Can I Sue My Landlord in Texas?
Yes — in many situations. These are the main claims Texas tenants bring, what the law lets you recover, and where to file. Each rule links to the statute or official source. Most claims under the small claims limit can be filed without a lawyer.
Before you sue
- Write down what happened, with dates, and keep photos, texts, emails and receipts.
- Send your landlord a written demand (templates below) and give a reasonable deadline.
- Check the deadline to sue and the court's dollar limit (below).
- If the amount is over the small claims limit, or you are facing eviction, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first.
Your security deposit wasn't returned
| Penalty for withholding | Bad-faith retention: $100 + three times the portion wrongfully withheld + reasonable attorney's fees. Bad-faith failure to itemize: landlord forfeits the right to withhold any portion and to sue for damages, and owes attorney's fees. Failure to refund or itemize within 30 days is presumed bad faith. Landlord bears the burden of proving retention was reasonable (Sec. 92.109(c)). A tenant who in bad faith withholds last month's rent on the ground that the deposit covers it is liable for three times the rent withheld plus attorney's fees (Sec. 92.108). Source: Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.109 |
|---|---|
| Deposit return deadline | On or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises. Landlord is not obligated to return the deposit or give an itemization until the tenant gives a written statement of a forwarding address (Sec. 92.107). A lease requirement of advance notice of surrender as a condition of refund is enforceable only if underlined or in conspicuous bold print (Sec. 92.103(b)). Source: Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.103(a) |
Free Texas security deposit demand letter
You were locked out or your utilities were cut off
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Landlord may not intentionally exclude a tenant except by judicial process, with narrow exceptions including a lock change for rent delinquency if allowed by the lease and preceded by written notice (5 days if mailed, 3 days if hand-delivered/posted), and a new key must be available 24 hours a day regardless of payment. Remedy: possession or termination, plus one month's rent + $1,000, actual damages, costs and attorney's fees. Interrupting utilities (except for repairs, construction, emergency, or authorized submetered electric cutoffs) carries the same one month's rent + $1,000 remedy. Utility section: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm#92.008. Submetered/allocated electricity may be cut for nonpayment only under the conditions in Sec. 92.008(h) and following. |
|---|
Your landlord retaliated after you complained
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not, within six months after a tenant in good faith exercises a legal right, gives a repair notice, complains to a code-enforcement or other agency, or participates in a tenant organization, file an eviction (except on statutory grounds), deprive use of the premises, decrease services, raise rent, terminate the lease, or engage in bad-faith interference. Remedy: one month's rent + $500, actual damages, court costs and attorney's fees. Not retaliation if, e.g., tenant was delinquent in rent when notice was given or the suit filed (Sec. 92.332(b)). |
|---|
Your landlord won't make repairs
| Repair and deduct | Yes, limited. For specified serious conditions (e.g., sewage backup, flooding, total loss of landlord-supplied water, inadequate heat/cooling certified by an official, or conditions certified by a housing official) after required notices, tenant may repair and deduct the greater of one month's rent or $500 (per month cap). Tenant must be current on rent when notice is given, give notice to repair, then either a second written notice after a reasonable time or a first notice by certified/registered/tracked mail; 7 days is presumed a reasonable time to repair (Sec. 92.056(d)). Judicial remedies include an order to repair, rent reduction, a civil penalty of one month's rent + $500, actual damages and attorney's fees (Sec. 92.0563). |
|---|---|
| Withholding rent | Not permitted outside the statutory repair-and-deduct procedure. A tenant who withholds rent or deducts for repairs in violation of the subchapter is liable for actual damages, and after written warning, a bad-faith violation carries a civil penalty of one month's rent + $500. Source: Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.058 |
| Mold | No landlord-tenant mold statute — Texas law sets no mold disclosure or mold-specific remediation duty for residential landlords. Mold is handled under the general duty to repair: after written notice from a tenant who is current on rent, the landlord must make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant. Separately, the Occupations Code licenses professional mold assessors and remediators; an owner of residential property with fewer than 10 units (or its employee) may do its own mold assessment or remediation without a license. Occupations Code ch. 1958 text: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/OC/htm/OC.1958.htm. The repair duty does not cover conditions caused by the tenant, household members or guests (other than normal wear and tear). Some cities have housing codes with mold or moisture rules. |
| Pests & bed bugs | No statute — the Property Code has no pest or bed-bug provision (no disclosure, inspection or treatment rule). An infestation is treated under the general repair duty if it materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and the tenant gave notice; the landlord has no duty to remedy conditions caused by the tenant, household or guests. Leases commonly allocate pest-control responsibility. Local housing codes may impose pest-control duties. |
