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Free Texas Month-to-Month Rental Agreement

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Texas Month-to-Month Rental Agreement — a residential periodic tenancy that renews each month and ends on one month’s written notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001. Free, fillable, and Texas-specific.

TX Month-to-Month Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001 Texas Free PDF

A Texas month-to-month rental agreement creates a periodic residential tenancy that renews each month and continues until either party gives proper written notice to terminate. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, when the rent-paying period is at least a month the tenancy ends on the later of the date named in the notice or one month after the notice is given — and that notice runs both ways. Texas has no rent control and no statutory deposit cap, but it does set hard rules on the thirty-day deposit refund, late fees, repairs, and security devices and smoke alarms. This page generates a Texas-aligned agreement and explains what the Property Code actually requires.

Complete the fields below to generate a Texas month-to-month residential rental agreement as a downloadable PDF. The document restates the Texas Property Code duties so the deal and the statute do not collide; review it, add any property-specific terms, and have both parties sign.

A Texas month-to-month rental agreement creates a periodic tenancy that renews each month and continues until either party ends it with proper written notice. It is governed by the Texas Property Code — chiefly Chapter 92 (residential tenancies) for deposits, repairs, security devices, smoke alarms, and disclosures, Chapter 91 for the termination notice, and Chapter 24 for eviction. Texas leans landlord-friendly compared with many states: there is no rent control and no cap on the deposit amount. But the Property Code sets firm, enforceable floors on the deposit refund, late fees, habitability, and life-safety hardware, and a month-to-month agreement has to line up with them. The generator above builds a Texas-aligned agreement; the guide below explains what the law actually requires and where landlords most often go wrong.

A month-to-month tenancy has no fixed end date — it simply renews until terminated. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either the landlord or the tenant may end a monthly tenancy by giving notice of termination to the other. When the rent-paying period is at least a month, the tenancy ends on whichever is later: the day named in the notice, or one month after the day the notice is given. If the rent-paying period is shorter than a month, the tenancy ends after a period equal to that rent interval. The notice runs both ways — the landlord must give it to end the tenancy without cause, and the tenant must give it to move out.

Two features of § 91.001 catch landlords off guard. First, the parties can override the default: subsection (e) lets a landlord and tenant agree, in an instrument signed by both, to a different notice period or to no notice at all, so a signed lease clause controls over the one-month default. Second, when a tenancy ends on a date that does not line up with the start or end of a rent period, the tenant is liable for rent only up to the termination date. Within that structure the parties have wide freedom to set commercial terms — rent, deposit, fees, utilities, occupancy — but the mandatory Chapter 92 floors override any conflicting clause. A good agreement states the deal clearly, restates the statutory duties, and names the landlord’s agent and address for notices so a later termination or repair notice has a valid place to land.

The trade-off is flexibility versus certainty. A month-to-month tenancy lets either side change course on one month’s notice — useful for a landlord planning to sell or renovate, or a tenant whose plans are unsettled — but it also means the rent and the tenancy itself can move on that same short horizon, because Texas has no rent control and no statutory cap on how often rent may change. A fixed-term lease (typically a year) locks the rent and the right of occupancy for the whole term, which most tenants prefer for stability, but it commits both sides for the duration.

One Texas rule smooths the transition. When a fixed-term lease ends and the tenant stays with the landlord’s consent, the tenancy usually rolls into a month-to-month tenancy (a tenancy at will or holdover) on the same terms unless the lease says otherwise — so most Texas landlords end up managing a periodic tenancy eventually, and the agreement on this page is what governs it. Whichever structure you choose, the deposit, repair, security-device, smoke-alarm, and disclosure rules described below apply the same way; only the term and the notice differ.

A complete Texas month-to-month agreement should nail down the following:

• Parties and premises — every adult tenant, the landlord or authorized agent, and the exact unit address.
• Month-to-month term and the one-month notice — that the tenancy renews monthly and how either party ends it (§ 91.001).
• Rent and payment — the amount, the due date, accepted methods, and any late fee within the § 92.019 limits.
• Security deposit — the amount and the thirty-day refund-and-itemization duty (§§ 92.103, 92.104).
• Repairs and habitability — the duty to repair conditions that materially affect health or safety after proper notice (§§ 92.052, 92.056).
• Security devices and smoke alarms — the locks, keyless bolting devices, viewers, and alarms Texas requires (§§ 92.153, 92.255).
• Required disclosures and signatures — owner or manager (§ 92.201), pre-1978 lead paint, and a dated signature block.

