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TX · Tier 1

Texas residential lease decoder

Plain-English per-clause-type enforceability for Texas residential leases. Each rule below pins to the Texas state-legislature citation when verified, or to a "pending verification" placeholder when it isn't — never a guess.

4 of 12 clause types verified. Verify directly at the Texas legislature

Analyzer · residential lease

Decode a clause

Paste a clause excerpt — your text never leaves the browser. Or pick a clause type to read its 50-state enforceability grid.

Everything happens in your browser. We don't POST your text anywhere — there is no server hop in v1. See how the analyzer actually works.

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We don't see your lease.

  • Your browser, your text. Your lease text is processed in your browser. In v1, no lease content leaves your device — there is no server hop at all.
  • Redact-before-hop architecture. When the AI extraction tier ships (Pattern F), only the redacted clause text leaves the browser. Tenant name, landlord name, address, and phone numbers are stripped first.
  • No content logging, ever. We never store, sell, or share your lease text. Aggregate counts (clause-class, success or failure) are the only telemetry — never content, never identity.

Verify the architecture: how the analyzer works · full privacy policy.

Clause by clause

Clause-by-clause rules

12 most-litigated residential lease clauses. Verified rules lead; the rest are honestly labeled pending verification, each linked to the state legislature. Verified means the rule was matched to the cited statute text on the date shown.

  1. late-fee-caps

    Late-fee schedule

    State-restricted

    A late fee may be charged only once any part of the rent has remained unpaid two full days after its due date. It is presumed reasonable at no more than 12% of the rent for the rental period in a building of up to four units, or 10% in a larger one.

    Source · Tex. Prop. Code §92.019 · primary source · Checked November 1, 2026

  2. security-deposit

    Security-deposit caps and return timelines

    State-restricted

    No statutory cap on deposit amount. Landlord must return the deposit within 30 days of surrender with an itemized list of deductions; bad-faith retention triggers a $100 + 3× damages penalty.

    Source · Tex. Prop. Code §92.103, §92.109 · primary source · Checked November 1, 2026

  3. habitability-waiver

    Habitability waiver

    State-restricted

    A landlord's repair duties and the tenant's remedies for conditions that materially affect the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant may not be waived, except as §92.006(d)–(f) provides.

    Source · Tex. Prop. Code §92.006 · primary source · Checked November 1, 2026

  4. late-rent-eviction

    Pay-or-quit / eviction notice timing

    State-restricted

    Landlord must give a 3-day written notice to vacate before filing eviction (lease may shorten or lengthen this).

    Source · Tex. Prop. Code §24.005 · primary source · Checked November 1, 2026

8 clause types pending verification for Texas

  • Pet fees, pet rent, pet deposits

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: State security-deposit-cap statutes plus federal FHA accommodations (42 U.S.C. §3604) for assistance animals.

  • Automatic renewal of the lease

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: State-statute auto-renewal restrictions; consumer-protection auto-renewal disclosure requirements (where they apply to leases).

  • Attorney-fee-shifting clause

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Attorney-fee-reciprocity statutes (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code §1717); American Rule background.

  • Repair-obligation shifting

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Implied warranty of habitability (Javins v. First National Realty, 1970) — recognized by statute or common law in nearly every state.

  • Mandatory arbitration / jury-trial waiver

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §1-16); state-specific lease arbitration disclosure rules; unconscionability defense.

  • Non-disclosure / non-disparagement

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Consumer Review Fairness Act (15 U.S.C. §45b); state anti-SLAPP and anti-gag statutes.

  • Sublease and assignment

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Reasonable-consent default rule (jurisdiction-dependent); restraint-on-alienation doctrine.

  • Holdover-tenant rent multiplier

    Pending verification

    General doctrine across states: Holdover tenancy doctrine; liquidated-damages reasonableness; state-specific holdover-rent statutes.

Not legal advice. LeaseRedFlag is informational only. We are not a law firm; we don't represent you. State landlord-tenant law changes — verify any rule directly with the Texas legislature link above before relying on it. For lease disputes that matter, talk to a licensed real-property or tenant-rights attorney in Texas.