Roommate Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Texas law says, what's specific to Austin - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- No Texas statute in our record sets a roommate reporting deadline or a right to add one.
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010 caps occupancy at three adults per bedroom.
- The cap gives way where fair housing law requires, and for up to one month for someone fleeing family violence.
- Everyone who signs the lease is normally jointly and severally liable, so one roommate can owe the entire rent.
- Our record finds no Austin roommate ordinance, which leaves approval and fees to your lease.
Understanding the Roommate Clause
This page is for Austin renters who want to add a roommate, or already have one, and need to know what to tell the landlord and when. Our Texas record has no roommate statute, and our record finds no Austin rule on top of it.
That leaves your lease as the document that sets the approval process, any notice deadline, any fee, and who owes the rent if a roommate stops paying. One state rule in our record applies whatever the lease says: a cap on adults per bedroom.
What renters assume
Texas gives renters a set number of days to tell the landlord about a new roommate, and the landlord has to answer.
What is actually true
No Texas statute in our record sets a day count for telling the landlord, gives a right to add an occupant, or makes a landlord answer or give a reason for refusing. The roommate paragraph in your lease sets the process.
Texas sits at the empty end of this chart, and that's the whole story. New York City guarantees one extra occupant with 30 days to name them and Seattle forces landlords to accept roommates and immediate family, while Texas guarantees nothing beyond the three adults per bedroom ceiling.
Roommate Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Austin, TX
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
The Texas Apartment Association-style form lease this came from runs the paragraph on well past the sentence below; what is printed here is only how it opens.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence. […]
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“You must promptly”
Read who this is aimed at. The obligation is personal to the person who signed - you - and it is not shared out across the names on the lease. That is the whole of JoAnn Brown's case. Everyone who signs a Texas lease is normally jointly and severally liable, which means a landlord may collect the entire amount from whichever cotenant is easiest to reach. It does not have to sue the roommate who caused the loss, and it does not have to divide the bill.
See the example
“loss, damage”
The charge is not limited to broken fixtures. Loss reaches past the physical, and in Brown the underlying event was a fire alleged to have damaged the wider complex rather than a scratched worktop. Nothing in our Texas record puts a ceiling on what a cotenant can be billed under a paragraph of this kind. The only ceiling our Texas record does carry is on the number of adults per bedroom, which counts people rather than money.
“caused anywhere in the apartment”
This is the reach that surprises people. The clause is not confined to the unit you rent - a laundry room, a corridor, a car park, another resident's apartment all sit inside the community, and a loss there is a loss you can be billed for. Put that next to the fault hook further down and the picture is complete: your roommate's conduct, in a part of the property you were nowhere near, becomes your invoice.
See the example
“occupant's”
Somebody living with you who never signed the lease can still put a charge on your account, and this is the sentence that does it. Texas caps how many such people there can be: the Property Code's occupancy section stops a landlord letting more than three adults per bedroom occupy the unit, with room for more where fair housing law requires it and for a person fleeing family violence for up to one month. That is a limit on the size of the household. It is not permission to add anyone, and the section in our Texas record is about how many adults may occupy the unit and does not reach reimbursement.
The co-signer's defence failed. JoAnn Brown signed an apartment lease as a cotenant with her adult son. He was alleged to have started a fire that damaged the complex, the landlord sued only her, and she argued she could not be charged for damage she had not caused. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, reversed the summary judgment she had won and held this sentence enforceable against a cotenant who was not herself negligent. The route ran through two sections. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest, so § 92.006(e) had no repair duty to stop the parties contracting over; and the fair-notice doctrine did not apply, because the sentence does not shift the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant. The court added that neither statute, common law nor the Restatement bars “requiring a tenant to reimburse the landlord for damages negligently caused by the tenant or one occupying the premises with the tenant's consent.” A dissent would have held the sentence unenforceable outright because it was not underlined or conspicuous, as § 92.006(e)(4) requires. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code - state-specific, and not a national rule.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Texas Law on Roommate Clause
- No Texas statute in our record gives a tenant the right to add a roommate or forces a landlord to answer such a request.