Termination notice (Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001)

Either party may end a Texas month-to-month tenancy by giving written notice. When rent is paid monthly, the tenancy ends on the later of the date stated in the notice or one month after the notice is given; for a shorter rent interval the notice period matches that interval. The default applies unless the landlord and tenant signed an agreement setting a different period or waiving notice. The safe practice is to put the notice in writing, name the tenant and the property, and state the exact termination date, counting a full month from delivery.

Rent, late fees, and rent increases (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019; Loc. Gov’t Code § 214.902)

Texas has no rent control — a municipality may adopt it only if a disaster creates a housing emergency and the governor approves (Loc. Gov’t Code § 214.902), which effectively never happens — and no statute fixes a rent-increase notice period for a month-to-month tenancy. Because rent cannot change mid-period, a landlord raising rent should give the same one-month notice used to end the tenancy so the new rate begins with the next period. Late fees are capped: a landlord may not collect a late fee until rent is at least two full days late, and a fee is presumed reasonable only if it does not exceed twelve percent of the rent for a structure with four or fewer units, or ten percent for a structure with more than four units. The fee must be stated in the agreement, and an unlawful late fee exposes the landlord to one hundred dollars, three times the fee collected, and attorney’s fees.

Security deposit (Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.103, 92.104, 92.109)

Texas sets no cap on the security deposit amount but tightly controls its return. The landlord must refund the deposit — or deliver a written description and itemization of any deductions with the balance — on or before the thirtieth day after the tenant surrenders the premises and gives a forwarding address (§§ 92.103, 92.104). No deduction may be taken for normal wear and tear. A landlord who retains the deposit or fails to give the itemized statement by the deadline is presumed to have acted in bad faith, and bad-faith retention exposes the landlord to one hundred dollars, three times the wrongfully withheld amount, and the tenant’s attorney’s fees (§ 92.109).

Repairs and habitability (Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.052, 92.056)

A Texas landlord must make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant (§ 92.052), provided the tenant did not cause it and is not delinquent in rent. The tenant must give notice of the condition and, to unlock remedies, a written repair request (or a first notice followed by a certified-mail request) (§ 92.056). The landlord then has a reasonable time to repair; the statute presumes seven days is reasonable. If the landlord fails, the tenant’s remedies can include repair-and-deduct (capped at one month’s rent or five hundred dollars, whichever is greater), terminating the lease, and a judicial order, a civil penalty, actual damages, and attorney’s fees.

Security devices and smoke alarms (Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.153, 92.255)

Without any request from the tenant, a Texas dwelling must be equipped with the security devices in § 92.153 — a window latch on each exterior window, a keyed dead bolt or doorknob lock on each exterior door, a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each exterior door, and pin locks and handle latches or security bars on exterior sliding glass doors — all operable throughout the tenancy. The landlord must also install at least one smoke alarm in each bedroom and on each level of the unit (§ 92.255). These duties cannot be waived away by a month-to-month agreement, and a landlord who fails to install or repair them after proper notice faces statutory penalties and tenant remedies.

Required disclosures

The agreement should give the name and address of the owner, and of any off-site management company, so the tenant knows whom to serve (§ 92.201); Texas requires that information within seven days of a written request, so building it into the signed agreement settles it up front. For housing built before 1978, the federal lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet must be attached. Getting these disclosures into the signed agreement — rather than promising them verbally — is what makes them provable later.

• Deposit penalties (§ 92.109). A landlord who withholds the deposit in bad faith or misses the thirty-day itemized statement is liable for one hundred dollars, three times the wrongfully withheld amount, and attorney’s fees, and forfeits the right to keep any of it.
• Repair failures (§§ 92.056, 92.0561). After proper notice and a reasonable time, the tenant may repair-and-deduct, terminate the lease, or obtain a judicial order, a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus five hundred dollars, actual damages, and attorney’s fees.
• Unlawful late fees (§ 92.019). A fee charged before rent is two days late, or above the safe-harbor percentage without justification, costs the landlord one hundred dollars, three times the fee, and attorney’s fees.
• Missing security devices or smoke alarms (§§ 92.164, 92.259). Failure to install or repair required locks or alarms after notice exposes the landlord to statutory penalties, a rent-withholding remedy, actual damages, and attorney’s fees.
• Defective eviction. An eviction filed without the three-day notice to vacate under § 24.005, or on a miscounted termination notice, is subject to dismissal.

