What should I do?

Question

What should I do?

Anonymous May 21, 2020 1 views 1 answers

I was renting from a private owner for 2 years. I recently moved out due to getting out of the military. I cleaned my house and tried multiple times to do a walkthrough with my landlord but he pushed it off saying he had other things to do. I moved out the 1st of the month the way he and I agreed. Now, 19 days later, he is refusing to give me my security deposit back and saying that he is charging me a cleaning fee because the house was left dirty. I have video evidence proving otherwise. I'm not sure what to do.

Teri Walter · Answer 1 · 2026-06-15T19:20:34+00:00

If the landlord is withholding the security deposit wrongfully (such as for a cleaning fee), you can sue in the Justice of the Peace Court for return of the security deposit. If the landlord has not given you a description of valid deductions from the security deposit within 30 days of when you've moved out and provided a forwarding address, there is a presumption that the deposit was withheld in bad faith, and treble damages are possible. There's some general information here: https://www.texastenant.org/security_deposit.html

What should I do?

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