Landlord’s Realtor Accepted My Application, Had Me Sign A Lease, Took My $2,450 Deposit — Then Issued A Denial Letter The Day After I Disputed The Property. Lease Was Also Modified On Dotloop Without My Consent. Houston, Texas. What Are My Options?

I applied for a rental property in Houston TX 77068 in late February 2026. The listing agent is a licensed Texas real estate agent at a Houston brokerage.

The same night I applied, screening was completed, credit score in the low 600s, employment verified at $96k/year, clean background check, no evictions. Despite having all of this information, the agent sent me an official Application Accepted email that same night.

I signed the lease a day later. I paid the $2,450 security deposit via Zelle two days after that.

About a week later I viewed the property and had concerns, appliances blocking each other, missing outlet covers, property uncleaned. I raised these concerns with the agent.

That same night I documented via timestamped screenshots that the agent’s brokerage admin was actively and privately modifying my fully executed lease on Dotloop without my knowledge or consent. I have three screenshots within a 52 minute window. I also have the Dotloop verification certificate confirming the original executed document details.

The next morning the agent sent me an official denial letter citing income too low, insufficient application information, and credit score all information she had access to on the night she accepted me.

Same day, a Notice of Lease Termination for Breach of Contract was transmitted through the agent’s email, signed by the landlord. The $2,450 deposit was not returned.

I never took possession of the property

The landlord has never directly communicated with me once everything went through the listing agent

The Texas LLC the landlord used to sign the lease was dissolved in January 2016 nearly 10 years before my lease was signed

The landlord appears to be based out of state My income was $8,000/month the denial citing “income too low” for a $2,450/month rental appears fabricated given my verified income

1. Does the retroactive denial letter issued after acceptance, lease execution, and deposit payment, using information available at time of acceptance void their ability to claim breach and keep my deposit?

2. Does the unauthorized modification of an executed lease by the agent’s brokerage constitute a TREC violation? I have timestamped screenshots.

3. Can I sue the landlord personally given the Texas LLC used to sign my lease was dissolved in 2016?

4. Is the pattern of acceptance → lease execution → deposit collection → retroactive denial → deposit withholding something that could constitute fraud?

5. I never took possession and there are zero damages to the property. Under Texas Property Code §92.109 can I recover three times the wrongfully withheld deposit plus attorney’s fees?

I have filed a TREC complaint against the listing agent. I am preparing a JP Court filing in Harris County. I have full documentation including the acceptance email, denial letter, Dotloop screenshots with timestamps, Zelle payment record, termination letter, and the complete screening report showing all data was available at time of acceptance.

Any guidance is appreciated. Location: Houston, Texas