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Free Texas Residential Lease Agreement

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Texas Residential Lease Agreement — Standard fixed-term residential lease for Texas property under Texas Property Code Chapter 92.

TX Residential Lease Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 92 Texas Free PDF

A Texas residential lease agreement is the standard fixed-term lease governing residential tenancies under the Texas Property Code Chapter 92. It should state the parties, property, term, monthly rent, due date, late fees (which must be reasonable under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019), security deposit (refund and itemization under § 92.103-104), required disclosures (e.g., parking rules for certain multifamily, the name and address of the property owner/manager under § 92.201), repair obligations under § 92.052, and remedies. Texas has no statutory rent cap and no statutory grace period for rent. The lease should also address smoke detectors (§ 92.251 et seq.) and security devices (§ 92.151 et seq.). This form is a starting point and should be tailored to the specific tenancy.

Complete the fields below to generate a Texas residential lease agreement. State the parties, premises, term, rent, and security deposit; both parties then sign and each retains a copy.

A Texas residential lease agreement is the fixed-term contract that governs a residential tenancy under Texas Property Code Chapter 92 (Residential Tenancies). Texas gives the parties broad freedom of contract, but Chapter 92 sets mandatory floors a lease cannot bargain away: the landlord’s duty to repair conditions that materially affect a tenant’s physical health or safety, the security-deposit accounting rules, the security-device and smoke-alarm requirements, and the owner-disclosure rule. A residential lease is enforceable whether or not it is in writing, but a term longer than one year must be written under the statute of frauds, and a written lease is the only reliable way to prove the rent, the deposit, and the disclosures Texas requires. The generator above builds a Chapter 92-aligned lease; the guide below explains what the law actually requires so the finished document holds up if it is ever tested in a Texas justice court.

Texas is a strong freedom-of-contract state. There is no statewide rent control — Local Government Code § 214.902 bars a city from enacting rent control unless the council finds a housing emergency and the governor approves it — and there is no statutory grace period for rent, so rent is delinquent the day after it is due unless the lease says otherwise. Within that freedom, Chapter 92 still imposes duties the landlord cannot waive by a lease clause. Section 92.006 limits what may be waived: the duties to repair, to install and maintain security devices and smoke alarms, and to account for the deposit are largely non-waivable, and a lease provision purporting to waive them is void.

The practical result is that a Texas lease can set almost any commercial term — rent, length, renewal, fees, permitted use — but it sits on top of a floor of tenant protections that override any conflicting clause. Because those protections are triggered by the tenant giving proper notice while current on rent, a good lease does two things at once: it states the commercial deal clearly, and it correctly restates the statutory duties and the owner’s notice address so both sides know how the Chapter 92 machinery is invoked. A lease that omits the owner’s name and address, misstates the deposit deadline, or tries to waive the repair duty is not merely weaker — it can expose the landlord to the statutory penalties below.

A lease that holds up under Texas practice covers the commercial deal and the statutory hooks in the same document. The essential clauses:

• Parties and premises. The full legal names of every adult tenant, the landlord or authorized manager, and the exact address of the unit including unit number. Naming every occupying adult as a tenant makes each jointly and severally liable for the rent, which matters if one roommate leaves.
• Term and renewal. A fixed start and end date, plus what happens at expiration — whether the lease renews for another fixed term or converts to a month-to-month tenancy terminable on at least 30 days’ written notice. Silence here creates disputes about holdover status.
• Rent and payment. The monthly amount, the exact due date, accepted payment methods and the address or portal for payment, returned-payment (NSF) charges, and a late-fee clause written inside the § 92.019 safe harbor. Because Texas has no grace period, spell out any the landlord chooses to grant.
• Security deposit. The amount, the conditions for its return, and an acknowledgment of the 30-day accounting rule so the lease and § 92.103 do not conflict. State clearly that normal wear and tear is not chargeable.
• Utilities and services. Which party pays each utility, plus any submetering or allocation arrangement — Texas regulates how a master-metered property may bill tenants for water and other utilities.
• Occupancy and use. The permitted occupants and guest limits, that the premises are a private residence, and that assignment or subletting requires the landlord’s prior written consent.
• Maintenance, access, and security devices. The tenant’s duty to keep the unit clean and report problems in writing, the landlord’s repair duty and the notice address, reasonable access for repairs and inspections, and the security-device and smoke-alarm obligations Chapter 92 imposes.
• Rules, pets, and alterations. Community rules, any pet terms and deposits, smoking policy, and limits on alterations — each enforceable only if it is in the written lease.
• Default and remedies. What constitutes default, the notice-to-vacate process, and the parties’ remedies, consistent with Chapters 24 and 92.
• Disclosures and signatures. The owner/manager disclosure (§ 92.201), the lead-based paint packet for pre-1978 housing, the parking/towing disclosure where it applies, and a dated signature block for each party.

