How to Become a Landlord in Texas: The First-Timer's Sequence

To become a landlord in Texas you do not need a state license; you need to do about ten things in the right order. Settle the tax and insurance questions first, bring the house up to the lock and smoke-alarm rules in Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, publish written screening criteria, sign a lease with the required notices attached, and then run two clocks for as long as you own the rental: seven days to rekey after each turnover and 30 days to refund a deposit after move-out.

Most first-time Texas landlords are not investors who went shopping for a rental. They are owners in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown or South Austin who got a transfer, bought the next house before this one sold, or decided the 3% mortgage was worth keeping. If that is you, this is the sequence, with the statute behind each step and a link to the deeper guide where a single rule deserves its own page.

Last reviewed: September 2026. This is general information for property owners, not legal or tax advice. Statutes change each legislative session. Confirm current text with a Texas-licensed attorney, and your tax position with a tax professional, before you act on any figure here.

How do you become a landlord in Texas?

You become a landlord in Texas the day you sign a residential lease, and the Property Code starts applying that day whether you are ready or not. There is no application to the state and no registration with Austin for an ordinary long-term lease. What exists instead is a short list of duties with real consequences attached, most of them in Chapter 92, the Residential Tenancies chapter.

A useful definition: an accidental landlord is an owner who rents out a home they used to live in, usually because selling did not make sense at the moment they had to move. Accidental landlords make the same few mistakes in the same order, and nearly all of them are sequencing mistakes rather than knowledge gaps. The locks get changed after move-in instead of within the legal window. The flood notice is never handed over. The application fee is kept from a rejected applicant who was never shown written criteria.

Get the order right and the legal side of a single-family rental in Texas is manageable. That is the whole point of this guide.

The whole sequence on one page

Here is every step, when it happens, and what governs it. Keep this table open while you work.

Step	When	What governs it	The number that matters
1. Decide it is a rental	Before you move out	Your own numbers	Rent vs. full carrying cost
2. Homestead and sale exclusion	Before you move out	Tax Code §11.13(l), §11.43(g); IRS home sale exclusion	Notify the appraisal office before May 1; 24 of the last 60 months
3. Insurance, lender, HOA	Before you list	Your policy, loan documents and HOA rules	Varies by contract
4. Locks and smoke alarms	Before move-in	Prop. Code §92.153, §92.255, §92.156	Alarm in each bedroom; rekey by day 7 after turnover
5. Price the rent	Before you list	Leased comps	No statewide rent cap
6. Screening criteria	When you hand out an application	Prop. Code §92.3515; federal fair housing law	No written criteria means refund the fee on rejection
7. Lease and notices	At or before signing	Prop. Code §92.0135, §92.201, §92.024	Separate flood notice; lease copy by the third business day
8. Deposit and move-in record	At move-in	Prop. Code §92.103	Refund by day 30 after surrender
9. Running the rental	Every month	Chapter 92 repair and retaliation rules	Seven days is presumed reasonable for repairs
10. Ending the tenancy	Renewal or move-out	Prop. Code §91.001, §24.005	Notice before any eviction filing

Step 1: Decide it is a rental, on numbers, not hope

A house is a good rental when the achievable rent covers the full cost of owning it, not just the mortgage payment. Full cost means principal, interest, property tax at the non-homestead level, landlord insurance, HOA dues, a realistic maintenance reserve, vacancy between tenants and management if you use it.

Two inputs are specific to the Austin metro right now. Rent levels have flattened after the building boom of the last few years, so the number a neighbor got in 2022 is not your number; our average rent in Austin report tracks current single-family rents from the Zillow Observed Rent Index. And property tax on a rental is a different bill from the one you paid as an owner-occupant, which is Step 2.

If you are still undecided, our rent-or-sell framework for Austin homeowners runs a side-by-side five-year projection. Come back here once you have decided to rent.

Step 2: What happens to the homestead exemption and the sale exclusion?

Moving out and establishing a new principal residence ends your Texas homestead entitlement, and you are required to tell the appraisal district. Texas Tax Code §11.43(g) says a person who receives an exemption that is not claimed annually "shall notify the appraisal office in writing before May 1 after his entitlement to the exemption ends."

There is a narrow temporary-absence rule. Tax Code §11.13(l) says a home does not lose its homestead character when the owner temporarily stops living there "if that owner does not establish a different principal residence and the absence is: (1) for a period of less than two years and the owner intends to return," or is caused by military service or residence in a care facility. If you bought a new home in Leander and moved in, you have established a different principal residence, and (l) does not help you. If your situation is less clear-cut, ask your appraisal district directly: Travis Central Appraisal District for Austin and most of Travis County, Williamson Central Appraisal District for Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park and Leander, and the Hays Central Appraisal District for Kyle, Buda and San Marcos.

