Most owners we talk to never planned to become experts in landlord-tenant law. They bought a house, moved for work, inherited a place, or figured a rental was a smart way to build wealth. Then a tenant stops paying, or someone asks about the locks, and suddenly they’re reading the Texas Property Code at 11 p.m.
That’s a rough way to learn it.
This post covers the Texas rules that trip owners up most, from the lease through rekeying, repairs, deposits and evictions. Where we’ve verified the specifics, we give them. Where a deadline or dollar amount depends on your lease or may change, we say so and point you to the current statute instead of guessing. We’re a property management company, not a law firm, so treat this as a map and not legal advice. Rely Property Management works with owners across Georgetown and Williamson County, and a lot of what follows reflects the questions those owners ask.
In This Guide
Where Texas Landlord-Tenant Rules Come From
Texas handles most of this at the state level. Two parts of the Texas Property Code do the heavy lifting for residential owners. Chapter 92 covers the landlord-tenant relationship itself, including security devices, repairs and deposits. Chapter 24 covers evictions.
State Law Runs the Show
State law governs nearly all owner-tenant disputes in Williamson County. If you’re used to thinking of rental rules as a city-by-city patchwork, that’s not how eviction works here.
What Cities and Counties Can’t Change
Only the Texas Legislature can change or suspend the eviction procedures in Chapter 24. Cities and counties can’t, and that includes Georgetown and Williamson County. Local rules on things like rental registration or short-term rentals are a separate question that we’re not covering here, so check with the city before you assume anything.
Start With a Lease That Holds Up
Your lease is the first document a judge will ask to see. It also controls more than owners expect. For example, Texas sets a 3-day minimum notice to vacate before an eviction filing, but a written lease can set a shorter or longer period.
“Texas sets a 3-day minimum notice to vacate before an eviction filing, but a written lease can set a shorter or longer period.”
Don’t copy a lease off the internet and call it done. Two problems show up again and again.
- Waiver clauses: Texas limits how far a lease can strip away a tenant’s statutory rights. A clause that waives something like repair remedies may be void exactly when you lean on it.
- Vague notice language: If your lease sets its own notice period, it needs to say so clearly and match what you actually do.
Have a Texas attorney or a licensed broker review your lease form at least once. Then use it consistently.
A clear lease also makes renewals calmer. Questions at renewal are normal, and good paperwork makes them easy to answer.
Screening and Fair Housing
Federal fair housing law applies to every Texas rental, and a first violation can carry a penalty reaching well into five figures, so check the current amounts. The cheapest protection is consistency.
Here’s a simple decision rule you can use today.
- Write down your screening criteria before you list the property.
- Apply the same criteria to every applicant, every time.
- Keep notes on why you approved or denied each one.
- Treat any question about an assistance animal as a legal question, not a pet-policy question, and get guidance first.
Texas also has its own rules about telling applicants what your selection criteria are. Check the current statute before you publish yours.
Rekeying Before Every Move-In
This is the one owners get confused about most. Rebecca Klepac, our owner, puts it plainly. Rekeys are required by Texas Property Code “each and every time a new tenant moves in,” and the code requires very specific hardware, including peepholes.
Why Owners Skip It
Williamson County has seen strong population growth and steady rental demand. When a good applicant is ready to sign, it’s tempting to hand over keys fast. Rekeying feels like a step you can fold into next week.
Picture a landlord who gives keys to a new tenant without rekeying. A prior tenant still has a copy. If that person walks in later, the owner is dealing with a security incident and a compliance failure at the same time.
Skipping a rekey, or installing the wrong hardware, can expose you to legal liability under Chapter 92 of the Property Code. It gets worse if a former tenant uses an old copy of the key.
A Simple Rekey Routine
- Book the locksmith the day the old tenant moves out, not the day before the new one arrives.
- Check the hardware against the current Chapter 92 requirements, including deadbolts and peepholes.
- Keep the invoice in the property file.
