Houston / Move in guide

A Houston move in guide: leases, locks, flood notices and utilities

By Homzora Team · September 22, 2026

Moving into a Houston rental involves the same Texas rules that apply everywhere in the state, plus two local realities: flooding and heat. This guide walks through the application, the lease, the first day in the home and the preparation that makes the first storm season easier.

Time your search

Houston's rental market is large, and availability shifts through the year. Many leases turn over in the summer months, when families move between school years, so there can be more choice then, along with more competition. Start looking about 30 to 60 days before your move date. Check your current lease for its notice requirement before you commit to a new home, because many Texas leases require written notice of move out well before the lease ends, and missing that deadline can cost you money.

Check the listing and the landlord

Fake rental listings are common in large markets. Be cautious if someone asks for a deposit before you have seen the home, refuses an in person tour, or pressures you to pay by wire transfer, gift card or a payment app. Look up the address on the Harris Central Appraisal District website to see the owner of record and compare it with the name of the person or company you are dealing with.^[1] After you move in, Texas Property Code Section 92.201 gives you the right to request the name and address of the record owner and of any off site management company, and the landlord must provide that information within seven days of a written request.^[2]

Apply with the criteria in hand

Texas does not limit application fees, so ask for the fee in writing.^[3] Before accepting an application, a landlord must make its written tenant selection criteria available, including the grounds for denial such as criminal history, rental history, current income and credit history.^[4] If the landlord rejects an applicant without having made those criteria available, it must refund the application fee and any application deposit (Section 92.3515).^[4] Reading the criteria first can save you from paying for an application that is unlikely to succeed.

Read the lease with Houston in mind

Many Houston apartment communities use the Texas Apartment Association lease, and house rentals often use a different standard form.^[5] Whatever the form, read any special provisions closely. Several Texas rules only bind you if the lease presents them clearly.

Move out notice and the deposit: A requirement to give advance notice of surrender as a condition of the deposit refund must be underlined or in conspicuous bold print (Section 92.103).^[6]
Rekeying deduction: A deposit deduction for rekeying after a tenant leaves in breach of the lease requires an underlined or bold lease provision (Section 92.156).^[7]
Parking and towing: In a multiunit complex, parking rules must be given to you before you sign, titled "Parking" or "Parking Rules" and shown in capitals, underlining or bold.^[8] After move in, most changes take effect only after 14 days' written notice (Section 92.0131).^[8] Many Houston complexes enforce towing strictly, so register your vehicle as soon as you arrive.
Casualty losses: Look for the clause on fire, storm or flood damage. Under Section 92.054, if the home becomes totally unusable for living because of a casualty that you did not cause, either you or the landlord may end the lease by written notice before repairs are complete, and you are entitled to a prorated rent refund and your deposit, less lawful deductions.^[9] A written lease can change how partial damage is handled, so read this clause before hurricane season.^[9]

Within three business days after the lease is signed, the landlord must give you a complete copy (Section 92.024).^[10] Ask for an electronic copy as well so you can reach it during an evacuation.

Read the flood disclosure carefully

Texas requires landlords to provide a written flood disclosure at or before lease signing, as a lease paragraph, an addendum or a separate document that both parties sign (Section 92.0135).^[11] It must say whether the landlord is aware that the home is in a 100 year floodplain and, separately, whether it is aware that the home has flooded at least once in the past five years.^[11] It must also tell you that most renters insurance policies do not cover flood losses.^[11]

In Houston, this disclosure deserves real attention. Ask follow up questions if either box is checked yes. Which floors flooded, and when? Did the parking garage flood? What has the property changed since? Then check the address yourself on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and on MAAPnext, where the Harris County Flood Control District publishes draft floodplain maps released in February 2026.^[12][13][14] If a landlord fails to give the required notice and you suffer a substantial flood loss, generally meaning repairs or replacement costing half or more of the value of your belongings, you may be able to end the lease with written notice within 30 days after the loss occurred.^[11]

Money at move in

Texas has no general cap on security deposits for private rentals.^[15] Get a written list of every charge, separating the refundable deposit from nonrefundable fees, and pay by a traceable method. The landlord must refund the deposit, less lawful deductions with an itemized list, on or before the 30th day after you surrender the home, and may not deduct for normal wear and tear.^[6][16][17] Keep this in mind from the first day, because your move in records are your best protection at move out.