| Heat | No statewide heat or minimum-temperature requirement. State law requires only a device supplying hot water of at least 120 degrees F. If the landlord agreed (expressly or impliedly) to furnish heating equipment that produces inadequate heat, and a local housing, building or health official has notified the landlord in writing that the lack of heat materially affects health or safety, the tenant may use the repair-and-deduct remedy if the landlord fails to repair within 3 days after the tenant's notice. Minimum indoor temperatures, where they exist, are set by city ordinances or housing codes. |
Free Texas repair request letter to landlord
Your landlord entered without notice or invaded your privacy
| Landlord entry notice | No statute Chapter 92 has no general notice-of-entry requirement; entry terms are governed by the lease. Source: Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 |
|---|---|
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute. Criminal laws apply: it is a state jail felony to photograph or record, without consent and with intent to invade privacy, another person in a place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, which the statute says includes a bathroom, bedroom and changing room; posting a sign does not establish consent. Intercepting oral, wire or electronic communications is a crime unless a party to the communication consents (one-party consent), so audio recording of tenants' conversations is restricted. Sec. 21.15 was amended by H.B. 1465 (Acts 2025, 89th Leg.), eff. Sept. 1, 2025. Sec. 16.02 text: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/PE/htm/PE.16.htm. Landlord entry rules are set by the lease; ch. 92 has no general notice-of-entry statute. |
You were refused or treated differently because of Section 8 or other income
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No. There is no statewide source-of-income protection, and cities and counties are barred from adopting ordinances that prohibit refusing a tenant because the tenant's income includes federal housing assistance (e.g., Section 8 vouchers). Local protections for veterans' income and voluntary voucher-incentive programs are still allowed. |
|---|
Other claims tenants bring in Texas
| Constructive eviction (conditions forced you out) | No Texas statute uses the term "constructive eviction." Instead, the Property Code lets a tenant end the lease over unrepaired conditions: if the tenant (current on rent) gives the required notices about a condition that materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant and the landlord does not make a diligent effort to repair within a reasonable time, the tenant may terminate the lease, get a pro rata rent refund, and deduct or recover the security deposit. The Code says its repair, habitability and security duties and remedies replace the common-law warranties and remedies on those subjects. The notice steps matter: the AG's renter's-rights page notes a dated repair letter by certified or registered mail and a presumed reasonable repair time of seven days. A tenant who terminates under § 92.056 cannot also use the repair-and-deduct or court remedies for that condition. Whether any common-law constructive-eviction theory survives § 92.061 outside those subjects has not been confirmed in an official court opinion. |
|---|---|
| Covenant of quiet enjoyment | Recognized. The Texas Attorney General explains that a tenant's rights include "quiet enjoyment": the landlord cannot evict the tenant without cause or otherwise disturb the tenant's right to live in peace and quiet. By statute, a landlord generally may not interrupt utilities except for bona fide repairs, construction or an emergency. If other tenants are disturbing you, the AG advises complaining to the landlord. Statute text: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/PR/htm/PR.92.htm. |
| Injuries on the property | The landlord's statutory repair duties and remedies replace common-law repair and habitability warranties, but Chapter 92 expressly preserves any right a landlord or tenant has to sue for personal injury or property damage under Texas law. Repair-remedy suits may not include attorney's fees for personal-injury damages. The landlord must also provide required smoke alarms and security devices (Subchapters D and F). Whether a landlord is liable for a particular injury is decided by the courts under negligence law. Talk to a lawyer about any injury claim — filing deadlines apply. |
Where and when to sue
| Small claims limit | $20,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including any attorney fees, for recovery of money damages, civil penalties, personal property or other relief allowed by law. Debt claim cases (by assignees, debt collectors, lenders) and tenant repair-and-remedy cases have the same $20,000 limit under their own rules. Source: Tex. R. Civ. P. 500.1(a)-(c) |
|---|---|
| Small claims filing fee | The plaintiff pays the court's filing fee and any service fees when filing the petition. A person who cannot afford the fees may file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, which the clerk must provide free. Fee amounts are set by statute and county; ask the justice court clerk for the current fee. Source: Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.2(b), 502.3 |
| Deadline to sue on a written lease | 4 years. A suit on a debt (such as unpaid rent) must be brought within four years after the cause of action accrues; the residual limitations period for actions with no express period is also four years. The same 4-year period applies to written and oral leases. A lease may not shorten the period to less than two years. |
How small claims court works in Texas →
Tenant lawyers and free legal aid in Texas · Texas tenant rights · Suing a landlord in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.