- Confirm the new keys at move-in in writing.
Security Deposits and the Paper Trail
Texas sets a deadline for returning a deposit, expects an itemized list of any deductions, and penalizes landlords who withhold in bad faith. That penalty can turn a small cleaning dispute into a much bigger bill. Look up the current deadline and penalty before you send a single deposit letter.
The better move is to build the file on day one.
- Move-in photos: Dated shots of every room, including closets and appliances.
- Signed condition checklist: Both sides sign it at move-in.
- Receipts: Keep every cleaning and repair invoice you might deduct.
- Forwarding address: Get it in writing when the tenant gives notice.
Most landlord-tenant trouble comes down to two things, timing and documentation. Owners who keep dated records rarely lose a dispute over a deposit, a repair or a notice.
Repairs and Written Requests
A tenant’s written repair request starts a clock. Texas gives tenants remedies if a landlord fails to act within the time the statute allows, especially for conditions that affect health or safety. The exact deadlines matter, so check the current statute and your lease.
The Clock Starts at Written Notice
Say a tenant emails about a broken AC unit in August, and the owner waits three weeks to schedule a contractor. Even if the owner fixes it eventually, the tenant may have already gained the right to pursue remedies. A slow fix can still cost you.
A fast routine looks like this.
- Acknowledge in writing: Reply the same day.
- Schedule quickly: Call the contractor right away, not after you’ve thought about it.
- Keep invoices: They prove what you did and when.
- Update the tenant: Silence reads as neglect.
Entering the Unit
Your lease should spell out when and how you can enter an occupied rental for non-emergency work. Check it first, and never show up unannounced to check on a repair.
At our company, Mandy Crane, our property manager, handles maintenance coordination along with leasing, rent collection, evictions and inspections. Coordinated repairs leave a clean paper trail.
Rent, Late Fees and Clean Records
Online payments help here. Our tenants pay through secure online options anytime, which means every payment has a timestamp. That matters if a nonpayment case ever reaches a judge.
Late fees are a trap for owners who write a number into the lease from memory. Texas has rules about when you can charge a late fee and how much, so check the current statute first. Courts look hard at fees that seem out of proportion.
Two habits keep records clean.
- Accept payment one way: Use your portal or ledger, not cash handed over at the door.
- Keep deals in writing: A text saying “just pay Friday” can undercut your own notice later.
Nonpayment: Which Notice to Send
Texas’s 2025 eviction law, Senate Bill 38, took effect January 1, 2026. The 3-day minimum written notice to vacate is still the baseline before you file, unless a written lease sets a different period.
The type of notice depends on the tenant’s history.
| Tenant’s history | Notice you can use |
|---|---|
| Not late before the month you give notice | Notice to pay rent or vacate |
| Late before the month you give notice | Notice to pay rent or vacate, or a plain notice to vacate |
If you’re evicting because a tenant stayed past the end of the lease, you also have to follow the separate tenancy-termination rules in Property Code Section 91.001.
A common pattern in nonpayment cases is weeks of informal “working it out” before anyone sends a notice. The written process is clear, so use it.
Delivering the Notice
How you deliver the notice matters as much as what it says. Texas now spells out the accepted methods.
| Method | What to know |
|---|---|
| Mail (first-class, registered, certified or a delivery service) | Keep the receipt or tracking record |
| Left inside the unit in a conspicuous place | Photograph where you left it, with a date |
| Handed to any tenant aged 16 or older | Note who took it and when |
| Email or other electronic means | Only if the parties agreed to that in writing |
These method rules don’t apply if the tenant actually receives the notice.
Don’t email or text a notice to vacate unless the tenant has already agreed in writing to electronic delivery. A notice sent the wrong way can force you to start over.
Counting the Days and Federal Notice Periods
Eviction deadlines follow a specific counting rule. You skip the day of the triggering event, such as the day you deliver the notice. You count weekends and holidays, and you count the last day. If the last day lands on a weekend or a state or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Here’s an example. Say you hand a tenant a notice on Thursday, and the lease uses the 3-day minimum. Friday is day one, Saturday is day two and Sunday is day three. Because Sunday is a weekend, the deadline moves to Monday.
