Can the unpaid rent be deducted from the security deposit?

Full question:

I live in Texas. I rented my house for a fixed period on monthly basis for residential purposes. The tenant has not paid last month’s rent. He claims security deposit as the security for the unpaid rent. Is there any remedy against the tenant under Texas Law?

• Category: Landlord Tenant
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Texas

Answer:

In Texas, unpaid rent cannot be deducted from the security deposit. Security deposit is not part of rent payment, but it is paid in advance to offset any damages the tenant causes or other non-rent amounts that tenant owes for the property while the tenant lives there. If a tenant fails to pay the rent claiming it to be deducted from the security deposit, it will be considered that the tenant is acting in bad faith. Further, a landlord can sue the tenant and the tenant will be liable for three times the amount of unpaid rent plus attorney's fees.

Security deposit is defined under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.102 and tenants liability for withholding the last month’s rent is provided under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.108.

Tex. Prop. Code § 92.102 defines Security deposit as follows:

“A security deposit is any advance of money, other than a rental application deposit or an advance payment of rent, that is intended primarily to secure performance under a lease of a dwelling that has been entered into by a landlord and a tenant.”

The provisions relating to the liability for withholding Last month’s rent is provided in Tex. Prop. Code § 92.108. It reads as follows:

“(a)The tenant may not withhold payment of any portion of the last month's rent on grounds that the security deposit is security for unpaid rent.
(b)A tenant who violates this section is presumed to have acted in bad faith. A tenant who in bad faith violates this section is liable to the landlord for an amount equal to three times the rent wrongfully withheld and the landlord's reasonable attorney's fees in a suit to recover the rent.”