What is the maximum late fee a landlord can charge in Texas?

Property Code 92.019(a-1) treats a late fee as reasonable if it is no more than 12 percent of the rental period's rent for a dwelling in a structure of four or fewer units, or 10 percent in a larger building; a higher fee must be justified by the landlord's actual uncertain damages. The fee must be in the written lease and rent must be unpaid two full days past due.

Can a property manager charge a tenant fees the owner did not approve?

The management agreement decides what the manager may charge and keep, but under Property Code 92.001(2) the landlord is the owner, so any fee charged to the tenant under the lease is the owner's liability if it violates chapter 92. Owners should review the tenant-facing fee schedule before signing with a manager.

Does a Texas landlord have to refund an application fee?

If the landlord rejects an applicant who was never given the tenant selection criteria notice under Property Code 92.3515, the application fee must be refunded (92.3515(e)). A missing signed acknowledgment creates a rebuttable presumption the notice was not made available. Bad-faith retention exposes the landlord to $100 plus three times the amount plus attorney's fees under 92.354.

Does the FTC junk fee rule apply to apartments and rental houses?

No. 16 CFR Part 464 covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging, and the FTC guide excludes long-term rental housing. The FTC opened a separate rental-housing fee proceeding in March 2026, stating that deceptive fee practices already violate Section 5 of the FTC Act; its comment period closed April 13, 2026, and no rule had been proposed as of October 17, 2026.

Can my property manager earn referral fees or markups on repairs?

Only if disclosed. Occupations Code 1101.652(b)(13) makes an undisclosed commission, rebate, or direct profit on an expenditure for a principal a ground for TREC discipline, and the TXR-2201 agreement has an ancillary-income disclosure in Paragraph 6(I).

Can a tenant ask for a statement of late fees owed?

Yes. Property Code 92.0191 lets a tenant request a written statement of whether a late fee is owed and how much, and the landlord must provide it by the usual written channel.

Tarrant County · Owner Guide

What fees can a property manager charge my tenant in Texas, and why is that my problem?

By Andrew ChavisOctober 22, 20268 min read

The Short Answer

Only the fees the lease names, and only within what the Property Code allows, because the lease is yours. Texas Property Code 92.001(2) defines the landlord as the owner (not the manager, unless the manager held itself out as the owner in the lease), so a tenant's chapter 92 claim over a fee charged under your lease runs against you. Late fees: allowed only if they are in the written lease, reasonable, and rent is unpaid two full days past due; 92.019(a-1) treats a late fee of up to 12 percent of the rent as reasonable on a house with four or fewer units, and a higher fee has to be supported by the landlord's actual uncertain damages. Application fees: the landlord has to make the selection criteria notice available and collect a signed acknowledgment under 92.3515; without the signature the law presumes the notice was never made available (a presumption the landlord may rebut), and a rejected applicant who never got the notice is owed the fee back, with bad-faith retention costing $100 plus three times the amount plus attorney's fees under 92.354. The Texas REALTORS management agreement (TXR-2201) discloses in Paragraph 6(I) that the broker may earn referral and subscription income from benefit programs, filter services, animal fees and the like; an undisclosed profit on an expenditure for a principal is a TREC discipline ground under Occupations Code 1101.652(b)(13). As of October 17, 2026 there is no federal rule specific to rental housing fees; the FTC's March 2026 notice took the position that deceptive fee practices already violate Section 5 of the FTC Act and asked whether a rule should follow, comments closed April 13, 2026, and the FTC's separate junk-fee rule covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging only.

The Lease Is Yours, So the Fee Is Yours

Texas Property Code 92.001(2): "Landlord" means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a dwelling, "but does not include a manager or agent of the landlord unless the manager or agent purports to be the owner, lessor, or sublessor in an oral or written lease." The duties and penalties in chapter 92's lease provisions run to the landlord, which the statute defines as the owner (a few subchapters, such as security devices in 92.151, define the term to include managers as well). A manager who writes an unlawful late fee into your lease has written a claim the tenant can bring against you. The manager's agreement with you may let the manager keep some of those fees and may give you recourse against the manager; it does not move the tenant's claim off the owner. Read the tenant-facing fee schedule your manager uses before you sign the management agreement, and again before you leave.

Late Fees: The 12 Percent Line

Property Code 92.019(a) allows a late fee only if "(1) notice of the fee is included in a written lease; (2) the fee is reasonable; and (3) any portion of the tenant's rent has remained unpaid two full days after the date the rent was originally due." Subsection (a-1) makes a fee reasonable if it is not more than "12 percent of the amount of rent for the rental period under the lease for a dwelling located in a structure that contains not more than four dwelling units" (10 percent for larger buildings), or more than that but not more than the landlord's uncertain damages from the late payment. On a single-family house renting at $2,199 a month, the 76179 single-family median in our October 4, 2026 RentCast pull, the safe harbor is $263.88 for the period, and 92.019(b) lets that be split into an initial fee plus a daily fee as long as the combined total stays inside the line. The price of getting it wrong is in 92.019(c): "$100, three times the amount of the late fee collected in violation of this section," plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees, and a lease clause that tries to waive it is void.

