Dallas and Fort Worth / Move in guide

Moving into a Dallas and Fort Worth rental: what Texas law requires

By Homzora Team · September 22, 2026

Texas gives renters a specific set of protections at the start of a tenancy, from rekeyed locks to a copy of the signed lease. Knowing them before you pay a deposit helps you spot problems while they are still easy to fix.

Before you apply

Start by confirming that the person offering the home has the right to rent it. Rental scams often use real listing photos, ask for money quickly and avoid showing the property in person. You can check the owner of record through the county appraisal district, such as the Dallas Central Appraisal District or the Tarrant Appraisal District, and compare the name with the landlord or management company you are dealing with.^[1][2] Once you are a tenant, Property Code Section 92.201 also lets you request the name and address of the record owner and of any off site management company, and the landlord must provide it within seven days of a written request.^[3]

Texas law sets no maximum application fee, so ask for the fee in writing before you pay.^[4] Under Section 92.3515, a landlord that accepts applications must make its tenant selection criteria available in writing, including the reasons it may deny an application, such as criminal history, previous rental history, current income or credit history.^[4] You will usually be asked to sign an acknowledgment that you received it.^[4] If the landlord rejects you without having made that information available, it must refund your application fee and any application deposit.^[4] Read the criteria before you apply so you do not pay for an application you are likely to fail.

Read the lease before you sign it

Many apartment communities in Texas use the lease form published by the Texas Apartment Association.^[5][6] If you rent a house through a real estate agent, ask which standard form the lease is based on. Standard forms are long, detailed documents, and a landlord can modify them with special provisions. Read the special provisions section with particular care, because that is where unusual fees and rules usually appear.

Texas law requires several lease terms to be printed in a way that stands out before they can be enforced against you. Look for these in bold or underlined text:

Advance notice of move out: A requirement that you give advance notice of surrender as a condition of getting your deposit back is enforceable only if it is underlined or printed in conspicuous bold type (Section 92.103).^[7]
Rekeying charges: A landlord may deduct rekeying costs from your deposit when you move out in breach of the lease only if the lease authorizes that deduction in underlined or bold print (Section 92.156).^[8]
Parking rules: In a multiunit complex, parking and towing rules must be provided before you sign, under a heading such as "Parking Rules," and in capitals, underlining or bold text (Section 92.0131).^[9]
Lock changes for unpaid rent: A landlord may change the locks for delinquent rent only if the lease allows it, and must follow strict notice rules and give you a new key at any hour (Section 92.0081).^[10]

Also check for the statement that tenants may have special statutory rights to end the lease early in certain situations involving family violence or a military deployment or transfer.^[11] Texas law provides those rights regardless of what the lease says, and it separately protects tenants who are victims of certain sex offenses or stalking.^[11][12][13] A lease that omits the required statement can limit what the landlord may recover from a tenant who leaves under the family violence provision.^[11]

After everyone signs, the landlord must give you a complete copy of the lease no later than the third business day (Section 92.024).^[14] The copy can be electronic if you request it that way.^[14] Keep it somewhere you can find it quickly.

Understand what you are paying

Texas sets no general limit on the amount of a security deposit for private rentals.^[15] Ask for a written list that separates the refundable deposit from nonrefundable fees such as administrative fees, pet fees or amenity fees, and get a receipt for every payment. Pay by a traceable method, such as a check, a money order with a receipt, or the property's resident portal, rather than cash or a payment app sent to an individual.

Plan now for getting the deposit back. The landlord must refund it, less lawful deductions with an itemized list, on or before the 30th day after you surrender the home, and it may not deduct for normal wear and tear.^[7][16] You will need to give a written forwarding address when you leave.^[17] Everything you record at move in becomes your evidence at move out, which our evidence guide covers in detail.

