A Texas landlord-tenant dispute over a $1,950 security deposit ended with a partial refund for the tenant, but not the legal costs he had hoped to recover.
asserted
he → end → tenant
Blake Vaughn challenged deductions made by landlord Albert Li after his mother and two brothers moved out of a rented property in Tarrant County.
asserted
mother → challenge → County
The disagreement involved repair bills, changed locks and allegations of an unlawful lockout.
asserted
disagreement → involve → lockout
A trial court ordered Li to return $880.32 but found insufficient evidence of bad faith and awarded court costs to the landlord.
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court → order → landlord
As reported in Texas Second Court of Appeals by Justia US Law, in June 2026, the Second Court of Appeals upheld that judgment.
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Court → report → judgment
Texas security deposit dispute began with a $1,950 deposit and a family rental agreement
The lease began on 25 March 2021, with an agreed extension allowing the occupants to remain in the property until 30 April 2022.
asserted
occupants → begin → April
Blake Vaughn, who paid the rent and security deposit, was not living there himself.
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who → pay → rent
The home was occupied by his mother and two brothers, whose move-out arrangements later became central to the disagreement with landlord Albert Li.
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arrangements → occupy → Li
Vaughn had paid a deposit of $1,950.
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Vaughn → pay → 1,950
Under the rental agreement, occupants were responsible for certain repairs and cleaning costs, along with damage caused by negligence or misuse.
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occupants → cause → negligence
The contract also addressed smoke alarms, alterations to locks and the return of keys.
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contract → address → keys
Its provisions allowed the landlord to deduct qualifying expenses from the deposit, although the amount that could legitimately be charged remained disputed.
uncertain
that → allow → deposit
The conflict emerged during the final day of the tenancy.
asserted
conflict → emerge → tenancy
Li said he had visited the property on the morning of 30 April and found the front door open, belongings still inside and tall weeds in the garden.
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door → say → garden
He believed the family had moved out a week or two earlier.
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family → believe → ?
He also discovered that all four locks had been changed without his knowledge.
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locks → discover → knowledge
Security deposit dispute escalates after Texas landlord changes property locks
Li said he tried contacting Vaughn and his mother about the locks but received no response.
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he → escalate → response
He remained at the property while waiting to see whether anyone would return for the remaining possessions.
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anyone → remain → possessions
Before leaving that evening, he changed a lock so that it would work with the key previously supplied to the tenant.
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it → leave → tenant
During the visit, Li moved some belongings from the kitchen into the backyard, explaining that he wanted to clear the interior before prospective tenants saw the property.
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tenants → move → property
Vaughn's mother later returned to collect her remaining items and found that she could not enter.
uncertain
she → return → items
Some of her possessions had been placed on the grass, according to her testimony.
uncertain
Some → place → testimony
Her account differed from the landlord's description of events.
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account → differ → events
Texas Second Court of Appeals by Justia US Law reported, she said she had returned on the evening of 30 April because she still needed to collect belongings, including a medical device she used daily.
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she → report → device
She also disputed the suggestion that the family had left the property unsecured, saying she did not recall leaving the door open.
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she → dispute → door
Text messages submitted during the proceedings showed Vaughn challenging the landlord over the removal of the belongings and the loss of access.
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Vaughn → submit → access
He raised concerns about possible damage to the family's possessions and said an expensive piece of medical equipment was missing.
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piece → raise → equipment
Li eventually arranged for the remaining items to be collected on 3 May 2022.
uncertain
items → arrange → May
The dispute over whether the landlord's actions amounted to an unlawful lockout later became one of the issues considered by the courts.
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actions → amount → courts
The landlord's repair bill exceeded the deposit
Li maintained that the property required work before it could be rented again.
uncertain
it → exceed → work
He said several rooms needed new carpeting, walls required filling and repainting, and a smoke detector had been removed.
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detector → say → filling
Other charges concerned the locks, garage door, landscaping and various fixtures.
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charges → concern → locks
He sent Vaughn an itemised breakdown of the alleged damage, totalling $1,649.35 beyond the amount held as the security deposit.
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He → send → deposit
Vaughn acknowledged receiving the document and returned it with comments disputing several entries.
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Vaughn → acknowledge → entries
The tenant challenged the carpet charges, saying the condition of the flooring had been an issue before the family moved in.
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family → challenge → flooring
Vaughn's mother also disputed the extent of the alleged damage.
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mother → dispute → damage
She said the walls had already contained holes in places and denied that the family had caused the carpet problems claimed by Li.
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family → say → Li
Some charges were not contested in full.
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charges → contest → ?
Vaughn did not dispute the lock replacement and labour costs, and he did not challenge a relatively small charge for the fire alarm and door stoppers.
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he → dispute → alarm
He did, however, question whether the family was responsible for other repairs and objected to landscaping expenses he believed went beyond restoring the property.
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he → question → property
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