Application Fees: Notice First, or Refund

Property Code 92.351(1-a) defines an application fee as "a nonrefundable sum of money that is given to the landlord to offset the costs of screening an applicant." Nonrefundable has a condition. Section 92.3515(a) requires the landlord, at the time the application is handed over, to make available "printed notice of the landlord's tenant selection criteria and the grounds for which the rental application may be denied," and (b) requires the applicant to sign an acknowledgment; if it is not signed, "there is a rebuttable presumption that the notice was not made available." Section 92.352 deems an applicant rejected if the landlord has not given notice of acceptance by the seventh day after the completed application (or the application deposit) was received, and 92.353 counts a weekend or holiday deadline as the next business day and treats a phone call or a postmarked letter as notice. Section 92.3515(e) is the refund trigger: a rejected applicant who was never given the criteria notice gets the application fee back. Section 92.354: a landlord "who in bad faith fails to refund an application fee or deposit in violation of this subchapter is liable for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the amount wrongfully retained, and the applicant's reasonable attorney's fees." Section 92.355 voids any waiver. If your manager's application flow has no criteria notice and no signed acknowledgment, every fee kept from a rejected applicant is exposed, and the exposure sits with the landlord.

The Fees You Never See: Ancillary Income

Benefit packages, air-filter subscriptions, animal fees, utility concierge services, referral fees from vendors. The Texas REALTORS management agreement (TXR-2201, revision 01-05-26) discloses the category in Paragraph 6(I): the broker "may receive referral fees, periodic subscription fees, interest on outstanding debt, and other possible income" from services tied to managing the property. Signing it is consent to the category, not an itemized list; the itemization is what you ask for. The discipline hook is Occupations Code 1101.652(b)(13): TREC may suspend or revoke a license for one who "accepts, receives, or charges an undisclosed commission, rebate, or direct profit on an expenditure made for a principal." Ask for the fee schedule the tenant sees. Compare it to Paragraph 6(I). The gap is the conversation.

What the Federal Fee Rules Do and Do Not Cover

The FTC's Unfair or Deceptive Fees Rule, 16 CFR Part 464, in force since May 12, 2025, defines a covered good or service as live-event tickets or short-term lodging, and the FTC's own compliance guide lists "long-term or other rental housing that involves an ongoing landlord-tenant relationship" as not covered. It does not reach a Texas lease. Separately, on March 13, 2026 the FTC published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on "unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to advertised rent and other fees and charges in the rental housing industry," naming rental property owners and managers among the providers it was examining. Comments closed April 13, 2026, with 3,003 on the docket. The notice also stated the FTC's position that fee practices that deceive tenants already violate Section 5 of the FTC Act, rule or no rule. As of October 17, 2026 no proposed or final rule has followed. For a Texas owner the specific numbers, deadlines and penalties are the Property Code sections above; Section 5 sits behind them.

How We Handle It

One fee schedule, in the lease, inside 92.019 and 92.3515, and the same schedule in the owner's file. Ancillary income disclosed in the management agreement where the form puts it. No fee charged under an owner's address that the owner has not seen. The audit an owner should run before leaving a manager is the audit we would want to pass: the tenant's column and the owner's column, side by side, against the sections quoted here.

Common Questions

What is the maximum late fee a landlord can charge in Texas?: Property Code 92.019(a-1) treats a late fee as reasonable if it is no more than 12 percent of the rental period's rent for a dwelling in a structure of four or fewer units, or 10 percent in a larger building; a higher fee must be justified by the landlord's actual uncertain damages. The fee must be in the written lease and rent must be unpaid two full days past due.
Can a property manager charge a tenant fees the owner did not approve?: The management agreement decides what the manager may charge and keep, but under Property Code 92.001(2) the landlord is the owner, so any fee charged to the tenant under the lease is the owner's liability if it violates chapter 92. Owners should review the tenant-facing fee schedule before signing with a manager.
Does a Texas landlord have to refund an application fee?: If the landlord rejects an applicant who was never given the tenant selection criteria notice under Property Code 92.3515, the application fee must be refunded (92.3515(e)). A missing signed acknowledgment creates a rebuttable presumption the notice was not made available. Bad-faith retention exposes the landlord to $100 plus three times the amount plus attorney's fees under 92.354.
Does the FTC junk fee rule apply to apartments and rental houses?: No. 16 CFR Part 464 covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging, and the FTC guide excludes long-term rental housing. The FTC opened a separate rental-housing fee proceeding in March 2026, stating that deceptive fee practices already violate Section 5 of the FTC Act; its comment period closed April 13, 2026, and no rule had been proposed as of October 17, 2026.
Can my property manager earn referral fees or markups on repairs?: Only if disclosed. Occupations Code 1101.652(b)(13) makes an undisclosed commission, rebate, or direct profit on an expenditure for a principal a ground for TREC discipline, and the TXR-2201 agreement has an ancillary-income disclosure in Paragraph 6(I).
Can a tenant ask for a statement of late fees owed?: Yes. Property Code 92.0191 lets a tenant request a written statement of whether a late fee is owed and how much, and the landlord must provide it by the usual written channel.