The 30-Day Security Deposit Return Rule in Texas: § 92.103, Justified Deductions, and How to Recover Treble Damages

Under Texas Property Code § 92.103, your landlord has 30 days from the date you surrender the premises to either refund your security deposit or deliver a written, itemized list of deductions with the balance. Not 30 business days. Not 30 days from when they finish the turn. Thirty calendar days from surrender — and surrender means you gave up possession and provided a forwarding address in writing (§ 92.107).

If the landlord acts in bad faith by withholding all or part of the deposit without a valid written itemization, § 92.109 lets you recover $100, plus three times the wrongfully withheld amount, plus reasonable attorney's fees. That is the lever. Most San Antonio tenants never pull it because they don't know the statute or they skip the forwarding-address step that triggers it.

What starts the 30-day clock

Three things have to happen before the clock runs:

• You surrendered possession. Keys returned, unit vacated, lease term ended or properly terminated. Holding one key or leaving furniture behind can muddy this.
• You gave a written forwarding address. Under § 92.107, the landlord has no obligation to return the deposit until you do. Email counts if the lease allows electronic notice; certified mail is cleaner. Put it in the move-out walkthrough form if your landlord uses one.
• The lease did not die in a way that changes the math. If you broke the lease early without a legal basis (military clause under SCRA § 3955, family-violence termination under § 92.016, or a landlord repair failure under § 92.056), the landlord can still deduct lawful reletting charges and damages — but the 30-day rule still applies to whatever is left.

Once those three boxes are checked, day one is the day after surrender. Miss day 30 and the presumption under § 92.109(d) kicks in: the landlord is presumed to have acted in bad faith. That presumption is what makes the treble-damages claim realistic in a JP court.

What counts as a justified deduction

The deposit secures two things: unpaid rent and damages beyond normal wear and tear. That is it. § 92.104 lets the landlord deduct for damage or charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease — but § 92.104(b) explicitly bars deducting for normal wear and tear.

Fair game

• Unpaid rent, late fees authorized by the lease, and utility balances the tenant is responsible for
• Holes in walls larger than a standard nail hole, unauthorized paint colors not restored, broken fixtures, burned countertops
• Carpet damage from pets, stains, or burns — not matting from foot traffic
• Cleaning costs when the unit is left demonstrably dirty beyond ordinary use (grease-caked oven, pet urine, trash)
• Broken blinds, missing smoke-detector batteries if the lease assigns that duty, unauthorized alterations
• Reletting fee if the lease includes one and you broke the lease early — but only if it is separately disclosed per § 92.019's framework and the lease authorizes it

Not fair game

• Repainting because the paint is 4 years old and faded
• Carpet replacement because the carpet hit the end of its useful life during your tenancy
• "Professional cleaning fee" as a flat charge when the unit was left clean — a San Antonio JP will ask for receipts
• Small nail holes from hanging pictures
• Minor scuffs on baseboards, light wear on door hardware, sun-faded blinds
• Appliance repairs that fall under the landlord's § 92.052 repair duty
• "Administrative" or "turnover" fees dressed up as damage

The test a Bexar County JP court will apply is whether the condition is consistent with the reasonable use of the property by a tenant who did not abuse it. A 6-year-old carpet does not get new because you lived on it.

The itemized list requirement

§ 92.104(c) requires a written description and itemized list of all deductions. "Cleaning - $250" is not itemized. "Damages - $600" is not itemized. An itemization names the item, the location, and the charge: "Patch and paint 3 drywall holes, master bedroom north wall — $145. Replace stained carpet, living room — $410 (pro-rated at 4 of 7 years useful life)."

If the landlord sends a number with no breakdown, or a breakdown with no receipts and no invoices available on request, they have a § 92.109 problem. Under § 92.109(c), a landlord who fails to provide the written itemization forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the deposit and forfeits the right to sue the tenant for damages to the premises.

That is a brutal provision. It means a landlord who skips the paperwork cannot later turn around and sue you for the damage they claimed.

What most people get wrong

This is where tenants — and more than a few San Antonio landlords — lose money.

• Skipping the forwarding address. No written forwarding address, no 30-day clock, no treble damages. Hand-deliver it, email it if allowed, or send it certified with return receipt. Keep proof.
• Confusing "postmarked by day 30" with "received by day 30." § 92.103 says the refund or itemization must be given within 30 days. Postmarked by day 30 is the accepted practice, but do not cut it close — landlords who mail on day 29 and you receive it on day 34 are usually safe; landlords who mail on day 31 are not.
• Assuming the last month's rent can be covered by the deposit. § 92.108 prohibits the tenant from withholding the last month's rent on the grounds it will come out of the deposit. Doing it forfeits your right to sue under § 92.109 and exposes you to three times the rent withheld. Pay the last month. Demand the deposit back separately.
• Accepting a vague itemization. If you get "cleaning $300, damages $450" with no detail, write back within a week demanding the itemized list and supporting invoices under § 92.104. Keep the letter. That demand becomes exhibit A if you file suit.
• Treating normal wear and tear as a gray area. It is not. § 92.001(4) defines it as deterioration from intended use, excluding negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse. Faded paint, traffic wear on carpet, minor nail holes, loose cabinet hinges from age — all wear and tear. Push back in writing.
• Not filing in JP court. Security-deposit disputes up to $20,000 belong in Bexar County Justice of the Peace court. Filing fees run roughly $50–$75, you do not need a lawyer, and you can file through eFileTexas in the correct precinct (your rental's location determines which of the four precincts). A treble-damages claim on a $1,500 deposit is a real $4,600 case, and landlords settle these once they see the petition.

How to actually recover the money

The sequence that works in Bexar County:

1. Document move-out condition. Dated photos and a short walkthrough video of every room, the appliances, the yard, and the meters. Do this before you return keys. A move-in checklist from when you arrived is gold.
2. Deliver the forwarding address in writing at or before move-out. Put the date on it.
3. Wait the 30 days. Do not nag on day 10. Mark day 31 on your calendar.
4. Send a demand letter if day 30 passes with no refund and no itemization — or with an itemization you dispute. Cite § 92.103, § 92.104, and § 92.109. Give a deadline (10–14 days) and state you will file in JP court. Send certified mail with return receipt.
5. File in the correct JP precinct if they don't respond. Bring your photos, lease, forwarding-address proof, the demand letter, and any correspondence. Bexar County JP courts typically set hearings 3–6 weeks out.

A landlord who ignored the statute will usually settle on the courthouse steps once a constable serves the citation. The ones who fight it lose on the itemization requirement more often than on the wear-and-tear question.

When the landlord sold or the property changed hands

§ 92.105 makes both the old and new owner liable for the deposit unless the old owner properly transfers it and gives you written notice of the transfer with the new owner's name and address. If your building was sold mid-lease and no one sent you that notice, the original landlord is still on the hook.

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If you are about to move and want to protect the deposit from the start, document everything before you hand back keys and keep your lease file organized. When you are ready for the next place, browse verified San Antonio listings at /rentals, and if you have a deposit fight you are working through, our tenant resources at /resources walk through the demand letter and JP filing step by step.