Budget for the higher bill. Our Austin property taxes for landlords guide breaks down the rate entity by entity and explains the non-homestead appraisal cap.

The federal side runs on a separate clock. According to IRS Tax Topic 701, you may exclude up to $250,000 of gain on the sale of your main home, or up to $500,000 on a joint return, if you owned and used it as your main home for at least 24 months of the 5 years ending on the date of sale. Renting the house does not forfeit that the day the tenant moves in, but every month it is rented counts against the use test. An owner who lived in a house for exactly two years and then rents it for more than three has usually aged out. If a sale within a few years is part of the plan, that date belongs on your calendar now, and a tax professional should confirm it.

Step 3: Insurance, your lender and your HOA

Your homeowner policy was written for an owner-occupied house, so call your agent before the first showing, not after the first claim. Rental dwellings are typically written on a landlord or dwelling-fire form, which generally covers the structure and your liability but not the tenant’s belongings. Terms vary by carrier. Our Texas landlord insurance guide walks through what those policies typically cost and cover.

Two more calls belong in this step:

• Your mortgage servicer. Many owner-occupant loans include an occupancy covenant for an initial period. Read your deed of trust, and if you are unsure whether renting now is permitted, ask the servicer in writing.
• Your HOA. Many master-planned communities in Williamson and Travis counties have leasing rules, such as minimum lease terms, tenant registration or rental caps. Get the current rules and any leasing forms from the association before you list.

Step 4: Locks and smoke alarms before move-in

The Property Code does not wait for your first tenant to ask for these; the devices are required from the day a tenant is in possession. Property Code §92.153(a) says that, without necessity of request by the tenant, a dwelling must be equipped with:

• a window latch on each exterior window;
• a doorknob lock or keyed dead bolt on each exterior door;
• a sliding door pin lock on each exterior sliding glass door;
• a sliding door handle latch or a sliding door security bar on each exterior sliding glass door; and
• a keyless bolting device and a door viewer on each exterior door.

Section 92.153(c) puts the cost on the landlord, and §92.153(b) has a separate rule for French doors. Owners converting their own homes most often miss the keyless bolting device (the thumb-turn bolt you can only operate from inside) and the door viewer on a back or garage entry door.

Smoke alarms. Section 92.255(a) requires at least one smoke alarm in each separate bedroom; at least one in the corridor serving multiple bedrooms; and at least one on each level of a multi-level unit. Under §92.255(b), a unit occupied or issued a certificate of occupancy before September 1, 2011 may use battery-powered alarms that are not interconnected, except that a replacement for an original alarm must meet the building code standards that applied when the home was first occupied.

Rekeying. Section 92.156(a) requires a security device operated by a key, card or combination to "be rekeyed by the landlord at the landlord’s expense not later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date." Your first tenant is a turnover. So are you: the keys your cleaners, contractors, neighbors and ex-roommates hold are exactly what the rule exists for. The simplest practice is to rekey after the make-ready and before the tenant receives keys.

For the full treatment, including the height and throw requirements in §92.154, see our guide to Texas residential lease requirements.

Step 5: Price it off leased comps, not listings

Set rent from what comparable homes actually leased for in the last few months, because asking rents on active listings overstate the market. Every week a house sits vacant costs roughly a quarter of a month’s rent, so a price that is slightly high is usually more expensive than a price that is slightly low.

Texas has no statewide cap on how much you can charge, and our Texas rent increase laws guide explains how the lease, not a state formula, controls future increases. That freedom cuts both ways in a softer market like Austin’s: nothing stops you from overpricing, and nothing rescues you when you do.

Step 6: Why do Texas landlords need written screening criteria?

Because if you reject an applicant without having made written criteria available, Texas law makes you return their application fee. Property Code §92.3515(a) requires that, at the time an applicant is provided with a rental application, "the landlord shall make available to the applicant printed notice of the landlord’s tenant selection criteria and the grounds for which the rental application may be denied," including criminal history, previous rental history, current income, credit history, or failure to provide accurate or complete information.

Three details matter:

• The acknowledgment. Under §92.3515(b), the applicant signs an acknowledgment that the notice was made available. If it is not signed, there is a rebuttable presumption the notice was not made available.
• The wording. Section 92.3515(c) supplies statement language the acknowledgment must substantively match, and §92.3515(d) allows it to sit inside the application only if the notice is underlined or in bold print.
• The consequence. Section 92.3515(e): if you reject an applicant without having made the notice available, you "shall return the application fee and any application deposit."

