Texas Associations of Realtors 2022 Residential Lease Language Regarding Security Deposits

“Security deposit” has the meaning assigned to that term in §92.102, Property Code. Any additional deposits Tenant pays to Landlord, other than the security deposit, will become part of the security deposit.

Refund: Tenant must give Landlord at least thirty (30) days written notice of surrender before Landlord is obligated to account for or refund the security deposit. Any refund of the security deposit will be made payable to all Tenants named in this lease.

Notices about Security Deposits:

• 92.108, Property Code provides that a tenant may not withhold payment of any portion of the last month’s rent on grounds that the security deposit is security for unpaid rent.
• Bad faith violations of §92.108 may subject a tenant to liability up to 3 times the rent wrongfully withheld and the landlord’s reasonable attorney’s fees.
• The Property Code does not obligate a landlord to return or account for the security deposit until the tenant surrenders the Property and gives the landlord a written statement of the tenant’s forwarding address, after which the landlord has 30 days in which to account. (4) “Surrender” is defined in Paragraph 16 of this lease.
• One may view the Texas Property Code at the Texas Legislature’s website which, as of the date shown in the lower left-hand corner of this form, is http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/.

Landlord may deduct reasonable charges from the security deposit for:

(a)damages to the Property, excluding normal wear and tear, and all reasonable costs associated to repair the Property;

(b)costs for which Tenant is responsible to clean, deodorize, exterminate, and maintain the Property;

(c)unpaid or accelerated rent;

(d)unpaid late charges;

(e)unpaid utilities and utility expenses Landlord incurs to maintain utilities to the Property as required by this Lease;

(f)unpaid pet charges;

(g)replacing unreturned keys, garage door openers, security devices, or other components;

(h)the removal of unauthorized locks or fixtures installed by Tenant;

(i)Landlord’s cost to access the Property if made inaccessible by Tenant;

(j)missing or burned-out light bulbs and fluorescent tubes (at the same location and of the same type and quality that are in the Property on the Commencement Date);

(k)packing, removing, and storing abandoned property;

(l)removing abandoned or illegally parked vehicles;

(m)costs of reletting (as defined in Paragraph 27), if Tenant is in default;

(n)attorney’s fees, costs of court, costs of service, and other reasonable costs incurred in any legal proceeding against Tenant;

(o)mailing costs associated with sending notices to Tenant for any violations of this lease;

(p)any other unpaid charges or fees or other items for which Tenant is responsible under this lease;

(q)cost to restore walls, flooring, landscaping or any alteration to the Property not approved in writing by Landlord;

(r)damages to the Property caused by smoking, including but not limited to stains, burns, odors, and removal of debris; and

(s)costs to rekey certain security devices, as provided in Paragraph 19.

If deductions exceed the security deposit, Tenant will pay to Landlord the excess within 10 days after Landlord makes written demand.