Texas required lease disclosures: the floodplain notice, who owns the building and the terms that must be in bold

What does the Texas floodplain notice say?

Under 92.0135(b), a landlord gives a written notice substantially equivalent to a statement that the landlord "is or is not aware that the dwelling you are renting is located in a 100-year floodplain." If neither box is checked, the tenant should assume it is. The notice points to FEMA's free address search and warns that most tenant insurance does not cover floods. Subsection (d) adds a second notice if the landlord knows flooding damaged any part of the dwelling at least once in the five years before the lease's effective date.

Both notices go in a lease paragraph, an addendum, or a separate document given at or before signing, and both parties sign the document containing the notice (subsection e). Leases under 30 days and certain temporary sale-related tenancies are exempt (a-1). If you violate the section and the tenant suffers substantial personal property loss in a flood, the tenant may terminate within 30 days and gets prepaid rent back within 30 days (f, g).

Example a made-up Houston owner knows the duplex flooded in 2023 and is not in a mapped floodplain. The lease addendum checks "is not aware" for the floodplain and "is aware" for flooding within five years, and both tenants sign it before moving in.

Who owns it, and who manages it?

Section 92.201(a): a landlord shall disclose the name and a street or post office box address of the holder of record title, per the county deed records, and, if an off-site entity primarily manages the dwelling, the management company's name and street address. You may do it by writing within seven days of a tenant's request, by continuous posting in a conspicuous place, or by putting it in the lease or written rules given before the request. An owner or manager may use an assumed name if the certificate is recorded with the county clerk (f).

If you have an on-site management or superintendent's office, 92.020 requires a telephone number answered 24 hours a day for emergencies that materially affect health or safety, posted outside the office. Other landlords must give a number for such reports (subsection d).

Which terms only work if they are conspicuous?

• Repair remedies: the lease must contain underlined or bold language telling the tenant the remedies in 92.056 and 92.0561 (92.056(g)).
• Advance notice of surrender as a condition for a deposit refund: effective only if underlined or in conspicuous bold print (92.103(b)).
• Making a tenant pay for repair or replacement of a security device they damaged: needs an underlined provision in the written lease (security devices subchapter).
• Parking and towing rules in a multiunit complex: a copy before signing, signed, in the lease or an attached signed addendum, with a paragraph title reading "Parking" or "Parking Rules" (92.0131).

The military and family violence warning sentence in 92.017(g) is also worth including: without language substantially equivalent to it, a tenant who ends the lease under that section is released from delinquent unpaid rent too.

Is there anything federal to add?

Yes. For covered older housing, 42 U.S.C. 4852d requires the lessor, before the lessee is obligated, to provide the lead hazard information pamphlet and disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards, with any available evaluation report.

How DoorKeeping helps in Texas

DoorKeeping keeps the lease, the move-in report and the deposit details together for each unit, so you can ask Claude or ChatGPT which disclosures a lease is missing before you send it. Anything that goes to a tenant waits for your one-tap approval. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. This is general information, not legal advice: check the current statute and your own lease.

Sources

1. Texas Property Code Chapter 92, Residential tenancies, sections 92.0131, 92.0135, 92.020, 92.056, 92.103 and 92.201 (Texas Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
2. 42 U.S. Code 4852d, Disclosure of information concerning lead upon transfer of residential property (Cornell Legal Information Institute), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Does a Texas lease need a floodplain disclosure?

Yes, a written notice stating whether the landlord is aware the dwelling is in a 100-year floodplain, signed by both parties, plus a notice of flooding in the last five years where applicable (92.0135).

Must a Texas landlord reveal who owns the property?

The record title holder's name and address, and any off-site management company, by writing, posting or the lease (92.201).

Which Texas lease terms must be in bold or underlined?

Among others, the repair remedies language (92.056(g)) and a requirement of advance notice of surrender as a condition for deposit refund (92.103(b)).