Texas Security Deposit Law: The 30-Day Rule and 'Surrender' (2026)

In Texas the refund deadline runs from the day the tenant surrenders the premises, not from the lease end date. Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.103(a) (quoted from the statute): “Except as provided by Section 92.107, the landlord shall refund a security deposit to the tenant on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders the premises.” It applies to all residential leases (s. 92.101). The exception it names, s. 92.107, is a missing forwarding address; a separate article covers it.

What the deadline covers

Section 92.103(a) speaks only of the “refund.” If you deduct anything, s. 92.104(c) adds: “If the landlord retains all or part of a security deposit under this section, the landlord shall give to the tenant the balance of the security deposit, if any, together with a written description and itemized list of all deductions.” Subsection (c) names no date of its own. The 30th day for the list appears in s. 92.109(d), so the safe plan is to deliver the balance and the list together by day 30. Under s. 92.104(b) you “may not retain any portion of a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear.”

Mailing counts. Section 92.1041: “A landlord is presumed to have refunded a security deposit or made an accounting of security deposit deductions if, on or before the date required under this subchapter, the refund or accounting is placed in the United States mail and postmarked on or before the required date.” A presumption is not a guarantee, so keep the postmark receipt.

“Surrender”: what the Code says, and does not say

The Property Code gives “surrender” no definition. Section 92.001 defines six terms (dwelling, landlord, lease, normal wear and tear, premises, tenant) and surrender is not among them; we found no definition of it anywhere in Chapters 1, 24, 91, 92 or 93 of the 2026 text. What the text does say:

• Section 92.103(a) uses “surrenders the premises.” Sections 92.104(c)(1) and 92.109(d) use “surrenders possession.”
• “Premises” is defined in s. 92.001(5): “a tenant's rental unit, any area or facility the lease authorizes the tenant to use, and the appurtenances, grounds, and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally.”
• Nothing says that returning keys, the last day of the lease, or removing belongings fixes the date. If you and the tenant disagree on the date, the Property Code does not settle it; ask a Texas attorney.

The advance-notice-of-surrender clause: s. 92.103(b)

Quoted from the statute: “A requirement that a tenant give advance notice of surrender as a condition for refunding the security deposit is effective only if the requirement is underlined or is printed in conspicuous bold print in the lease.” So a notice-before-moving-out condition buried in plain type is not effective under the text. The statute does not say how many days of notice a lease may require and does not define “conspicuous”; because the clause must be underlined or in bold, on our reading it has to be in a written lease. Check a printed copy of your lease, not your word-processor view.

Worked calendar (2026 dates)

Add 30 days to the surrender date. Chapter 92 has no computation-of-time rule for this deadline: s. 24.0042 governs periods “prescribed by this chapter,” meaning Chapter 24 (eviction), not Chapter 92. In subchapter C we found no sentence extending a weekend deadline. The rental-application-deposit section does have one: s. 92.353(c) extends that date “to the end of the next day following the Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.” Do not assume the same for security deposits.

In scenario C the two dates are five days apart. With no statutory definition, the earlier date (Nov. 24) is the safe deadline.

Common mistakes

1. Counting from the lease end date or from the tenant's notice instead of from surrender.
2. Assuming a Saturday, Sunday or holiday deadline rolls to Monday. The Property Code text we read does not say so for security deposits.
3. Sending the refund on day 30 but the itemized list later, or the reverse.
4. Printing the advance-notice requirement in plain type (s. 92.103(b)).
5. Deducting for normal wear and tear (s. 92.104(b)).
6. Mailing without keeping a postmark receipt (s. 92.1041).
7. Waiting on a forwarding address without reading s. 92.107: it is the one stated exception to the 30-day rule.

Consequences of a late refund or list are in s. 92.109, which another article covers. Disputed amounts, filing and local court procedure are outside the Property Code text we rely on; ask the justice court clerk or a Texas attorney. This article is information, not legal advice.

Currency: the History line after s. 92.103 shows the 1983 enactment and an amendment by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 744, Sec. 3, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; none from 2025 or 2026 is printed. s. 92.104 shows 1983 only; s. 92.1041 was added by Acts 1995, ch. 744, Sec. 4; s. 92.353 was added by Acts 1995, ch. 744, Sec. 5. s. 24.0042 (Chapter 24 only) was added by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 960 (S.B. 38), Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.

Sources

• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.103 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.101 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.001 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.104 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.1041 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.107 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.109 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 92.353 — Texas Legislature, Property Code
• Tex. Prop. Code s. 24.0042 — Texas Legislature, Property Code

Related guides

• Texas Forwarding Address Rule: Does the 30-Day Clock Start? (92.107)
• Texas Itemized Deposit List: What to Include and What Not to Deduct
• Texas Bad-Faith Deposit Penalty: $100 + 3x + Fees (s. 92.109)
• Texas Notice to Vacate vs. Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate After SB 38
• How to Count Days for a Texas Eviction Notice (s. 24.0042)
• Delivering a Texas Notice to Vacate in 2026: The Four Methods
• Texas Eviction Steps in 2026: Petition, Hearing, Writ of Possession
• Texas Late Fee Rules: Two-Full-Days Rule, Reasonable Fees (2026)
• Can a Texas Landlord Change the Locks Over Unpaid Rent? (s. 92.0081)
• Texas Landlord Notices by E-mail: s. 92.113 vs. Notice to Vacate
• Why Texas City Eviction Ordinances Can't Override the Property Code

Informational only, not legal advice. Statute text checked against the Texas Property Code (Chapters 1, 24, 91 and 92) as published by the Texas Legislative Council on October 5, 2026. Statutes change every legislative session and a court may read them differently than a summary does; for a dispute, an eviction or anything expensive to get wrong, talk to a Texas landlord-tenant attorney.