Locks and security devices

Texas has some of the most specific security device rules in the country. Under Section 92.153, a landlord must equip each dwelling, at its own expense, with a window latch on each exterior window, a keyed deadbolt or doorknob lock on each exterior door, a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each exterior door, and a pin lock and either a handle latch or a security bar on each exterior sliding glass door.^[18] These devices must work throughout your tenancy.^[18]

Section 92.156 requires the landlord to rekey any security device operated by a key, card or combination no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover.^[8] Ask the manager, in writing, to confirm the date the locks were rekeyed for your unit. If you want additional rekeying during your tenancy, the landlord must do it at your expense when you ask.^[8]

Smoke alarms and emergency contacts

Texas requires smoke alarms in each bedroom, in the corridor serving bedrooms when several bedrooms share a hallway, and on each level of a multilevel unit (Section 92.255).^[19] The landlord must test each alarm at the start of your tenancy (Section 92.258).^[20] After you move in, it is your job to ask for repairs if an alarm stops working, and the landlord generally does not have to replace batteries once you have taken possession of a working alarm.^[20] Test every alarm on moving day and keep spare batteries.

Landlords with an on site management office must give tenants a telephone number that is answered 24 hours a day for emergencies affecting health or safety, and must post it outside the office.^[21] Landlords without an on site office must still provide a number for reporting emergencies (Section 92.020).^[21] Save it in your phone before you need it.

Flood disclosure

Since 2022, Texas landlords must give tenants a written flood disclosure at or before the time the lease is signed, either as a paragraph in the lease, as an addendum or as a separate document (Section 92.0135).^[22] It must state whether the landlord is aware that the home is in a 100 year floodplain and whether it is aware that the home has flooded at least once in the past five years.^[22] If a landlord fails to provide the notice and you then suffer substantial flood loss to your belongings, you may be able to end the lease with written notice within 30 days of the damage.^[22] Many North Texas neighborhoods sit near creeks or other low lying ground, so read the disclosure closely and check the address on the FEMA flood map yourself.

Set up utilities on time

For electricity, find out who delivers power to the address. In most of Dallas and Fort Worth that is Oncor, and you will choose a retail electricity provider through the Power to Choose website run by the Public Utility Commission.^[23][24] Start shopping at least a week before your move so that service begins on the right day. Ask each provider whether it requires a deposit before service starts. In a city with its own electric utility, such as Denton, you set up service with the city instead.^[25]

Ask how water, sewer and trash will be billed. Many apartment communities bill these charges through a submeter or an allocation formula regulated by the Public Utility Commission, and the lease should explain the method.^[26] In a house or duplex, confirm whether the water account is in your name with the city utility or remains with the owner. Arrange internet service early, because installation appointments can take several days.

Know your rights once you live there

A few rules affect everyday life from the first day.

Landlord entry: Texas law does not set a notice period for landlord entry.^[6] Your lease controls, and the standard apartment lease does not require advance notice, although it does require the landlord to leave a written note if it enters while you are out.^[6] You can ask the landlord in writing to give advance notice, and many will agree.
Occupancy: Texas generally limits occupancy to three adults for each bedroom (Section 92.010).^[27] Everyone who will live in the home should be listed on the lease or application.
Repairs: The landlord must make diligent efforts to repair conditions that materially affect the health or safety of an ordinary tenant after you give notice and are current on rent.^[28] The process has specific steps, which our inspection guide explains.

Moving day checklist

On the day you receive the keys, walk through the home before you bring in your belongings. Use the property's move in condition form if one is provided, and note every existing mark, stain, crack or malfunction. Take dated photographs and a short video of each room, including inside cabinets, appliances and closets. Run the water until it is hot, test the air conditioning and heating, open and lock every window and door, and test the smoke alarms. Submit the completed form and keep a copy, and send a short email listing anything that needs repair so that the date of your report is recorded.

If you use professional movers, confirm access rules in advance. Many apartment buildings in Downtown Dallas, Uptown and Downtown Fort Worth require reserved elevator times, loading dock bookings or a certificate of insurance from the moving company.

