Most North Texas landlords require a verifiable gross monthly income of at least 3x the monthly rent, a clean rental history with no evictions within 5 years, and a credit score above 600.

Income Verification: 1099 contractors or self-employed individuals must typically provide 2 years of signed tax returns and 3 consecutive months of complete bank statements. W-2 employees must show their 2 most recent pay stubs.

Co-Signers / Guarantors: If you fall short on income or credit metrics, many landlords accept a lease guarantor who must complete a separate application and show income matching 4x to 5x the monthly rent.

Yes, rental application fees are legally non-refundable in Texas, provided the landlord gave you access to their written Tenant Selection Criteria before you paid.

Texas Property Code § 92.3515: Landlords must make their printed selection criteria available to you at the time of application. If they reject your application without providing this written notice, they are legally required to return your application fee and any application deposit.

Texas law creates a presumption that 7 days is a reasonable amount of time for a landlord to repair a condition that materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant. 

The Written Notice Rule: To enforce your rights, the repair request must be in writing. If sent via regular mail or hand delivery, a second notice is required if the landlord fails to act. Sending the initial notice via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested waives the need for a second notice. 

Emergency Conditions: Critical failures like raw sewage backups, total cessation of potable water, or broken HVAC systems during extreme weather require immediate, accelerated responses.

Under Texas Property Code § 92.103, a landlord must refund your security deposit or provide a detailed, itemized list of deductions within 30 days of the date you vacate the property.

The Forwarding Address Requirement: This 30-day clock does not legally begin until you provide the landlord with a written forwarding address.

Wear and Tear vs. Damage: Landlords cannot legally deduct for "normal wear and tear" (e.g., worn carpet traffic lanes, faded paint). Deductions are strictly limited to actual property damage or unpaid rent balances.

Bad Faith Penalties: If a landlord retains a deposit in bad faith past the 30-day window, Texas law allows tenants to sue for up to $100 plus three times the wrongfully withheld amount, along with reasonable attorney's fees.

For new or renewed residential leases, landlords are legally restricted to charging either a one-time refundable pet deposit or a monthly pet fee capped at $20 per month, but they cannot charge both.

Legislative Limits: This structural cap provides strict financial guardrails for pet owners across Denton and the DFW area.

Assistance Animal Exemptions: Under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), legitimate Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are not considered pets. Landlords are strictly prohibited from charging pet deposits, non-refundable pet fees, or monthly pet rent for these animals, though the tenant remains financially liable for any physical damage the animal causes.

No. Under Texas law, job relocation, purchasing a home, or moving closer to family are not automatic legal justifications to terminate a lease early without penalty.

Landlord Mitigation Duty: However, if you must break your lease, Texas Property Code § 91.006 mandates that the landlord must make reasonable efforts to find a replacement tenant to mitigate damages. You are only financially responsible for the rent during the active vacancy period until a qualified replacement is found.

Automatic Legal Justifications: Texas law only permits early termination without financial penalty under four strict conditions: active military deployment (§ 92.017), escaping domestic violence or sexual assault (§ 92.016), severe unaddressed health/safety hazards (§ 92.056), or the death of the sole tenant (§ 92.0162).

The Core Policy Shift: End of Automatic ESA Protections

HUD has permanently rescinded its prior 2013 and 2020 guidance documents that protected untrained emotional support animals. Under the new enforcement standard, HUD has aligned its rules with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service animal definition regarding training.

1. Training is Now Required for Federal Enforcement
Effective immediately, HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) will only find "reasonable cause" and pursue discrimination charges against landlords if the animal has been individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to the tenant's disability.

2. Untrained ESAs Are No Longer "Presumptively Reasonable"
Under the previous rules, a landlord was generally required to waive pet fees and restrictions if a tenant provided a letter from a licensed mental health professional for an untrained animal. Under the new policy:

Requests to waive pet policies for animals trained to perform specific disability-related services are still presumptively reasonable. 

Requests to waive pet policies for untrained ESAs are no longer presumptively reasonable. 

3. Open Complaints Are Paused

HUD has instructed its regional offices to place all open fair housing enforcement cases involving untrained ESAs on hold for administrative review under the new, stricter standard.

Key Distinctions Under the New Policy
While HUD is adopting the ADA’s emphasis on individual training, there is one major exception regarding species:

Species Flexibility: Unlike the ADA (which strictly limits service animals to dogs and miniature horses), HUD’s new guidance notes that under the Fair Housing Act, an animal can be any species (e.g., a cat, bird, or rabbit), provided it is individually trained to perform a specific disability-related task.

Owner-Training Allowed: The animal does not need to be certified by a professional organization; owner-training is recognized as long as the animal reliably performs a specific task (e.g., a dog trained to interrupt a panic attack via deep pressure therapy). 

Comfort Alone Does Not Qualify: An animal whose sole function is to provide passive therapeutic comfort, companionship, or anxiety relief simply by being present no longer qualifies for mandatory federal housing protection.