Texas Pre-Tenancy Disclosures: What Landlords Must Disclose Before the Lease Begins

Texas does not impose as many pre-tenancy disclosure requirements on landlords as some states, but the requirements that exist are non-negotiable. For DFW landlords, the state-law disclosure floor is supplemented by city ordinance overlays in Dallas (Tenant Bill of Rights), Fort Worth (rental registration), and certain other cities, so the practical disclosure requirements for a multi-city portfolio can vary city by city. Some are state-law (the flood disclosure under § 92.0135, the ownership and management disclosure under § 92.201, the smoke alarm disclosures under § 92.255). Others are federal (the federal lead-based paint disclosure for pre-1978 housing). Still others arise from local ordinances in some Texas cities. A landlord who skips a required disclosure exposes himself to penalties, lease-termination claims by the tenant, and in some cases liability for personal injury or property damage that the disclosure would have prevented. This page covers each required disclosure: when it applies, what must be disclosed, how to document compliance, and the common errors that turn a missed disclosure into a lawsuit.

Federal lead-based paint disclosure

The federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, implemented through EPA and HUD regulations, requires landlords of pre-1978 housing to disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-paint hazards before any rental contract is signed.

The disclosure must include:

• A statement that the property may contain lead-based paint and that lead exposure poses health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.
• Any specific knowledge the landlord has about lead-based paint in the unit (location, condition).
• Any reports or records the landlord has about lead-based paint or hazards in the unit.
• The EPA-prescribed pamphlet “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” (or HUD’s equivalent).

The disclosure form must be signed by both landlord and tenant, with separate signature blocks acknowledging each component. The signed form must be retained by the landlord for at least three years.

Failure to comply exposes the landlord to civil penalties of up to thousands of dollars per violation, plus actual damages to the tenant, plus attorney’s fees. In cases of childhood lead poisoning, the absence of a compliant disclosure significantly weakens the landlord’s defense.

The disclosure applies to most pre-1978 residential housing. Exemptions exist for housing exclusively for elderly or disabled tenants, certain short-term housing, single-family homes rented to a tenant unrelated to the property, and a few other narrow categories.

Texas flood disclosure under § 92.0135

Section 92.0135, added by the Texas Legislature in 2021 (H.B. 531, effective January 1, 2022), requires landlords to disclose the property’s flood history and flood risk before signing the lease.

The disclosure must inform the tenant in writing whether:

• The property is located in a 100-year floodplain.
• The property has flooded at least once in the last five years.

Section 92.0135 prescribes the language of the notice: the disclosure must be in writing and in substantially the form set out in the statute. Standard residential lease packages from the Texas Apartment Association and similar trade groups include a conforming disclosure form. There is no separate 500-year floodplain disclosure. The statute requires only the 100-year-floodplain notice under § 92.0135(b) and the flooded-in-the-last-five-years notice under § 92.0135(d).

If the landlord knows or has reason to know that the property has flooded but does not disclose it, the tenant has remedies including lease termination, recovery of certain damages, and (depending on the facts) attorney’s fees. Damage caused by undisclosed flooding can be significantly harder for the landlord to recover from the tenant if disclosure was not provided.

Texas ownership and management disclosure

Section 92.201 requires the landlord to disclose, in writing, the name and address of:

• The landlord (or owner of the property).
• The management company, if any.
• The person authorized to receive notices, demands, and complaints from the tenant.

This disclosure can be in the lease itself, on a separate document attached to the lease, or in a posted notice in the rental unit or office. The most common practice is to include the information in the lease.

If the landlord fails to disclose the required information, the tenant’s notices to the landlord can be served on the property manager or any agent until proper disclosure is made, meaning the landlord cannot claim that the tenant’s habitability notice was sent to the wrong place if disclosure was incomplete.

The disclosure must be updated within a reasonable time after any change in the disclosed information. A change in property managers, ownership, or designated agent triggers an updated disclosure.

Smoke alarm disclosures

Section 92.255 requires the landlord to install and maintain smoke alarms, but also imposes disclosure-related obligations:

• Confirmation in writing of the location and operating condition of smoke alarms at lease signing.
• Notice to the tenant of the tenant’s right to request additional smoke alarms or replacement of malfunctioning units.

Best practice is to include a smoke alarm acknowledgment as part of the lease or move-in inspection form, with separate signature lines for the tenant confirming receipt and operating condition.

Texas Property Tax Code disclosure for new properties

The Texas Property Tax Code requires certain disclosures for tenants who pay property tax components as part of their rent. This is more common in commercial leases (where the tenant directly pays property taxes or pass-through escalations) than in residential leases.

