How much does a lease review cost in El Paso?

We charge a modest flat fee for a residential lease review, quoted before we start, and it includes the written summary and a follow-up call. Drafting a repair notice, deposit demand or termination letter for an existing tenancy is a separate flat fee. Compared with a reletting charge or a lost deposit, an El Paso tenant usually comes out well ahead.

Can my landlord keep my security deposit in Texas?

Only for actual damages beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent or other charges the lease allows, and only if the landlord sends an itemized list within 30 days after you move out and provide a forwarding address. A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith owes you three times the amount plus $100 and attorney fees under Property Code Section 92.109. A written demand letter usually resolves it.

Can I break my lease in El Paso because of military orders?

Yes. Texas Property Code Section 92.017 and the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act let a servicemember terminate a residential lease with written notice and a copy of deployment or permanent change of station orders. The lease ends 30 days after the next rent due date, and the landlord cannot charge an early-termination fee. We prepare the notice for Fort Bliss families regularly.

What can I do if my landlord will not make repairs in Texas?

Send written notice of the problem to the address in your lease, be current on rent, and give a reasonable time, presumed to be seven days. If nothing happens, send a second notice. After that, Section 92.056 lets you terminate the lease, repair and deduct within limits, or sue for damages and a rent reduction. The notices must be done precisely, which is what we prepare for El Paso tenants.

Do I have to go to court to enforce my tenant rights?

Usually not. Most repair, deposit and early-termination problems are resolved once the landlord receives a properly drafted statutory notice or demand letter from an attorney. The lease review itself never involves court. If a landlord refuses to comply, a small claims suit in an El Paso Justice of the Peace court is available, and we can discuss that separately if it becomes necessary.

Lease Review for Tenants El Paso

Lease Review for El Paso Tenants — Understand Your Rental Agreement Before You Sign

A Texas attorney reads your residential lease, tells you which clauses are unenforceable, what you are really committing to, and how to handle deposit, repair and early-termination problems — for a flat fee, with no court.

Last reviewed by Robert Andrew Navar, Esq. · State Bar of Texas

Renters in El Paso sign leases of 20, 30 or 40 pages under pressure, often the same day they tour the apartment, and rarely get to read them. Soldiers arriving at Fort Bliss, UTEP students, families moving from Juárez and workers relocating for a job all end up bound by terms they never understood: automatic renewals, reletting fees, mandatory renter's insurance, pest and utility add-ons, and early termination penalties. A lease review is the tenant's chance to have someone on their side read the document, explain it in English or Spanish, and flag anything that Texas law does not allow.

Texas Property Code Chapter 92 gives residential tenants rights that no lease can take away. Section 92.006 voids most waivers of the landlord's duty to repair conditions that affect health or safety. Section 92.056 gives tenants a repair-and-deduct and lease-termination remedy after proper written notice. Sections 92.103 and 92.109 require the deposit back within 30 days and penalize bad-faith retention. Section 92.017 lets servicemembers terminate on deployment or permanent change of station orders, and Section 92.016 does the same for victims of family violence. Section 92.0081 bars lockouts without the required notices, and Section 92.331 prohibits retaliation for exercising these rights.

We read the entire lease and every addendum, then send you a plain-language summary: what you owe, when you can leave, which clauses are void under Chapter 92, and what to negotiate before signing. If you are already in the lease and the landlord is refusing repairs, keeping a deposit or threatening a lockout, we explain your options and draft the statutory notices or a demand letter that starts the clock on your remedies. None of this involves a court appearance. If a landlord ultimately has to be sued for a deposit or repairs, that is a separate matter in an El Paso Justice of the Peace court that we can discuss with you when the time comes.

What we look for in an El Paso apartment lease

The Texas Apartment Association lease used by most El Paso complexes is heavily landlord-friendly. We check the reletting charge and early termination fee, the automatic month-to-month renewal and the notice required to stop it, late-fee and returned-check charges against Section 92.019, mandatory insurance and utility billing addenda, the pet and animal rules, the condition-of-premises clause and move-in form, jury waiver and attorney-fee provisions, and any clause that shifts repair obligations onto the tenant. For private landlords, we also confirm the lease is not missing the bold-print statutory notices, which changes your rights.

Breaking a lease early in Texas: what actually applies

Texas has no general right to break a lease, but several statutory exits exist: military orders under Section 92.017, family violence with a protective order under Section 92.016, certain sexual offenses or stalking under Section 92.0161, the landlord's failure to repair after proper notice under Section 92.056, and the landlord's failure to install required security devices. Outside those, the lease's own early-termination or buyout clause controls, and the landlord has a duty under Section 91.006 to mitigate damages by trying to re-rent. We tell El Paso tenants exactly which exit, if any, applies and how to document it so the landlord cannot chase them for the rest of the term.

What's included

Full read of the lease and every addendum, rider and community rules attachment
Written plain-language summary of costs, deadlines, renewal terms and exit options
List of clauses that are void or limited under Texas Property Code Chapter 92
Suggested changes to request before signing
A phone or Zoom call to walk through the findings in English or Spanish
For current tenants: the statutory repair notice, deposit demand or termination letter your situation calls for

How it works

Send us the lease

Email or text a photo or PDF of the full lease and addenda, and tell us what worries you: the cost, leaving early, a repair, or a deposit. We quote a flat fee immediately.

Attorney review

Within one to three business days you receive a written summary of what the lease really says, the clauses Texas will not enforce, and what to ask the landlord to change.

Call and next steps

We go over the findings by phone or Zoom, answer your questions, and if needed prepare the notice or demand letter that protects your rights with your El Paso landlord.