A landlord is required by law to either refund your deposit or send you an itemized list in writing of charges that have been assessed against your deposit within 30 days of the day you move out, turn in your keys and provide a forwarding address.
Assuming you turned in your keys and provided a forwarding address over 30 days ago, I recommend sending a letter to the owner and/or manager by certified mail, return receipt requested, demanding your deposit back. If the landlord provided a written list of charges to you within 30 days of when you moved out, you should explain in your letter why those charges are not valid. (If the landlord did not send you anything in writing within 30 days of when you moved out, you should be entitled to your entire deposit back.) You may want to give the landlord a deadline, such as 10 days, to return your deposit to you before you will consider pursuing legal action. Make sure the letter is signed and dated, and keep a copy for yourself.
If the landlord wrongfully withholds any of your deposit, you may be entitled to three times the amount of the deposit wrongfully withheld plus $100 if you end up having to go to small claims court to get your deposit back.
For more information about getting your security deposit back, here is a link to the Texas Tenant Advisor website:
http://www.texastenant.org/rights/securitydeposit/gettingback/gettingback.html
The counseling on this page should not be considered conclusive or a substitute for legal advice. Special facts can render broad statements inapplicable. Anyone needing legal assistance should contact an attorney.
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