Free Texas Lease Termination Letter Template

A Texas lease termination letter is written notice that a tenancy ends on a stated day. Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001(a) gives the tenant and the landlord the same right to send one for a monthly tenancy or a tenancy from month to month.

Note the scope. Subsection (a) speaks to a monthly tenancy or a tenancy from month to month, so it is the provision to work from once a fixed term has lapsed into a monthly arrangement.

Texas handles the timing differently from most states, so the day you send the letter matters as much as the day you name in it.

There is no flat 30-day rule. Under § 91.001(b), where the rent-paying period is at least one month, the tenancy ends on whichever comes later: the day named in the notice, or one month after the day the notice is given.

Where rent falls due more often than monthly, § 91.001(c) applies instead. The tenancy ends on the later of the day named in the notice or the day following a stretch equal to the number of days in the rent-paying period. A weekly tenancy therefore runs on a week, not a month.

Section 91.001(d) handles the awkward middle. If the tenancy ends on a day that does not line up with the beginning or end of a rent-paying period, the tenant is liable for rent only up to the termination date.

A signed agreement beats the default, which is why the lease is the first document to read.

Section 91.001(e) switches off subsections (a) through (d) in two situations: where the landlord and tenant have agreed, in an instrument signed by both parties, on a different notice period or that no notice is required at all; and where there is a breach of contract recognized by law. So a lease calling for 60 days controls, and so does one that waives notice.

Deposit rules run on surrender, not on the lease end date.

Section 92.103(a) requires the landlord to refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after the date the tenant surrenders the premises. Section 92.103(b) adds a detail worth knowing: a lease requirement that the tenant give advance notice of surrender as a condition of a refund is effective only if it is underlined or printed in conspicuous bold print in the lease.

Section 92.104 governs what may come out of the deposit. A landlord may deduct damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease or as a result of breaching it, but may not retain any portion for normal wear and tear. Where anything is withheld, the balance goes back with a written description and itemized list of all deductions — unless the tenant owes rent at surrender and there is no controversy over the amount.

The forwarding address does the rest of the work. Under § 92.107, the landlord is not obligated to return the deposit or provide a written description of damages and charges until the tenant gives a written statement of a forwarding address — though the tenant does not forfeit either right merely by failing to supply one. Where a landlord retains a deposit in bad faith, § 92.109 allows the tenant to recover three times the portion wrongfully withheld, plus fees. Deadlines and amounts are set by statute and change over time, so confirm the current ones before you count.