• Confusing the one-month notice with the three-day notice. The § 91.001 one-month notice ends the tenancy; the separate § 24.005 three-day notice to vacate must precede an eviction filing.
• Missing the thirty-day deposit deadline or the itemized statement. Both are required under § 92.103, and missing them triggers the bad-faith presumption and treble damages.
• Charging an early or oversized late fee. Nothing until rent is two days late, and no more than the § 92.019 twelve or ten percent without proof of actual damages.
• Skipping required security devices or smoke alarms. Keyless bolting devices, door viewers, and bedroom smoke alarms are mandatory under §§ 92.153 and 92.255, not optional upgrades.
• Deducting for normal wear and tear. Not chargeable against the deposit under § 92.104.
• Omitting the owner or manager disclosure. The § 92.201 identification of the owner and any management company must be available to the tenant.

• State the one-month termination rule and the exact rent, due date, and any late fee inside the § 92.019 limits.
• Track the deposit clock — thirty days from surrender — and always deliver a written, itemized statement of deductions on time.
• Confirm the life-safety hardware — keyless bolting devices, door viewers, window and sliding-door locks, and bedroom smoke alarms — before the tenant takes possession.
• Disclose the owner and manager and attach the pre-1978 lead-paint packet where it applies.
• Do a documented move-in inspection with dated photos so the deposit accounting is defensible.
• Screen the tenant before you sign — verify credit, rental history, evictions, and income first.
• Have counsel review anything unusual, subsidized, or high-value, and any clause that shortens or waives the § 91.001 notice.

A Texas month-to-month tenancy usually turns on whether a notice was delivered correctly, so the mechanics matter as much as the timing. Put the one-month termination notice in writing, name the tenant and the property, and state the exact effective date. Count a full month from the day the notice is delivered — when the tenancy would otherwise end mid-period, § 91.001 lets it run to the later date, so it is safer to add a few days of cushion than to risk a short notice a court will reject.

Deliver the notice in a way you can prove: personal delivery to the tenant, or the delivery method your signed lease specifies. For the separate three-day notice to vacate before an eviction, § 24.005 allows in-person delivery, mail, or — if the lease permits — posting on the inside of the main entry, with mailing where required. Keep a dated copy and a record of how and when each notice was served; that proof of service is what a landlord attaches to an eviction filing, and what a tenant relies on to show a termination was late. Texas prohibits self-help lockouts and utility shutoffs, so a landlord who wants possession after a proper notice must use the justice-court forcible-detainer process rather than changing the locks.

Texas recognizes electronic signatures under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, so an agreement signed through a reputable e-signature service is as binding as ink when both parties agreed to sign electronically. However it is executed, each party should receive a fully signed copy, and the landlord should keep the signed original, the disclosures, and any addenda together for the life of the tenancy plus the limitations period for a deposit or repair claim.

Do a documented move-in inspection: walk the unit with the tenant, note every existing defect on a condition form, and take dated photographs. Because Texas bars deductions for normal wear and tear and requires a written, itemized statement of any deductions within thirty days, that record is what makes the deposit accounting defensible when the tenancy ends. Confirm the required security devices and smoke alarms are installed and working before the tenant takes possession, and give the tenant a forwarding-address form to return at move-out so the deposit clock is clean.

To end the tenancy, either party delivers a written one-month notice stating the termination date, and the landlord refunds the deposit (or the written itemization) within thirty days of surrender and the tenant’s forwarding address. If the tenant does not leave after a proper notice, the landlord’s remedy is the three-day notice to vacate and then the eviction process under Chapter 24 — not a self-help lockout, which Texas prohibits. Planning the end of the tenancy inside the agreement, and calendaring the notice and deposit deadlines, avoids the most common month-to-month disputes.

Statewide law is the floor, not the ceiling. Some Texas cities layer additional protections on top of the state rules — source-of-income ordinances, registration or inspection programs, and tenant-relocation requirements can apply, so a landlord in Austin, Dallas, Houston, or another regulated city should confirm the local ordinance before terminating or raising rent. Subsidized tenancies (Housing Choice Voucher / Section 8 and similar programs) carry their own good-cause and notice rules that can override a simple one-month no-cause termination, and manufactured-home-community tenancies are governed by a separate statute (Property Code Chapter 94) with longer notice periods. Income-restricted units, and any tenancy touched by a federal program, deserve a closer look before relying on the general month-to-month rules on this page.

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