My landlord is charging me for normal wear and tear in Texas

What the law says

The rule is short. Section 92.104(b) of the Texas Property Code says:

“The landlord may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear.”

What a landlord may deduct is set out in section 92.104(a) of the Texas Property Code: damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease, or because the tenant broke the lease. So the line that matters is whether a mark, a stain or a broken fitting is wear and tear, or damage the tenant is liable for.

How Texas defines normal wear and tear

Section 92.001(4) of the Texas Property Code defines normal wear and tear as:

“deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling, including, for the purposes of Subchapters B and D, breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition”

The same definition, in section 92.001(4) of the Texas Property Code, draws the line on the other side. Wear and tear does not include deterioration caused by negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse of the home, its equipment or its furnishings.

Who caused the damage matters too. Under section 92.001(4) of the Texas Property Code, damage caused by a member of the tenant’s household, or by a guest or someone the tenant invited in, counts the same as damage caused by the tenant.

One part of the definition does not reach deposits. The words about breakage or malfunction due to age apply, as section 92.001(4) of the Texas Property Code says, to Subchapters B and D: repairs and security devices such as locks. The deposit rules sit in Subchapter C, where the test is deterioration from the intended use of the home.

What the landlord must show

A list. When a landlord keeps any part of a deposit, section 92.104(c) of the Texas Property Code requires the rest of the deposit to be sent with a written description and an itemized list of all deductions.

The burden of proof. In a suit by the tenant, section 92.109(c) of the Texas Property Code puts the burden on the landlord to prove that keeping any part of the deposit was reasonable.

The price of a list withheld. Under section 92.109(b) of the Texas Property Code, a landlord who in bad faith does not give the written description and itemized list loses the right to keep any part of the deposit. That landlord also loses the right to sue the tenant for damage to the home, and is liable for the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees.

The price of a charge made in bad faith. Section 92.109(a) of the Texas Property Code makes a landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith liable for $100, three times the amount wrongly kept, and the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees in a suit to recover the deposit.

What changes the answer

The lease. Deductions follow what the tenant is liable for under the lease, under section 92.104(a) of the Texas Property Code, so its terms on cleaning, keys or repairs can matter. But section 92.006(a) says a landlord’s duties and a tenant’s remedies on security deposits may not be waived, so the wear and tear rule in section 92.104(b) holds whatever the lease says.

Rent still owed. Under section 92.104(c) of the Texas Property Code, no itemized list is needed if the tenant owed rent on moving out and the amount owed is not in dispute.

The timing. The refund is due within 30 days, on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the home, under section 92.103 of the Texas Property Code. Under section 92.107, the landlord does not have to refund or send the list until the tenant gives a written forwarding address. The page on a deposit not given back covers the deadline in full.

What this page covers. It reads sections 92.001, 92.006, 92.103, 92.104, 92.107 and 92.109 of the Texas Property Code, as captured on 26 September 2026. Whether a particular mark or repair is wear and tear depends on its facts, which this page does not decide.