Your Rights as a Tenant, Consumer and Worker

The guides in this section explain what Texas law gives renters, people dealing with collectors or unpaid paychecks, and customers who were misled by a business. They are written for North Texans with a live problem: a deposit that never came back, an eviction notice on the door, a broken air conditioner in August, a collector who keeps calling, or a final check that never arrived.

The topics fall into three groups. Each group draws on a different code, and each has its own deadline that can matter more than anything else in the file.

Renting a home

Chapter 92 of the Property Code governs most of a residential lease, and chapter 24 governs the eviction case. The three tenant guides overlap more than their titles suggest.

Deposits

A landlord has until the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises to refund the deposit (Property Code section 92.103), but that duty waits on a written forwarding address from the tenant (section 92.107). A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith owes $100 plus triple the portion kept, along with the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees (section 92.109(a)).

Repairs

The repair duty reaches a condition that, in the statute's words, "materially affects" an ordinary tenant's physical health or safety, and applies only when the tenant is current on rent when giving notice (section 92.052). The statute presumes seven days is a reasonable time to fix the problem (section 92.056(d)). The remedies include repairing and deducting, capped at the greater of one month's rent or $500 (section 92.0561(b)), and ending the lease, which ties back to the deposit.

Eviction

S.B. 38 rewrote the eviction chapter effective January 1, 2026. Unless a written lease sets a different period, a landlord gives at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing (section 24.005), the case goes to the justice precinct where the property sits, and trial falls between the 10th and 21st day after filing (section 24.0051(g)). A landlord's retaliation for a repair request can be raised as a defense, which is why the repairs and eviction guides cross-reference each other.

Money owed to you, or claimed from you

Debt collection

Texas Finance Code chapter 392 applies to anyone collecting a consumer debt, including a creditor collecting its own account. Among other limits, a collector may not threaten arrest for nonpayment without proper court proceedings (section 392.301). Outside agencies covered by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act also owe a written validation notice and must pause collection when a debt is disputed in writing within 30 days (15 U.S.C. 1692g).

Unpaid wages

On the other side of the ledger, a worker whose pay never arrived may bring a claim before the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The claim has to reach TWC within 180 days after the wages were due, and that limit is jurisdictional (Labor Code section 61.051). A worker who is fired is owed full pay no later than the sixth day after discharge (section 61.014(a)).

Consumer protection

The Deceptive Trade Practices Act lets a consumer sue over acts on its numbered list, which runs from (1) to (34) in section 17.46(b), and over breaches of warranty and unconscionable conduct. Written notice must go to the business at least 60 days before a damages suit (section 17.505), and the suit itself has a two-year limit (section 17.565). The DTPA also links to the debt rules: a chapter 392 violation counts as a deceptive trade practice (Finance Code section 392.404).

Many of these claims, including a deposit refund, end up in justice court, which hears civil claims of up to $20,000. The small claims guide and the demand letters guide in the disputes section describe the steps before and after filing.

Which guide answers your question

• Getting your security deposit back covers the refund deadline, the forwarding address rule, allowed deductions and the bad-faith penalties.
• Facing an eviction case sets out the post-S.B. 38 notice, service, trial, appeal and writ timelines, with county filing fees.
• Tenant repair rights explains which conditions qualify, how notice must be given, the remedies ladder and the retaliation protections.
• Stopping unlawful debt collection compares the Texas statute with the federal FDCPA and lists what each forbids and what a court can award.
• Filing a wage claim answers when wages are due, who can file with TWC, what to include and each step after the claim is in.
• Consumer protection claims under the DTPA covers who is a consumer, the laundry list, exclusions, the notice rule and the damages available.

Injury and accident topics are in the settlements section, and DRS North Texas lists every guide from its home page.

All rights guides

Sources

1. Texas Property Code sections 92.103, 92.107 and 92.109
2. Texas Property Code sections 92.052, 92.056 and 92.0561
3. Texas Property Code sections 24.005 and 24.0051
4. Texas Finance Code sections 392.301 and 392.404
5. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. section 1692g (United States Code, 2024 Edition)
6. Texas Labor Code sections 61.014 and 61.051
7. Texas Business and Commerce Code sections 17.46, 17.505 and 17.565