Some properties also carry a federal notice period, such as a 30-day notice on certain federally backed housing. In that case, you can still file once the Texas notice period has run, and the court can’t delay your case because of the federal rule. But the writ of possession can’t be served until the time since you delivered the Texas notice equals the federal period.
Filing in Justice Court
An eviction goes to the justice court for the precinct where the property sits. For a Georgetown rental, that means a Williamson County justice of the peace. A few rules shape what happens next.
- Sworn petition: You file a petition under oath.
- Possession only: The court decides who has the right to possess the property, not who owns it.
- No counterclaims: The tenant can’t add counterclaims or third parties to the eviction case.
Evictions are never fun, even when the law is on your side. One client put it this way:
“Even when she was ‘just the messenger’ delivering difficult news, she did so with the utmost care, empathy, and professionalism.”
The law is cold. The people dealing with it don’t have to be.
Commercial, Age-Restricted and Single-Family Properties
Not every rental follows the same playbook, and we see this because we manage three property types.
Single-Family Homes
Most Georgetown rental properties are single-family homes, and the rules above apply directly. Texas Property Code Chapter 92 and Chapter 24 are written with homes like these in mind.
Commercial Property
We also manage a historic Victorian near the Square, and commercial property management in Georgetown, Texas, works differently. Commercial tenants don’t get the residential protections or remedies under Chapter 92, which means the lease carries most of the weight. If you own commercial space, get it reviewed by an attorney who handles commercial leases.
Age-Restricted Communities
Sun City Texas is a 55-plus community. Leasing there has to follow the community’s age-restriction rules on top of normal Texas law. Most single-family landlords never run into that layer, so check the current requirements before you lease in an age-restricted community.
Choosing a Manager Who Follows the Rules
Texas doesn’t have a separate property management license. But someone who negotiates leases or collects rent for others generally needs a Texas real estate license. Both Rebecca Klepac and Danny Salomon hold Texas broker licenses, and that’s worth asking about when you compare companies.
When you read property management Georgetown Texas reviews, look for comments about how a company talks to people on bad days. A manager’s tone during a nonpayment or a move-out says more than any marketing page.
A few numbers for context. We’ve been in business four years and manage 234 properties. Our management fee is 7 percent. On an $1,800 rental, that’s $126 a month. Our renewal fee is $250. We also guarantee fast response, transparency, and that all applicable laws are followed, including local laws and the Texas Property Code.
If landlord-tenant law feels harder than it should, we’re open to a conversation. We also offer a free rental analysis if you want to see where your property fits in the Georgetown and Central Texas market.
FAQ
How much notice does a Texas landlord have to give before filing an eviction?
At least 3 days of written notice to vacate, unless a written lease or agreement sets a shorter or longer period. SB 38 took effect January 1, 2026, and it didn’t change that baseline.
Can I send a notice to vacate by text or email?
Only if the tenant agreed in writing to electronic delivery. Otherwise, you can mail it, leave it inside the unit in a conspicuous place, or hand it to any tenant aged 16 or older.
Where do I file an eviction for a Georgetown rental?
You file a sworn petition in the justice court for the precinct where the property is located, which here means a Williamson County justice of the peace.
Do I have to rekey between tenants?
Yes. Texas Property Code requires a rekey each time a new tenant moves in, and it requires specific hardware, including peepholes. Check Chapter 92 for the current details.
Can a tenant counterclaim in an eviction case?
No. Counterclaims and adding third parties aren’t allowed, and the justice court decides only who has the right to possession, not who owns the property.
Can a city or county pause or change eviction procedures?
No. Only the Texas Legislature can change or suspend Chapter 24 eviction procedures, so local governments can’t step in. For other local rules, check with the city or county directly.