Texas addenda that often ride with the lease. Many Texas leases attach separate addenda rather than burying terms in the body: a lead-based paint addendum for older housing, a pet or animal agreement (kept distinct from a reasonable-accommodation assistance animal, which is not a pet), a bed-bug or mold acknowledgment, a parking and towing addendum, a lease guaranty when a co-signer backs the rent, and an inventory or move-in condition form that photographs the unit’s starting condition. The move-in form is the single most useful attachment: it turns the deposit accounting at move-out from a swearing match into a documented comparison, which is exactly what a Texas justice court wants to see. The generator above assembles the core lease; tailor the special-provisions field to the property and attach the addenda the specific tenancy needs.

Security deposit (§§ 92.101–92.109)

Texas sets no cap on a residential security deposit — the parties may agree to any amount. What the statute controls is the return. After the tenant surrenders the premises and gives a forwarding address in writing, the landlord has 30 days to refund the deposit or deliver a written, itemized list of deductions with the balance (§ 92.103). The landlord may deduct for damage beyond normal wear and tear and for amounts the tenant owes under the lease, but may not deduct for normal wear and tear (§ 92.104). Retaining any part of the deposit in bad faith exposes the landlord to one hundred dollars + three times the portion wrongfully withheld + reasonable attorney’s fees (§ 92.109), and a bad-faith landlord forfeits the right to withhold and carries the burden of proving the retention was reasonable.

Repairs and habitability (§§ 92.051–92.061)

The landlord must make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant (§ 92.052). The duty is triggered when the tenant is current on rent and gives notice of the condition (§ 92.056). The landlord then has a reasonable time to repair; the law presumes seven days is reasonable, but that presumption bends with the severity of the condition and the availability of parts and labor (§ 92.056(d)). The duty cannot be waived except in the narrow circumstances the statute allows, and it does not cover conditions the tenant, a household member, or a guest caused.

Security devices (§§ 92.151–92.170)

Every rental dwelling must be equipped, at the landlord’s expense, with specified security devices: a keyed dead bolt or keyless bolting device on exterior doors, a door viewer, and window latches (§§ 92.153–92.154). The landlord must rekey or change the security devices within 7 days after a new tenant takes possession (§ 92.156) so no prior occupant keeps access. If the landlord fails to install or repair a device on request, the tenant has remedies parallel to the repair statute.

Smoke alarms (§§ 92.251–92.260)

The landlord must install and maintain smoke alarms in each unit under the statute’s placement rules, and inspect and repair them at the start of a tenancy and on the tenant’s request (§§ 92.255–92.256). A landlord’s failure can carry a court order, actual damages, a civil penalty, and attorney’s fees.

Late fees and rent (§ 92.019)

A landlord may charge a late fee only if (1) the fee is stated in a written lease, (2) it is reasonable, and (3) any portion of the rent remains unpaid two full days after it was due (§ 92.019). A fee is deemed reasonable under a statutory safe harbor if it does not exceed 12% of the rent for a dwelling in a structure with four or fewer units, or 10% for a structure with more than four units. A higher fee is allowed only if it is no more than the landlord’s actual uncertain damages from the late payment. The fee may combine an initial and a daily charge, counted as one late fee. Charging an unlawful late fee makes the landlord liable for one hundred dollars + three times the fee + attorney’s fees.

Required disclosures

Several disclosures must ride with a Texas lease. The name and address of the owner or the person authorized to manage the premises must be given to the tenant (§ 92.201) so notices and legal process can be served. Any dwelling built before 1978 requires a federal lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet. A unit in a structure with eight or more dwelling units that uses permit parking or towing must include the required parking-rules and towing disclosure (§ 92.0131). Landlords should also disclose known flooding history where required and any special conditions the lease relies on.

