We get a lot of questions about landlord-tenant law and what landlords can and cannot legally do. A renter asked about her security deposit back. She says she left her duplex in good condition and she gave 30 days notice but her landlord is not giving it back. What can she do?
Renter security deposit rules in Texas
Security deposit rules in the Texas property code say the landlord has 30 days from the time you move out and give them your forwarding address to send you your security deposit back. The law is clear that if the landlord keeps any portion of it, they have to clearly tell you why they kept any amount, and what damages you caused that they need to use that deposit to make repairs you caused. All of that is clear.
Yolanda Burnett’s question about the deposit is a little different.
Renter never had a written lease-- Can she still get her deposit back?
Yolanda says she never had a written lease. She found the duplex in Kashmere Gardens when she was driving by and she saw a “for rent” sign with a phone number. The property manager met her at the duplex, showed her around, took her deposit and gave her a receipt. She says she paid month-to-month and never received a written lease contract. So when she decided to move out, the process was just as informal.
We asked Dana Karni with Lone Star Legal Aid about this. She joined Amy for an Ask Amy Episode. First, she explains a common confusion people have regarding leases and renting.
“So let me maybe correct a misconception. A lot of people think they don’t have a lease because they don’t have a written lease. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a lease. You could, in fact, have a lease agreement, even if it’s an oral lease. And so it sounds like she did have a lease. It just was not a written lease with this particular landlord,” explained Karni.
Amy: “And so then does she have any rights if she gave 30 days’ notice but she didn’t give anything in writing? She said the manager just accepted her notice, and so she just assumed she was going to get her deposit back.”
Karni: “Right. So the law does require on a month-to-month lease that if either party wants to terminate the lease, they’re required to give a 30-day notice. If the parties reach some sort of an agreement on the surrender date, then they’ve reached an agreement. Hopefully that’s in writing. I think that when you’re talking about short-term tenancies, and certainly if there’s not a written lease agreement, parties might reach some sort of an agreement in writing, which is to say, ‘You know, I want to leave by some certain date and the landlord might agree to that.’ And if it’s in writing, I think that the tenant will be relatively protected. None of that touches on the security deposit. It just has to do with the date that the tenant is no longer obligated to pay rent, assuming that the tenant actually surrenders over possession of the unit.”
Amy: “So does this woman have any right to get that security deposit back now then?”
Karni: “The security deposit is a separate issue. Security deposits are really held by landlords for a couple of reasons. One reason might be in order to recoup rent that wasn’t paid. Sounds like that’s not the issue here. The other reason that a security deposit is held is so that the landlord can be assured that there’s no damage to the property, and it sounds like in this case, the landlord might have asked for a security deposit for that purpose. If the tenant and the landlord had agreed on a surrender date and the tenant did surrender by the date that was agreed, and if the tenant was paid, and it sounds like maybe the landlord had said that the tenant was paid by a certain date, then the next question is, ‘Was there any damage to this property, and how does the tenant find out that information? What rights does the tenant have?’ If there’s no written lease agreement, then the law is what controls. And the Texas Property Code is very, very clear that the tenant is entitled to an accounting. If the landlord wants to withhold any part of that security deposit in order for the tenant to trigger their rights, the tenant is required to send their forwarding address to the landlord.”
RELATED: Your rights as a renter in Texas
Karni says in this instance, even though the tenant may not have been legally required to give a written 30-day notice, the property code does require her to give a written forwarding address. And receipt of that triggers the 30-day countdown that the landlord must send the entire deposit back or the accounting of why it was not all returned. If that does not happen Yolanda’s next recourse is to take the landlord to court. Section 92.109.
If she wins she is entitled to three the security deposit, any attorney’s fees she had to pay and $100.
If you have a question for Amy, email AskAmy@kprc.com.
Check out: Laws regarding renter fees in Texas