The Texas Move-Out Checklist Landlords Actually Use (Ours)
We ran a move-out this week. Tenant gave proper notice, left the place in decent shape, and the turn still generated three work orders before noon: a full rekey, pest treatment, and a deep make-ready clean. That is a NORMAL move-out. The checklist below is the one we run on every single one, and it exists because every line on it is a place we have watched landlords lose money.
Get the move-out date in writing, walk the unit against the move-in record the day possession ends, separate damage from normal wear honestly, rekey every time, and return the deposit or an itemized list within 30 days of surrender per Texas Property Code §92.103. Then start the make-ready the same week, because vacancy costs more than any deduction dispute.
Before the Tenant Leaves
1. Confirm the notice is real notice. Texas leases specify how much written notice ends a tenancy. A text that says "we're probably out end of month" is a conversation, not notice. Get the date in writing and confirm it back. Your marketing clock, your turn budget, and your deposit timeline all start from this date.
2. Send the move-out expectations letter. One page: cleaning standard, where keys go, utilities stay on through the final day, forwarding address required. That last one matters more than people think. Under Texas Property Code §92.107, the landlord is not obligated to refund the deposit or send the itemized list until the tenant provides a written forwarding address. But the tenant never forfeits the refund just by failing to give one, so silence is a delay, not a windfall. Ask for the address in writing, early, and log the request so the clock's start is documented either way.
3. Schedule the walkthrough for the day possession ends. Not three days later. Every day between tenant-out and inspection is a day where "it was like that when we left" becomes unprovable either way.
The Walkthrough Itself
4. Walk it against the move-in record, not your memory. The move-in photos and condition report are the only evidence that matters. If you did not document move-in condition, you are about to learn why we photograph every wall of every unit before a tenant ever gets keys. Without the before, there is no after.
5. Separate damage from normal wear, honestly. Texas law does not let you charge for normal wear and tear: faded paint, worn carpet in traffic paths, small nail holes. It does let you charge for damage: broken blinds, pet stains, holes in doors. The landlords who get burned are the ones who charge for repainting a unit that just aged.
⚖️ The penalty for bad-faith deposit withholding under §92.109 is real: $100 plus three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus the tenant's attorney fees. Bad-faith failure to send the itemized list forfeits the right to withhold anything at all. Source: Texas Property Code, Chapter 92.
6. Rekey, always, no exceptions. Not because you distrust the tenant who left. Because you have no idea how many copies of that key exist, and the next tenant's safety is on you. We treat rekeying as a fixed cost of every turn, not a judgment call.
7. Photograph everything again. Same rooms, same angles as move-in. The pair of photo sets is what makes a deduction stick and what makes a dispute short.
The 30-Day Clock
8. The deposit timeline is 30 days and it is strict. Texas Property Code §92.103: refund the deposit, or the balance with an itemized list of deductions, within 30 days of surrender. Miss it and the presumption flips against you as bad faith, with the burden on you to prove any retention was reasonable. This deadline is the single most common way self-managing landlords hand money back to a tenant they had legitimate deductions against.
9. Itemize like someone will read it in court. Because occasionally someone does. Each deduction: what it was, what it cost, receipt or invoice behind it. "Cleaning: $400" is an argument. "Carpet cleaning and repair, two rooms, invoice attached: $385" is a record.
10. Start the make-ready the same week. Every vacant day costs a day of rent. The checklist above protects the deposit; this line protects the yield. Rekey, pest, clean, punch list, photos, list it. Our average turn runs on a schedule because vacancy is the largest cost in this entire process, larger than any deduction dispute. If the goal is renting the home back out fast, the make-ready week is where that gets won.
📋 The 30-day rule: the clock starts at surrender, not at the walkthrough and not when the forwarding address shows up. Calendar it the day the keys come back. Source: Texas Property Code §92.103.
The Short Version
Move-outs are where documentation either pays off or gets expensive. The move-in file decides the move-out. The 30-day clock is strict. Wear is not damage. Rekey every time. And the fastest way to lose money on a move-out is not the deposit at all, it is the empty weeks that follow it.
If you would rather hand the entire checklist to a Tarrant County property management team that runs it weekly, that is the job. Text us the address and your situation.
Andrew Chavis · Century 21 Alliance Properties · License #0845090 · IABS Notice · Consumer Protection Notice. Statute summaries sourced from the Texas Property Code as published at statutes.capitol.texas.gov; consult an attorney for legal questions. View sources and disclaimers.