Locks, security devices and smoke alarms

Section 92.153 requires the landlord to provide, at its own expense, 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 with either a handle latch or a security bar on each exterior sliding glass door.^[18] The landlord must rekey key, card and combination locks no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover (Section 92.156).^[7] Ask for the rekey date in writing.

Smoke alarms are required in each bedroom, in the hallway serving bedrooms where several share a corridor, and on each level of the unit.^[19] The landlord must test them when your tenancy begins (Sections 92.255 and 92.258).^[19][20] Test them yourself on moving day and note any that fail. Save the 24 hour emergency maintenance number the landlord must provide under Section 92.020.^[21]

Utilities

Electricity in most of Houston is delivered by CenterPoint Energy, but you choose the retail provider.^[22] Compare plans on Power to Choose, the official site of the Public Utility Commission, and schedule service to start on your move in day.^[22] Some providers ask for a deposit if you have no credit history with them.^[22] Sign up for outage alerts from the company that delivers your power so you receive updates during storms.

Ask how water, sewer and trash are billed. Many apartment communities use a submeter or an allocation formula under Public Utility Commission rules, and the lease must explain the method.^[23] In a house inside city limits, confirm whether the Houston Public Works water account will be in your name. Book internet installation early, because appointments can take days.

Insurance before the first storm

Many Houston leases require renters insurance, and it is worth having even when optional. A standard policy protects your belongings against risks such as fire, theft and some water damage from burst pipes, and often includes liability coverage and additional living expenses if a covered event forces you out of the home. It does not cover flood. For that, you need a separate contents policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer.^[24] New National Flood Insurance Program policies generally take effect 30 days after purchase, so buy coverage early rather than when a storm appears in the forecast.^[24] Your landlord's insurance covers the building, not your furniture, clothing, electronics or car. Check how your auto insurance treats flood damage to vehicles as well.

Your first weeks: rights to know

Entry: Texas law sets no specific notice period for landlord entry, so the lease governs.^[5] The Texas Apartment Association lease does not require advance notice, but it lists the purposes for entry, such as repairs and pest control, and requires a note if you are not home.^[5] You can ask in writing for advance notice.
Occupancy: Texas generally limits occupancy to three adults per bedroom (Section 92.010).^[25]
Repairs: Report conditions that affect health or safety in writing. The Texas repair process has specific steps, explained in our inspection guide.
Air conditioning: Houston's new rental cooling ordinance is scheduled to take effect on December 17, 2026.^[26] Our jurisdiction guide explains what it requires.

Moving day in Houston

Walk through the unit before you bring anything inside. Complete the move in condition form in detail, photograph and film every room, and send the landlord an email with the form and your list of needed repairs so that the date is recorded. Run the air conditioning and hot water, open and lock each window and door, and look for signs of past water intrusion such as stained baseboards, warped flooring or a musty smell.

Summer moves in Houston are physically demanding. Schedule movers for the early morning, confirm elevator and loading dock reservations in larger buildings, and ask whether your movers carry the insurance certificate the building requires.

Finally, prepare for storm season before you need to. Photograph your belongings for insurance purposes, store important documents in a waterproof container and in cloud storage, and check your evacuation zone. If you have a car, ask whether the property's parking area floods and where residents move vehicles during heavy rain.

Your completion record

Owner verified
Selection criteria received
Signed lease copy received
Flood disclosure reviewed
Rekey date confirmed
Smoke alarms tested
Parking registered
Utilities scheduled
Move in form submitted
Storm plan prepared

Keep these records together for the whole tenancy. Use the move in cost calculator to separate refundable and nonrefundable charges, and see the evidence guide for how to protect your deposit.

Sources and official resources

Use the planning tools · All Houston guides

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

Put your moving payments on a calendar

For a home where you choose an electricity plan, keep the service start date, quoted setup amount and ongoing plan comparison distinct. A monthly cost estimate does not tell you how much cash the provider requires before activation. Confirm the responsibility for every service with the property contact.

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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