Fort Worth tenant screening & landlord laws
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Fort Worth tenant screening
Fort Worth sits inside Texas, so Texas law is generally the floor for how landlords in Fort Worth screen tenants and manage leases. Texas is one of the thinner-protection states in several of the areas this page covers — meaning Fort Worth landlords should generally expect state law, rather than a dense layer of local ordinances, to control most of the process. Here's a quick snapshot of the Texas baseline this page builds on:
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What Texas law already provides
- Screening/application fees: Texas Property Code Chapter 92 has no statutory cap on tenant screening or rental application fees.
- Criminal history: Texas has no state law restricting how landlords may use criminal history in tenant screening beyond federal law (the Fair Housing Act and FCRA).
- Source of income: Not a protected class under Texas state law, and Texas Local Government Code § 250.007 affirmatively limits cities from requiring landlords to accept federal housing-assistance income (with exceptions for veterans and voluntary incentive programs).
- Security deposits: No statutory dollar cap. Texas Property Code § 92.103 generally requires a landlord to refund a deposit within 30 days of the tenant surrendering the unit, and § 92.104 bars deductions for normal wear and tear.
- Rent control: Generally unavailable. A Texas city may adopt rent control only after its governing body finds a housing emergency tied to a formally defined disaster and the governor approves the ordinance.
How Fort Worth's rules layer on top of Texas law
We were not able to confirm, after a genuine search attempt, whether Fort Worth has adopted any city-specific ordinance that adds to the Texas baseline above. We attempted to review Fort Worth's Neighborhood Services and Human Relations Commission pages on the city's own website, as well as Fort Worth's American Legal Publishing–hosted municipal code, but the pages we could access either returned no extractable content (likely because they're JavaScript-rendered single-page applications) or only a generic code-library shell without the underlying chapter text. We were not able to complete a WebSearch or Firecrawl search for this jurisdiction because those tools were unavailable in this session (budget/rate limits exhausted before reaching Fort Worth).
Fort Worth may have city-specific rules on tenant screening, criminal history, or source of income. Before finalizing screening policies, check with the City of Fort Worth's Neighborhood Services Department or Human Relations Commission, or review Fort Worth's current Code of Ordinances.
Screening rules to follow in Fort Worth
Confirm any Fort Worth-specific ordinance addressing tenant screening fees, criminal history, or source-of-income protections against the current city code before relying on the Texas state baseline described above.
Rent and eviction rules in Fort Worth
Fort Worth generally does not have, and under state law likely could not adopt, its own rent control ordinance. Texas Local Government Code § 214.902 allows a Texas municipality to adopt rent control only after a governing-body finding of a disaster-related housing emergency and the governor's separate approval. Confirm whether Fort Worth has a just-cause eviction requirement beyond the general Texas eviction framework.
County/township layers
Fort Worth sits primarily within Tarrant County, with small portions extending into Denton, Parker, Wise, and Johnson counties. As with Travis County near Austin, Texas counties (including Tarrant County) are not home-rule entities — they generally only hold the specific powers the Texas Legislature has expressly granted them, unlike a home-rule city such as Fort Worth. Confirm any independent landlord-tenant ordinance for Tarrant County's unincorporated areas against the current county code before finalizing a screening policy.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fort Worth have its own tenant screening ordinance?
Texas state law (Property Code Chapter 92) sets the general baseline. Confirm any Fort Worth city-specific ordinance directly with the City of Fort Worth before relying on it.
Does Texas or Fort Worth cap security deposits?
No dollar cap that we could confirm at either the state or city level. Texas law instead regulates the deposit's return timeline (generally 30 days after the tenant surrenders the unit) and bars deductions for normal wear and tear.
Is source of income a protected class in Fort Worth?
Not under Texas state law. Fort Worth may have a local ordinance adding this protection; confirm current city code before finalizing a screening policy.
Is there rent control in Fort Worth?
Under Texas law, a city may only adopt rent control after a formally declared disaster-related housing emergency with the governor's approval. Landlords should confirm whether any such emergency has been declared for Fort Worth.
Start a Fort Worth tenant screening with Checkr
If you manage rental property in Fort Worth or greater Tarrant County, Checkr can help you build a tenant screening process aligned with Texas's statewide framework. Get started with Checkr to see how our screening reports and adverse-action tools are designed to support your process.
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Disclaimer
The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.