Your completion record

Owner and manager confirmed
Selection criteria received
Signed lease copy received
Rekey date confirmed
Smoke alarms tested
Flood disclosure received
Emergency number saved
Utilities scheduled
Move in condition form submitted

Keep these records together for the entire tenancy. Use the move in cost calculator to separate refundable and nonrefundable charges, and see the budget guide for your ongoing monthly costs.

Sources and official resources

Use the planning tools · All Dallas and Fort Worth guides

Comparing possible destinations? Read Dallas vs. Houston Cost Of Living for metropolitan price comparisons, illustrative budgets and the limits of the underlying data.

Put your moving payments on a calendar

Do not treat a regional description as a service address. Confirm each utility account, moving destination and delivery entrance against the actual property. If you are comparing homes in Dallas and Fort Worth, keep separate written provider quotes until you have selected the address.

A dated cash schedule is more useful than one large total

Use the following worksheet after collecting the actual written payment requirements for your home. It is an illustrative planning exercise shared across Homzora editions, not a survey of local prices, a recommended deposit or a statement that every listed charge is permitted. Confirm applicable rules separately. The point is to see what leaves your account before the next reliable income arrives.

Begin with money that is available for the move after setting aside your other commitments. Do not include an expected deposit refund, an unconfirmed reimbursement or a future sale of furniture as though it has already cleared. Enter a future receipt on its expected date and test a second version in which it arrives later. This distinction matters even when your total monthly income looks sufficient.

Hypothetical moving cash schedule starting with $5,000
Timing	Assumed transaction	Cash movement	Balance
Before payments	Available moving funds	$5,000 opening funds	$5,000
Fourteen days before entry	Deposit and moving reservation	$1,000 plus $100 paid	$3,900
Two days before entry	Initial rent and utility allowance	$1,500 plus $200 paid	$2,200
Entry day	Remaining moving balance	$300 paid	$1,900
Three days after entry	Essential household purchases	$200 paid	$1,700
Seven days after entry	Assumed income receipt	$900 received	$2,600

The assumed payments total $3,300. The $100 moving reservation is part of the $400 moving bill, so the delivery day balance is $300, not another $400. The assumed $1,000 deposit uses cash even if it may later be returned. Whether the $200 utility allowance contains a refundable deposit, a fee or both must be established from the real provider documents. These amounts deliberately separate a payment schedule from a final expense calculation.

Find the lowest balance before committing

In this example, the lowest balance is $1,700 before the assumed income arrives. If you want to retain $300 for unexpected needs, the remaining headroom at that point is $1,400. The reserve is still part of your money; do not subtract it as an expense and then count it again as a bill. Keep a separate column showing how much of the balance is committed or deliberately retained.

If opening funds were only $3,000 with every other assumption unchanged, the balance would reach negative $300 before the income receipt. Keeping a $300 reserve would require another $600 available by then, or equivalent agreed reductions or timing changes. A positive balance after payday would not solve the earlier shortage. Do not assume a provider will delay payment unless that change has been confirmed.

Make every row traceable

For your own version, add the payee, written amount, due date, payment reference and refund conditions. Record what a reservation payment will be applied toward. When an estimate changes, preserve the old version and explain which row changed. For a shared household, separate the person who pays the provider from the people who reimburse that person. Otherwise the same expense can appear several times or a funding gap can be hidden inside an informal promise.

Before sending money, verify the property, the person authorized to receive payment and the instructions through a contact method you have independently checked. A payment request arriving in an existing email conversation is not enough by itself to prove that new account details are genuine. Keep evidence of what you agreed and of the payment you actually made.

Connect the budget to the existing guide

Use the local sources and lease questions elsewhere in this guide to establish the actual terms, then enter the confirmed figures into this worksheet. Add storage, extra travel, overlapping housing payments, insurance or other services only when they apply to your move. Existing optional provider links can help you request quotes, but a quote is useful only when its scope matches the arrangement you intend to buy. Recheck the schedule after the first ordinary week in the home.

Continue with a focused decision worksheet

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