Texas at a glance
- License
- Broker license to lease for others; no short-term rental exemption found (hotel/motel exemption only)
- Trust account
- Trust account at a Texas-authorized bank by close of business on the 2nd working day
- Records kept
- 4 years
- Reconciliation
- Monthly accounting to each beneficiary when there is activity; no reconciliation frequency stated
Details and citations for each point are below.
Who needs a license
- A broker includes anyone who, for another person and for pay, leases real estate or controls the acceptance or deposit of rent from a resident of a single-family unit (including condos and townhomes). People and business entities both need a license to act as a broker.Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (§§ 1101.002, .005, .351, .652); 22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
- Someone who arranges for a tenant to occupy residential property they don’t own or lease, for pay, needs a license unless exempt. TREC’s FAQ says a property manager paid to show or lease property needs one.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146; Does a property manager have to be licensed?
- Exemptions include an on-site apartment manager, an owner or the owner’s employee leasing the owner’s property, and the lease or management of a hotel or motel. Independent contractors are not employees for this purpose.Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (§§ 1101.002, .005, .351, .652); 22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
Short-term rental rules
- We found no short-term or vacation rental license, statute or TREC rule in Occupations Code chapter 1101 or TREC’s rules. The only lodging carve-out is the hotel and motel exemption.Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (§§ 1101.002, .005, .351, .652); 22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
The trust account
- Trust money includes rent, unearned fees and security deposits. A trust account is held at a banking institution authorized to do business in Texas and clearly identified as a trust account; separate accounts per client are allowed but not required.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
- Trust money is deposited no later than close of business on the second working day after receipt, unless the principals agree otherwise in writing.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146; Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (§§ 1101.002, .005, .351, .652)
- Commingling others’ money with your own is grounds for discipline. A broker may keep a reasonable amount in the trust account to cover bank service fees.Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (§§ 1101.002, .005, .351, .652); 22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
- Interest-bearing accounts are allowed; unless the depositing party agrees otherwise in writing, interest goes to whoever receives the money.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
Advance rents and deposits
- Money is paid out of trust only under the agreement it was received under. Once the broker owns money in trust (a fee, for example), it must come out within 30 days.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
- Texas’s landlord-tenant security deposit rules apply to a “dwelling” — rooms rented as a permanent residence — and set a 30-day refund.Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (§§ 92.001, 92.101, 92.103)
Records and how long to keep them
- All trust account documentation is kept for four years from when it is received or created.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
Reconciliation and ledgers
- Brokers keep a record of each deposit and withdrawal and give each beneficiary an accounting at least monthly if the account had activity. We found no stated bank-reconciliation frequency.22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146
Check with the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC)
We could not confirm these from a primary source, so we don’t state them as rules:
- Whether the hotel and motel exemption covers houses or condos rented as vacation rentals — we found no statute, rule or TREC guidance on it.
- Whether the Property Code’s security deposit rules reach short-term damage deposits, since they apply to a permanent residence.
- TREC’s rules were read on TREC’s site, not checked against the Secretary of State’s Texas Administrative Code viewer.
Sources
Each source was read on 2026-10-25.
- Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1101 (§§ 1101.002, .005, .351, .652) — Texas Legislature
- 22 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 535.4, 535.5, 535.146 — Texas Real Estate Commission
- Does a property manager have to be licensed? — Texas Real Estate Commission
- Tex. Prop. Code ch. 92 (§§ 92.001, 92.101, 92.103) — Texas Legislature
The reconciliation itself
Whatever your state’s rules, the monthly check is the same idea: the bank, your books and what you hold for each owner and guest should agree. Our three-way reconciliation guide walks through it with a free worksheet. If your reservations run on VacayOps, trust accounting is part of the Full Platform: guest payments are recorded into trust, owner statements build each owner’s balance, and the month’s reconciliation is signed off and exported as a PDF for your accountant. VacayOps records and reconciles the money in your own bank and processor accounts. It never holds or moves funds.