How long does a landlord have to either accept or reject a
tenant? The law deems a tenant has been rejected after
seven days from the date the tenant submits a complete
rental application. If the landlord does not furnish the
tenant a rental application, then the tenant is deemed
rejected seven days after the landlord accepts the
application deposit. See Tex. Prop. Code
92.352.
The law does not put a specific deadline for the return of
the deposit after a tenant has been rejected. The Texas Apartment Association (TAA)
wanted the law to say a landlord had at least 30 days
to refund an application deposit; however, the
statutory scheme adopted by Texas Legislature did not
address that issue specifically. (So, TAA put 30 days
as the default deadline on their form application
agreement used by many Texas landlords.)
Why does it take so long for a landlord to return an
applicaiton deposit? Landlords claim that they need time to
prepare a check. Of course, it should not take that long,
and they don't have to deposit tenant checks in the first
place. They could just give tenants their own checks back.
Some landlords use this practical approach but many don't.
Bottom line: How long is too long for a landlord to return
the application deposit when a tenant is rejected? There is
no clear answer. Thirty days is awfully long. We think two
business days is fairly reasonable. If a landlord requires
application deposits to hold a unit, then they must be
prepared to return the money promptly if they reject the
tenant.
But what happens when the tenant changes their mind?
Continue on to tenant changes mind.