To become a landlord in Texas, you don’t need a state license or a real estate credential. What you do need is to follow the rules in Title 8 of the Texas Property Code, check whether your city requires rental registration, prepare the property to the standards Texas law imposes on landlords, use a lease that includes the required disclosures, screen applicants without running afoul of federal law, and handle rent, repairs, deposits, and any eventual eviction the way the statutes require.1Justia Law. Texas Property Code Title 8 – Landlord and Tenant
The good news is that the barrier to entry is low. The trap is that the obligations begin the moment you accept a tenant’s first rent check, and several of them are strict-liability rules where good intentions won’t save you.
Check Your City for Rental Registration
Texas has no statewide landlord permit, but some cities run their own programs. Dallas requires annual registration for single-family rental properties. Fort Worth requires registration for one- and two-family rentals that have fire safety or code violations, with an annual fee of $200. Before you list the property, call your city’s code compliance department and ask whether a local registration or inspection program applies to your address.
Decide How to Hold the Property
You can rent property in your own name, and plenty of first-time landlords do. The risk is that if a tenant or visitor gets hurt and sues, your personal assets are exposed. Holding rental property in a limited liability company separates your personal finances from the rental business, so a judgment against the LLC reaches only the assets inside it.
Forming a Texas LLC can be done online through the Texas Secretary of State. A Texas LLC must file a Public Information Report with the Comptroller’s office each year. For the 2026 franchise tax report, the no-tax-due threshold is $2.65 million in annualized total revenue, so most small landlords won’t owe franchise tax, but the annual filing obligation still exists.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Franchise Tax Report Forms for 2026
Get Landlord Insurance
A standard homeowner’s policy typically won’t cover a property you’re renting out. Landlord insurance covers the dwelling and additional structures, liability for injuries to tenants or visitors, and usually loss-of-income coverage that reimburses you for lost rent while the property is being repaired after a covered event. Before placing a tenant, confirm the policy covers the building, your liability, and lost rental income.
Prepare the Property
Before move-in, the property must be safe and livable. Texas law doesn’t publish a detailed habitability checklist, but the repair duty in the Property Code makes conditions affecting a tenant’s health or safety the landlord’s problem.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.052 – Landlords Duty to Repair or Remedy Working plumbing, heating, electrical systems, and hot water at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or above need to be in place before the tenant takes possession.
Install the Required Security Devices
Texas law requires landlords to install specific security hardware at their own expense before a tenant moves in. You don’t wait for a request. The required devices include:
- A window latch on each exterior window
- A doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt on each exterior door, plus a keyless bolting device and a door viewer
- A pin lock and either a security bar or a handle latch on each sliding glass door
French doors carry separate requirements involving flush bolts or keyed deadbolts on the inactive door.4State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.153 – Security Devices Required Without Necessity of Tenant Request Skipping these isn’t just a code violation. It exposes you to liability and gives the tenant the right to install the devices and deduct the cost from rent.
Handle the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
If the property was built before 1978, federal law requires you to disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards before the lease is signed, give the tenant a copy of the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, and include a lead warning statement in the lease itself.5U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X) This applies whether or not you’ve tested for lead; the disclosure is about what you know. EPA penalties for failing to make the disclosure can reach $21,919 per violation.
Write a Lease That Includes What Texas Requires
Texas doesn’t mandate a specific lease form, but the agreement needs to state the parties, the property address, the term, the rent amount, the due date, and acceptable payment methods.
Texas has no statutory cap on security deposits, so you can charge what you want, though anything above one to two months’ rent tends to drive off qualified applicants. Spell out the deposit amount and the conditions for deductions directly in the lease.
Beyond the lead-paint disclosure for pre-1978 properties, you must give the tenant the name and address of the property owner and, if applicable, the property management company. If the lease requires the tenant to give advance notice before moving out as a condition for getting the deposit back, that requirement has to be underlined or printed in bold in the lease, or it is unenforceable.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.103 – Obligation to Refund
Screen Applicants Consistently
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in rental housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing HUD interprets the sex-discrimination prohibition to cover sexual orientation and gender identity.8Department of Justice. The Fair Housing Act
In practice, apply the same criteria to every applicant. Advertising cannot express a preference for or against a protected group. The questions you ask during showings, the standards you use to approve or deny, and the lease terms you offer should be consistent across applicants. Fair housing complaints don’t require an attorney to file, and violations get expensive.
