01
Does my tenant's lease end when I sell the house?
When a property changes ownership the new owner is bound by the terms of the existing lease. If the lease does not say it will end if the property is sold, the owner cannot remove the tenant or change the lease. The lease, not the closing, sets what the buyer takes on. So step one is to read it line by line.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer points at a clause. The owner should be able to read out the end date, the rent amount and any line about a sale ending the term. When the lease term expires the new owner can renew it, adjust the rent and change the terms. That timing belongs on the listing file.
Red flag
Watch for a plan built on the idea that closing cancels the tenancy. An existing Texas lease survives the sale unless the lease itself says otherwise. An owner who markets the house as vacant and then cannot deliver it is promising something the lease does not allow.
02
Can a landlord enter to show the rental while the tenant still lives there?
There are no state laws regulating a landlord's entry in Texas. The lease may allow entry, and it may or may not require prior notice to the tenant. The lease may also authorize other people to enter, including maintenance staff or prospective buyers. Where the lease does not allow entry, or does not address it, the landlord may not have the right to enter without permission.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer quotes the entry clause and says who it covers. In Georgetown, Round Rock and Liberty Hill, where T. Kerr Property Group works, that clause sets the showing plan, because Texas has no entry statute. Anything beyond that clause is an agreement with the tenant, not a right.
Red flag
Texas courts have held that the covenant of quiet enjoyment is an implied term in every lease. A landlord may breach it by entering more often than necessary, at unreasonable times, or in violation of the lease. Borrowing a notice figure from another state does not create a right here.
03
Should the showing arrangement with the tenant be in writing?
The right to enter comes from the lease, because Texas has no entry statute. Anything beyond the lease is therefore an agreement with the tenant. A lease may authorize prospective buyers to enter, or it may say nothing at all. Where the lease is silent the landlord may not have the right to enter without permission.
What a strong answer sounds like
A workable arrangement is written down and signed by both sides. It names who may enter and how the tenant will be told. A tenant who agreed in writing knows what to expect. The owner has a record of what was agreed and when.
Red flag
Watch for a verbal yes treated as standing permission. Permission outside the lease rests on the tenant's agreement, and an agreement nobody wrote down is hard to prove later. Entry in violation of the lease can breach the covenant of quiet enjoyment.
04
Should the house be sold occupied or sold vacant?
A lease that does not end on sale binds the new owner, so an occupied sale is often the only honest option. A notice to vacate is not a tool for clearing a house inside its term. Texas Property Code Section 24.005(a) ties that notice to a tenant who defaults or holds over. It is a step before a forcible detainer suit.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer separates two things: the end of the lease term, and a default. Section 24.005(a) requires at least three days' written notice to vacate for a tenant who defaults or holds over. A written lease may set a shorter or longer period. Section 24.005(f-3) lists the delivery methods that count.
Red flag
Watch for advice to send a notice to vacate so the house can show empty. That notice answers a default or a holdover, not a seller's timing. Marketing a home as vacant while the lease still runs sets up a promise the owner cannot keep.
05
Did the new Texas eviction law change anything for a landlord who is selling?
Senate Bill 38, 89th Texas Legislature, took effect 1 January 2026 and changed Texas eviction procedure. It restores a required notice to vacate for all lease violations and standardizes the delivery methods. It also adds a summary disposition track, with a tenant response window of up to four days. It is eviction suit procedure, not a broad rental law overhaul.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer stays inside eviction procedure. Senate Bill 38 changes venue transfer and requires constables to attempt service within three business days. A constable then has three business days to execute a writ of possession. The tenant appeal bond payment threshold sits at $250, with a five day appeal timeline.
Red flag
Watch for the claim that the 2026 changes make it easier to clear a rental before a sale. The bill reaches eviction suits, and those start from a default or a holdover. A tenant inside the lease term is in neither position.
06
What paperwork does a tenant occupied sale need?
Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires a seller of residential real property with not more than one dwelling unit to give the purchaser a written notice of the property's condition. A rental is still that kind of property. Paragraph 6A of the TREC contract has the seller furnish the owner title policy at whichever party's expense is checked on the form.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good file has the lease in it early. A buyer taking on a tenant will want to read the term, the rent and the deposit amount. Paragraph 6D gives the buyer 5 days after the cure period to terminate if title objections are not cured. Late surprises get expensive.
Red flag
Watch for a tenancy that surfaces after the offer. A buyer who learns about an occupied term late may renegotiate or walk away. The Section 5.008 notice covers the property's condition, not the lease, so the tenancy belongs in the conversation early.
07
Who is responsible for the security deposit after closing?
Texas Property Code Section 92.105 makes the new owner liable for the return of security deposits from the date title is acquired. The new owner must deliver to the tenant a signed statement acknowledging the acquisition and the responsibility for the deposit. That statement must specify the exact dollar amount. The deposit travels with the property.
What a strong answer sounds like
A clean closing moves the money and the paperwork together. The former owner stays liable for a deposit received while they owned the property. That liability ends once the new owner has received the deposit or assumed liability for it, unless a written contract says otherwise.
Red flag
Watch for a deposit left in a seller's account with nothing in writing. Section 92.201 requires the name and a street or post office box address of the record title holder, in writing, on or before the seventh day after a tenant asks. A tenant who asks who to pay should not get silence.
This article is general information about the Central Texas market and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Statutes, rates, deadlines and district rules change. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a licensed attorney, a tax professional, the Williamson County Tax Assessor Collector or the Williamson Central Appraisal District before acting on it.
