harbor cap — A fee is presumed reasonable if it doesn’t exceed 12% of one month’s rent for a dwelling in a structure with four or fewer units, or 10% for a structure with more than four. A higher fee must be justified by the landlord’s actual uncertain damages (§92.019(a-1)).
Initial + daily fees — A lease may combine an initial fee with a daily fee, but the two together count as a single late fee against the cap (§92.019(b)).
Penalty — An unlawful late fee costs the landlord $100, three times the fee collected, and the tenant’s attorney’s fees; any lease waiver of these rules is void (§92.019(c)–(d)).
Returned payments — The processing fee for a dishonored check or electronic payment is capped at $30 (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §3.506).
Cash rent — A landlord must accept cash unless the written lease requires another method, and must give a written receipt for cash (§92.011).
Rent increases — Texas has no rent-increase notice statute. A fixed-term lease can’t be changed mid-term without the tenant’s agreement; for a month-to-month tenancy, an increase is effectively an offer of new terms, so landlords give at least the one rental period required to end the tenancy (§91.001).

Landlord entry & access

No Texas statute sets a notice period for landlord entry — the lease controls. Out-of-state forms often recite a “24-hour rule” as if Texas required it; it doesn’t, but if your lease promises 24 hours’ notice, you are bound by that promise.

What Texas does regulate is lockouts and self-help. A landlord may change the locks for unpaid rent only if the right is in the lease and after advance written notice (5 days by mail or 3 days by hand-delivery or inside-door posting), and must hand over a new key at any hour whether or not the rent is paid (§92.0081). Interrupting a tenant’s utility service is separately restricted (§92.008).

Texas Tenant Welcome Letter FAQs

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Texas?

There is no statutory cap — the lease sets the amount. Texas regulates the refund instead: 30 days after the tenant surrenders the unit and provides a written forwarding address, with an itemized list of any deductions (§§92.103, 92.104, 92.107).

How long does a Texas landlord have to return a security deposit?

30 days after the tenant surrenders the premises, but only once the tenant has given a written forwarding address. Missing the deadline creates a presumption of bad faith, which carries $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld and the tenant’s attorney’s fees (§§92.103, 92.109).

What is the maximum late fee in Texas?

A late fee can only be charged once rent has been unpaid for two full days after the due date, and must be in a written lease. It’s presumed reasonable up to 12% of monthly rent for a building with four or fewer units, or 10% for larger buildings; initial and daily fees are added together against that cap (§92.019).

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