Written criteria do a second job. Federal fair housing law applies to your screening decisions, and criteria written down before the first application arrives, then applied the same way to everyone, are the best evidence that you did so. Assistance-animal requests are the area first-time landlords most often get wrong; our guide on when a Texas landlord can legally reject an assistance animal covers the current federal guidance.

Step 7: The lease and the notices that go with it

Use a Texas-specific residential lease, and hand over three things with it: the floodplain notice, the ownership disclosure and a complete signed copy. A lease downloaded from a national template site may be missing Texas-required language entirely; our Texas residential lease requirements guide covers the clauses the Property Code requires in bold or underlined type.

Floodplain notice. Section 92.0135(b) requires written notice, substantially in the statutory form, stating whether the landlord is or is not aware that the dwelling is in a 100-year floodplain; if neither box is checked, the tenant is told to assume it is. Section 92.0135(d) adds a second notice if the landlord knows flooding damaged the dwelling at least once in the five years before the lease. Section 92.0135(e) requires both notices to be "included in a separate written document given to the tenant at or before execution of the lease." Burying it in paragraph 38 of the lease does not satisfy that. The penalty in §92.0135(f) is a tenant right to terminate if they suffer a substantial flood loss to personal property. Central Texas owners should take this one seriously; check your address on the FEMA flood map before you check the box.

Ownership and management disclosure. Section 92.201(a) requires the landlord to disclose the name and a street or post office box address of the holder of record title, and, if an off-site entity is primarily responsible for managing the dwelling, the name and street address of the management company. Section 92.201(b)(3) lets you satisfy it up front by including the information in the lease. Do that.

A complete copy. Section 92.024(a) requires the landlord, "not later than the third business day after the date the lease is signed by each party," to provide at least one complete copy of the lease to at least one tenant. Under §92.024(d), failing to do so can stall your own enforcement action (other than one for nonpayment of rent) until you provide it. E-signature platforms solve this automatically, and §92.024(e) permits email delivery if you and the tenant have been corresponding by email about the lease.

Step 8: Deposit and the move-in condition record

The deposit you collect at move-in comes with a 30-day refund clock at move-out, so the record you make on day one is what lets you keep any of it. 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," subject to the forwarding-address rule in §92.107. Section 92.103(b) adds that a lease clause making the refund conditional on advance notice of surrender "is effective only if the requirement is underlined or is printed in conspicuous bold print in the lease."

Texas does not cap the amount of a residential deposit, but it is strict about the return. Take dated photographs and video of every room, have the tenant sign a move-in condition form, and file both where you will find them in two or three years. Our Texas security deposit law guide covers deductions, itemization and the bad-faith penalties in §92.109.

Step 9: Running the rental month to month

Once the tenant is in, three rules shape your month: the repair duty, the limits on entry and the ban on retaliation.

• Repairs. A landlord must make a diligent effort to repair a condition that materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant after proper notice. Our Texas landlord repair laws guide explains the notice steps and the seven-day presumption.
• Entry. Texas has no statewide statutory entry-notice period, so the lease sets the rule. Our guide on whether a landlord can enter without permission in Texas explains what to put in it.
• Retaliation. Raising rent, cutting services or declining to renew shortly after a tenant repair request or code complaint invites a retaliation claim. Our Texas landlord-tenant law owner’s guide covers the six-month window.

A practical note on rent collection: an electronic rent portal gives both sides a clean payment record, which is worth more than convenience when a dispute arises.

Step 10: How does a tenancy end in Texas?

A fixed-term lease ends on its date unless it renews; a month-to-month tenancy ends on notice; and a tenant who will not leave can only be removed through the justice court. Changing the locks or shutting off utilities to force someone out is not a shortcut. Our Texas notice to vacate guide covers the notice that must precede any eviction filing, and our guide on removing someone who is not on the lease covers guests and holdover occupants.

Then the move-out: inspect against your move-in record, rekey within seven days of the turnover under §92.156, and send the refund or itemization before day 30 under §92.103. The cycle starts again at Step 5.

What changes in the Austin metro?

State law does the heavy lifting everywhere in Texas, so the Austin-specific differences are about taxes, floodplains, HOAs and short-term rentals rather than a separate landlord code.