For residential leases, the Property Tax Code disclosure obligations are largely absorbed into standard lease provisions and are not as visible. But landlords using non-standard lease forms should confirm that any property-tax-related disclosures meet the statute’s requirements.

Local ordinance disclosures

Some Texas cities have local ordinances that impose additional disclosure requirements:

• Dallas. The City of Dallas has imposed periodic disclosure-related ordinances (such as registered sex offender disclosures in certain housing types). Compliance varies by ordinance and changes over time.
• Austin. Austin has a “tenant relocation” disclosure ordinance applicable to certain situations.
• Houston. Houston has imposed disclosure requirements relating to specific environmental conditions in certain zones.
• San Antonio. San Antonio has lead-based paint disclosure ordinances that supplement federal requirements.

Local ordinances change. Landlords with properties in multiple Texas cities should periodically verify their disclosure compliance with current ordinance text.

Application disclosures and ADA accessibility

In addition to pre-tenancy disclosures, landlords must provide certain disclosures during the application process:

• Application fee disclosure. Any fees charged in connection with the application must be itemized in writing under § 92.351 and § 92.352.
• Adverse action notice under FCRA. If the landlord denies an application based on a credit report or background check, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires written notice to the applicant. See the Application Screening / FCRA page.
• Reasonable accommodation rights. The federal Fair Housing Act requires that information about reasonable accommodation requests be available to applicants with disabilities. The notice need not be in any specific form but should be discoverable on inquiry.

Texas asbestos disclosure

Texas does not impose a general state-law asbestos disclosure requirement on residential landlords. However:

• Federal regulations apply to disturbing asbestos during renovation or repair, regardless of disclosure.
• Knowledge-based duty. If the landlord has actual knowledge of asbestos-containing materials in conditions that create a risk to occupants, common-law duties may require disclosure to the tenant.
• Commercial leases sometimes include asbestos representations and warranties as separate provisions.

Properties built before 1980 are more likely to contain asbestos in flooring, insulation, and similar materials. Landlords with old buildings should be aware of the federal renovation rules and consult counsel before any work that could disturb asbestos.

Mold disclosure: what Texas does and doesn’t require

Texas does not have a specific statutory mold disclosure requirement at the state level. There is no required form, no standard set of disclosures, and no penalty regime specific to mold disclosures.

However:

• Habitability obligations under § 92.052 cover mold conditions that materially affect health and safety.
• Knowledge-based common-law duties may require disclosure of known mold problems.
• Insurance disclosure requirements under HB 1 (the 2003 mold-coverage statute) require certain disclosures from insurers, not landlords.

Some lease forms include mold acknowledgment provisions that limit landlord liability and require tenant cooperation in mold prevention. These provisions are common but vary in enforceability: a sweeping waiver of habitability obligations is not enforceable, but a tenant-cooperation provision typically is.

The disclosure I tell clients to add even when it’s not required

There’s one disclosure I push every residential client to add to the lease, and it has no Texas statutory backing. It’s a written acknowledgment of the property’s specific water-intrusion history.

The reasoning is defensive, not legal-compliance. Habitability litigation, mold litigation, and deposit-deduction litigation over water damage all have one thing in common: at trial, the tenant claims the landlord knew about a water problem and concealed it. Whether or not that’s true, the case turns on what the landlord disclosed at signing. A lease with no water-history disclosure leaves room for the tenant to say “the landlord knew about the leak under the master bath and didn’t tell me.” A lease with a specific disclosure (“the property has had two roof repairs in the last five years; the bathroom subfloor was replaced in 2022; there is no current known active water intrusion”) closes that argument off entirely.

The disclosure costs the landlord nothing at lease signing. It costs the landlord between zero and several thousand dollars in litigation later, depending on whether the case ever comes up. The asymmetry is enormous.

The same principle applies to known prior pest problems, known prior HVAC issues with units that operate on the edge of their capacity, and known foundation movement at properties on Texas clay soil. None of these are statutorily required disclosures. All of them reduce litigation exposure when added voluntarily and signed off by the tenant at lease signing.

This is the kind of thing experienced operators do reflexively and inexperienced operators learn about after their first lawsuit.

What to keep in the file

Compliant pre-tenancy disclosures should be:

• Provided in writing, with signed acknowledgment from the tenant.
• Retained for the longer of (1) three years (federal lead disclosure rule), (2) the lease term plus statute of limitations on related claims, or (3) any longer period required by specific statutes.
• Updated promptly when any underlying fact changes (new flood event, new mold discovery, change in ownership or management, etc.).
• Stored in a way that allows the landlord to produce them on short notice, typically as part of the lease file with copies in property-management software.

A landlord who cannot produce the signed disclosure form is, for practical purposes, in the same position as a landlord who never made the disclosure. Documentation matters.