If you pull a credit report or use a tenant screening service, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies. The part landlords miss is the adverse action requirement: if you deny an applicant based in whole or in part on a consumer report, you must send written notice that includes the reporting agency’s name and contact information, a statement that the agency did not make the decision, and notice that the applicant has 60 days to request a free copy of the report and dispute errors.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports It’s a federal violation to skip it, and most first-time landlords don’t know the rule exists.
Manage the Tenancy
Once the tenant is in, your ongoing duties center on repairs, deposit handling, and staying inside the anti-retaliation rules. Texas has no statewide rent control, and state law restricts municipalities from imposing rent caps, so you have broad flexibility to set and adjust rent between lease terms.
Respond to Repair Requests
When a tenant reports a condition that affects health or safety, you must make a diligent effort to fix it, provided the tenant is current on rent and the problem wasn’t caused by the tenant or their guests beyond normal wear and tear.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.052 – Landlords Duty to Repair or Remedy
The law presumes seven days is a reasonable time to repair after receiving notice. That presumption can be rebutted based on severity and the availability of materials and labor, but treat seven days as your baseline. If you don’t act within a reasonable time, the tenant can terminate the lease, make the repair and deduct the cost from rent, or sue for damages.10State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.056 – Landlord Liability and Tenant Remedies; Notice and Time for Repair
Return the Security Deposit on Time
You have 30 days after the tenant surrenders the premises to return the security deposit.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.103 – Obligation to Refund The clock does not start until the tenant provides a written forwarding address. If they never give one, you aren’t obligated to return the deposit, but the tenant doesn’t forfeit it either; they can provide the address later and restart the process.11State of Texas. Texas Property Code Chapter 92
You can deduct for damages the tenant is legally liable for under the lease, or for unpaid rent. You cannot deduct for normal wear and tear. If you withhold any portion, send a written, itemized list of the deductions with any remaining balance. The one exception is when the tenant owes rent at move-out and there’s no dispute about the amount; in that case the itemized list isn’t required.11State of Texas. Texas Property Code Chapter 92
Don’t Retaliate
For six months after a tenant exercises a legal right, such as requesting repairs, filing a housing code complaint, or joining a tenant organization, you cannot file eviction (absent specific allowable grounds), raise the rent, reduce services, or terminate the lease in retaliation.12State of Texas. Texas Property Code 92.331 – Retaliation by Landlord
Follow the Legal Eviction Process
When rent goes unpaid or the tenant violates the lease, the legal process starts with a written notice to vacate. The default is three days’ written notice before you can file a forcible detainer suit in justice court. A lease can shorten or lengthen the period, but the change must be in writing.13State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.005 – Notice Required Before Filing Certain Eviction Suits For nonpayment of rent, the notice may need to be a “pay or vacate” notice rather than a straight notice to vacate, depending on the tenant’s history of late payments. You can deliver the notice by mail, post it inside the premises in a visible spot, or hand it to anyone in the household who is at least 16.
After the notice period ends, you file the suit in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits. Self-help eviction is illegal in Texas. Changing the locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities to force a tenant out will put you on the wrong end of a lawsuit. Every step goes through the court.
Report Rental Income and Track Deductions
Rental income is taxable, and the IRS expects you to report it even if you own only one property. Most residential landlords report income and expenses on Schedule E of Form 1040.14Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 414, Rental Income and Expenses Texas has no state income tax.
You can deduct property taxes, mortgage interest, insurance premiums, repairs, and property management fees against rental income.15Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule E (Form 1040) Depreciation is one of the largest benefits: you deduct a portion of the building’s cost each year over a 27.5-year recovery period, using the straight-line method and the mid-month convention.16Internal Revenue Service. Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property Land is not depreciable, so you’ll need to allocate the purchase price between the building and the land. Depreciation begins the year the property is first placed in service as a rental.
If you pay a contractor $600 or more during the year for work on your rental property, you must file Form 1099-NEC with the IRS and give a copy to the contractor.17Internal Revenue Service. Am I Required to File a Form 1099 or Other Information Return? The $600 threshold is cumulative for the year, so multiple smaller payments to the same person can trigger the filing. This is one of the most commonly missed landlord tax obligations.