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010 caps occupancy at three adults per bedroom, limiting how many roommates a unit can legally hold.
- Exceptions exist where fair housing law requires more, or for someone fleeing family violence for up to one month.
- Everyone who signs the lease is normally jointly and severally liable, so one roommate can be pursued for the whole rent.
Sources include Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Copy and send: Before the new person moves in, once you have read your lease's roommate clause
Ask to add a roommate
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
What our Texas record says about roommates:
- No roommate statute. No Texas statute in our record gives a tenant the right to add an occupant or requires a landlord to respond to the request. Lease terms control.
- Occupancy cap. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010 bars a landlord from letting more than three adults per bedroom occupy a unit. A lease cannot authorize more.
- Two exceptions. The cap gives way where fair housing law requires an accommodation, and for up to one month for someone fleeing family violence.
- Shared rent. Everyone who signs the lease is normally jointly and severally liable, so the landlord can collect the entire rent from whichever roommate is easiest to reach.
- Co-tenants. A roommate who signs the lease is a co-tenant, not a guest, and carries a tenant's rights under Texas law.
What's Specific to Austin
How Texas compares
Deadline to notify the landlord of a new roommate, state by state
30 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Our record finds no Austin roommate ordinance: no city approval deadline and no city limit on what a property manager charges to add someone. Beyond the state cap, occupancy and co-tenant liability sit in your lease.
Austin has per-bed leases around West Campus and East Riverside and shared houses in Hyde Park, North Loop and Windsor Park. Managed communities screen and charge for every adult on the lease, while house rentals often lean on one head tenant.
Ask about the add-a-roommate fee and the release process before you sign.
It should say how to ask and how long the landlord has to answer. No Texas statute in our record sets that deadline.
Without it, joint and several liability means one signer can be billed the entire rent.
Our Texas record has no statute limiting guest clauses. Read an aggressive one as if it will be enforced as written.
Get the amount in writing. Our record finds no Texas or Austin cap on what a landlord charges to add someone.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.010 on tcss.legis.texas.gov, Texas's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Occupant fee with no amount
A charge "to be determined" when a roommate joins. Our record finds no cap on it, so get the number in writing before anyone moves in.
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Approval at sole discretion, no deadline
The landlord can refuse for any reason and take as long as they like. No Texas statute in our record requires an answer, so ask for a reply window.
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Occupancy limit tighter than state law
A lease capping adults below the three adults per bedroom in § 92.010. Know that you are signing away room the state cap would allow.
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No written release for departing roommates
Nothing lets a co-tenant who moves out off the hook. If you both signed, you can still be billed the entire rent after they leave.
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Instant default for extra occupant
Any unapproved guest becomes an immediate lease breach with no chance to fix it. Ask for a cure period before you sign.
Your Rights as a Austin Tenant
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Three adults per bedroom
§ 92.010 bars a landlord from letting more than three adults per bedroom occupy your unit, and a crowded lease term cannot override it.
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Fair housing beats the cap
The cap gives way where fair housing law requires an accommodation, so the number is not absolute for every household.
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One month for violence survivors
Someone fleeing family violence may stay past the cap for up to one month, so taking in a survivor does not by itself break the limit.
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Signed roommates are full tenants
A roommate on the lease is a co-tenant, not a visitor, with a tenant's rights under Texas law. They cannot be treated as a guest who overstayed.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read the roommate clause
Find the wording on added occupants, guests, fees and approval, and any deadline. No Texas statute in our record sets one.
Count adults per bedroom
§ 92.010 allows no more than three adults per bedroom. Check the count before anyone gives notice on their current place.
Ask in writing, then sign
Email the person's name and move-in date, then get a signed lease amendment. An unsigned occupant has no tenant rights and can put your tenancy in breach.
Pin down the money
Get any rent increase, deposit change or occupant fee in writing before boxes move. Our record finds no cap on any of them.
Sign a roommate agreement
Put shares, deposits and move-out notice in writing between you. It binds your roommates, not your landlord, who can still pursue the entire rent.
Escalate a money dispute
Ask for an itemized accounting in writing first. Travis County justice court or an Austin tenant-rights group is the next step.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Roommate rules near Texas
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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