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Tex. Prop. Code § 93.011

LIABILITY OF LANDLORD

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Cammack the Cook, L.L.C. v. Eastburn (2009)

Most recently applied in FP Stores, Inc. v. Tramontina US, Inc. (December 2016)

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1460, Sec. 1, eff

How often courts cite this section

20092010201620
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) A landlord who in bad faith retains a security deposit in violation of this chapter is liable for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees incurred in a suit to recover the deposit after the period prescribed for returning the deposit expires.

(b) A landlord who in bad faith does not provide a written description and itemized list of damages and charges in violation of this chapter:

(1) forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring suit against the tenant for damages to the premises; and

(2) is liable for the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees in a suit to recover the deposit.

(c) In a suit brought by a tenant under this chapter, the landlord has the burden of proving that the retention of any portion of the security deposit was reasonable.

(d) A landlord who fails to return a security deposit or to provide a written description and itemized list of deductions on or before the 60th day after the date the tenant surrenders possession is presumed to have acted in bad faith.

Official source: Texas Constitution and Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Texas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.