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Texas residential lease agreement

Answer the questions, download the lease. Free, no account, and it holds your figures to what Texas allows.

What Texas law does to your lease

These are the figures the builder holds you to. Each one is the statute's, not ours, and the citation is there so you can read it yourself.

RuleTexasWhere it says so
Most a landlord may take as a depositNo statutory limitTexas sets no ceiling. It does define the deposit narrowly: a rental application deposit and an advance payment of rent are not security deposits (92.102), so calling something else a deposit does not make it one.Tex. Prop. Code 92.101 to 92.109
Earliest a late fee may be charged2 days after rent is dueTex. Prop. Code 92.019
Most a late fee may be12% of the rentNothing may be charged unless the written lease says so, the fee is reasonable, and rent has been unpaid two full days. Twelve percent of the periodic rent is the safe harbour on a structure of four dwelling units or fewer and 10 percent above that; more is lawful only up to what the late payment actually costs the landlord to chase.Tex. Prop. Code 92.019
Notice before the landlord may enterNone required by statuteTexas sets no notice period before a landlord enters, so the figure this lease sets is the one that governs.Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy30 daysThe tenancy ends on the later of the day the notice names and one month after the day it was given. Texas lets the parties agree in a signed instrument on a different period, or on none at all, which is unusual and is why the lease should say what it wants.Tex. Prop. Code 91.001(b)

What Texas makes you disclose

100-year floodplain notice
The lease must carry a notice substantially in this form: (Landlord) ( ) is or ( ) is not aware that the dwelling you are renting is located in a 100-year floodplain. If neither box is checked, you should assume the dwelling is in a 100-year floodplain. Even if the dwelling is not in a 100-year floodplain, the dwelling may still be susceptible to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maintains a flood map on its Internet website that is searchable by address, at no cost, to determine if a dwelling is located in a flood hazard area. Most tenant insurance policies do not cover damages or loss incurred in a flood. You should seek insurance coverage that would cover losses caused by a flood. Tex. Prop. Code 92.0135(b)
Who holds title and who manages
The landlord must disclose the name and street or PO box address of the holder of record title, and where an off-site company primarily manages the dwelling, that company's name and street address. Putting it in the lease satisfies the duty; otherwise it is owed in writing within seven days of the tenant asking. Tex. Prop. Code 92.201
Advance notice of surrender, if you require it
A lease may condition the refund of the deposit on the tenant giving advance notice before moving out, but only if that requirement is underlined or printed in conspicuous bold in the lease. Tex. Prop. Code 92.103(b)

The clause most landlords get wrong

Rent stated as a base figure with mandatory fees bolted on beside it. If a fee is not optional, it is rent, and several states now say so outright: the lease has to carry one total figure that the landlord may not charge above. The builder asks for the total and then asks how much of it is fees, which is the same information in the order the law wants it.

The second is the assistance animal. A no-pets clause that does not carve one out is a fair-housing problem, not a pet problem, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for one. Your lease says so whether or not you allow pets.

After it is signed

Download the PDF and it is yours, account or not. If you want the tenant to sign it without printing anything, a free Kouzr account sends it for signature, files the executed copy against the tenancy, and keeps it beside the listing, the rent record and the deposit accounting, so the paperwork for that home is in one place when the tenancy ends.

Is this Texas lease legally binding?

A written lease signed by the landlord and every adult tenant is a contract, and this one is built to say what Texas requires a residential lease to say. What it is not is legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it. It is a form you complete yourself, the same category as the fill-in-the-blank lease sold in an office supply shop, and it is worth having a lawyer in your state read it before you rely on it, especially on a property you will hold for years.

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

Texas sets no statutory ceiling (Tex. Prop. Code 92.101 to 92.109), so the figure is yours to choose. One month is the usual ask and two is the most a tenant will normally accept; every dollar above that is money you have to hold, account for line by line at move-out, and return on the state's clock.

Can a landlord charge a late fee in Texas?

Yes, but not without limit. Texas allows no late fee until 2 days after rent is due, and caps it at 12% of the rent (Tex. Prop. Code 92.019). A fee charged earlier or larger than that is not enforceable, and the rest of the lease still stands. Nothing may be charged unless the written lease says so, the fee is reasonable, and rent has been unpaid two full days. Twelve percent of the periodic rent is the safe harbour on a structure of four dwelling units or fewer and 10 percent above that; more is lawful only up to what the late payment actually costs the landlord to chase.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Texas?

Texas sets no statutory notice period (Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92), so whatever the lease says is what governs. The builder writes 24 hours in by default, which is what most states require and what a court reading an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment is likely to call reasonable. Emergencies need no notice anywhere.

How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Texas?

30 days of written notice from either side (Tex. Prop. Code 91.001(b)). The builder writes that figure into the term clause. A lease may agree on longer notice than the statute; one that gives less is unenforceable to that extent, and the statutory period governs instead. The tenancy ends on the later of the day the notice names and one month after the day it was given. Texas lets the parties agree in a signed instrument on a different period, or on none at all, which is unusual and is why the lease should say what it wants.

Do I have to include a lead-based paint disclosure?

Only if the home was built before 1978, and then yes, everywhere in the country. Federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint, hand over any report they have, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet before the tenant is committed to the lease (42 U.S.C. 4852d). Enter the year built and the builder attaches it for you.

Can I have the tenant sign it online?

Yes. Download the PDF and sign it however you like, or make a free Kouzr account and send it to the tenant for signature from here: they get a link, sign on a phone, and the executed copy files itself against the tenancy alongside rent and the deposit record. The PDF is free either way and does not require an account.

Kouzr is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. The builder produces a form you complete yourself, and no lawyer has reviewed the document it assembles. Have one admitted in Texas read it before you rely on it.