When a Texas landlord breaches a Chapter 92 duty, the tenant’s remedies are concrete and, in several cases, carry multiplied damages:

• Repair-and-deduct (§ 92.0561). If the landlord fails to repair a health-and-safety condition after proper notice and a reasonable time, the tenant may have the repair made and deduct the cost from rent — capped at one month’s rent or five hundred dollars, whichever is greater, in any one month.
• Terminate and recover (§ 92.056(e)). The tenant may terminate the lease, recover a pro-rated rent refund and the deposit, and obtain a judicial order plus a civil penalty of one month’s rent + five hundred dollars, actual damages, and attorney’s fees.
• Deposit penalties (§ 92.109). Bad-faith retention costs the landlord one hundred dollars + 3× the amount wrongfully withheld + attorney’s fees.
• Anti-retaliation (§ 92.331). A landlord may not retaliate — by eviction, rent increase, or cutting services — within six months of a tenant’s good-faith repair request, complaint to a government agency, or participation in a tenant organization. A retaliating landlord owes one month’s rent + five hundred dollars, actual damages, and fees.
• Early-termination rights. A tenant who is a victim of family violence (§ 92.016) or of certain sexual offenses or stalking (§ 92.0161) may terminate early with the required documentation, and a servicemember may terminate under the SCRA and § 92.017. These rights cannot be waived.

• Missing the 30-day deposit deadline. The clock starts when the tenant surrenders and gives a written forwarding address; miss it in bad faith and the landlord forfeits the deposit and owes one hundred dollars + 3× the withheld amount + fees.
• Deducting for normal wear and tear. Faded paint, worn carpet, and small nail holes are not chargeable — only damage beyond ordinary use is (§ 92.104).
• An unlawful or unstated late fee. A late fee that is not in the written lease, that hits before rent is two full days late, or that exceeds the 12%/10% safe harbor without provable damages triggers the § 92.019 penalty.
• Trying to waive the repair duty. A clause purporting to waive the § 92.052 repair duty or the security-device/smoke-alarm duties is void under § 92.006 and does not protect the landlord.
• Omitting the owner disclosure. Leaving out the owner/manager name and address (§ 92.201) undermines notice and can delay an eviction.
• Filing eviction on a defective notice. A forcible-detainer suit needs a proper written notice to vacate — at least three days unless the lease states otherwise (§ 24.005). A miscounted or missing notice gets the case dismissed and restarts the clock.
• Skipping the rekey. Failing to rekey within 7 days of a new tenancy (§ 92.156) is a security-device violation and a liability exposure if a prior occupant re-enters.

• State every money term precisely — rent, the exact due date, accepted payment methods, a late-fee formula inside the § 92.019 safe harbor, and the deposit amount.
• Restate the statutory duties — deposit accounting, the repair-notice address, security devices, and smoke alarms — so the lease and Chapter 92 line up instead of conflicting.
• Attach the required disclosures — owner/manager name and address, the pre-1978 lead-based paint packet, and the parking/towing disclosure where it applies.
• Do a documented move-in inspection with dated photos so the deposit accounting is defensible later.
• Never waive a non-waivable duty — it voids the clause and can read as bad faith.
• Screen the tenant before you sign — the strongest lease still depends on the person behind it; verify credit, rental history, evictions, and income first.
• Have counsel review regulated, subsidized, or commercial leases before signing.

Texas recognizes electronic signatures under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, so a lease 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 every addendum together for the life of the tenancy plus at least the limitations period for a deposit or repair claim.

Do the move-in inspection promptly: walk the unit with the tenant, note every existing defect on an inventory or move-in condition form, and take dated photographs. That record is what makes the deposit accounting defensible a year later — it converts a move-out dispute from a swearing match into a documented comparison. Before the tenant takes possession, confirm the security devices are installed and the unit has been rekeyed within the seven-day window, and that the smoke alarms are present and working.

As the term nears its end, follow the renewal or termination path the lease sets. If neither party gives notice and the tenant stays with the landlord’s consent, the tenancy typically becomes month-to-month, terminable on at least 30 days’ written notice; if the tenant holds over without consent, the landlord’s remedy is the notice-to-vacate and eviction process under Chapter 24. Deciding the end-of-term path inside the lease avoids the most common holdover disputes.

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