Local issue	Why it matters for a first-time landlord	Where to check
Appraisal district	Homestead notice and your first non-homestead bill	Travis, Williamson or Hays Central Appraisal District
Floodplain	The §92.0135 notice has to be answered accurately	FEMA flood map, searched by address
HOA leasing rules	Minimum terms, registration or rental caps in master-planned communities	Your association’s current rules and forms
Short-term rental	The City of Austin licenses short-term rentals separately from long-term leases	Our Austin short-term rental guide
City code	Suburban cities such as Round Rock, Cedar Park and Georgetown each enforce their own property-maintenance codes	Your city’s code compliance department

If you are considering nightly or weekly rentals instead of a standard lease, stop here and read the short-term rental guide first. It is a different business with a different permit, and this sequence assumes a lease of a month or more.

Should a first-time Texas landlord self-manage?

You can, and plenty of owners do it well when they live nearby and have the time; the risk is the calendar, not the complexity. Every rule in this guide has a date attached, and most first-time landlord mistakes are dates that slipped while life was busy: the rekey that happened on day 12, the deposit itemization that went out on day 34, the flood notice nobody remembered.

If you would rather hand those clocks to someone else, Flat Fee Landlord manages single-family rentals across Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Pflugerville and Leander for a flat monthly fee, because your management cost should not rise just because your rent did. Our Austin property management page lays out what is included, and our breakdown of what property management costs in Austin compares the flat and percentage models.

Wherever you land, start with an accurate rent number. Get your free rental analysis and we will send a current market rent range for your address, with the leased comps behind it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a license or permit to rent out my house in Texas?

Texas has no statewide landlord license or rental permit for a long-term residential lease. The state does impose Chapter 92 duties from the first tenant: security devices (§92.153), smoke alarms (§92.255), rekeying within seven days of each turnover (§92.156), the floodplain notice (§92.0135) and the 30-day deposit clock (§92.103). Cities can add their own rules, especially for short-term rentals.

What happens to my homestead exemption when I rent out my house in Texas?

Under Tax Code §11.13(l), a home keeps homestead character during a temporary absence only if you have not established a different principal residence and the absence is under two years with an intent to return, or is due to military service or a care-facility stay. Once your entitlement ends, §11.43(g) requires written notice to the appraisal office before May 1. Confirm with your county appraisal district.

Can I still get the capital gains exclusion if I rent out my former home?

Possibly. The IRS lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 on a joint return) if you owned and used the home as your main home for at least 24 months of the 5 years ending on the sale date. Every rented month counts against that window. See IRS Publication 523 and a tax professional.

What disclosures does a Texas landlord have to give a new tenant?

The §92.0135 floodplain notice as a separate document at or before signing; the record owner and any off-site manager under §92.201, which you can put in the lease; printed selection criteria with the application under §92.3515; and a complete lease copy to at least one tenant by the third business day after signing under §92.024.

Do I have to change the locks between tenants in Texas?

Yes. Section 92.156(a) requires key, card or combination devices to be rekeyed at the landlord’s expense no later than the seventh day after each tenant turnover date. Your first tenant counts.

How long do I have to return a security deposit in Texas?

On or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises, under §92.103(a), subject to the forwarding-address rule in §92.107. An advance-notice-of-surrender condition works only if it is underlined or in conspicuous bold print, under §92.103(b).

Can I reject a rental applicant and keep the application fee in Texas?

Only if you made printed tenant selection criteria available with the application and obtained the signed acknowledgment required by §92.3515. Otherwise §92.3515(e) requires you to return the application fee and any application deposit.

Sources and last reviewed

• Texas Property Code §92.024, Landlord’s Duty to Provide Copy of Lease — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.024
• Texas Property Code §92.0135, Notice for Dwelling Located in Floodplain — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.0135
• Texas Property Code §92.103, Obligation to Refund — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.103
• Texas Property Code §92.153, Security Devices Required Without Necessity of Tenant Request — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.153
• Texas Property Code §92.156, Rekeying or Change of Security Devices — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.156
• Texas Property Code §92.201, Disclosure of Ownership and Management — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.201
• Texas Property Code §92.255, Installation and Location (smoke alarms) — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.255
• Texas Property Code §92.3515, Notice of Eligibility Requirements — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.3515
• Texas Tax Code §11.13, Residence Homestead — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_11.13
• Texas Tax Code §11.43, Application for Exemption — texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_11.43
• IRS Tax Topic 701, Sale of Your Home — irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701

All statutory and IRS text above was fetched and verified on September 24, 2026. Statements about insurance forms, mortgage occupancy covenants and HOA leasing rules are general industry framing and vary by contract; check your own documents. Laws change; confirm current text with a Texas-licensed attorney before relying on it.