Texas eviction laws and process for landlords

Texas eviction laws give landlords one lawful path to remove a tenant under Property Code Chapter 24: a forcible detainer suit in justice court after you give written notice to vacate. Skip a step or change the locks yourself and you can owe the tenant a month's rent plus $1,000 before you ever regain the unit. Texas is one of the more landlord-friendly states, and its fast statutory eviction path reflects that.

Texas eviction laws: what landlords need to know

Evictions laws in Texas run through Property Code Chapter 24. Under Section 24.002, a person commits a forcible detainer by refusing to surrender possession on demand while:

• holding over after their right of possession ends
• occupying as a tenant at will or by sufferance, including an occupant at a superior-lien foreclosure
• holding as the tenant of someone who took possession by forcible entry

The demand must be in writing and must meet the notice-to-vacate rules in Section 24.005.

The justice court in the precinct where the property sits has exclusive jurisdiction and decides only the right to actual possession, not title; the court does not allow counterclaims.

Senate Bill 38 rewrote Chapter 24 procedures from notice through writ for every petition filed on or after January 1, 2026. A separate bill, SB 1333, created Chapter 24B, a court-free removal path for squatters, effective September 1, 2025. If your lease templates or checklists predate 2026, several steps below will not match what you're used to.

Legal grounds for eviction in Texas

Nonpayment of rent and non-monetary lease violations count as defaults under Section 24.005. So does holding over after a fixed-term lease expires. If your tenant stays past the end date without your agreement, that holdover is a default that still requires at least three days' written notice to vacate before you file an eviction suit. Your lease can shorten or lengthen that three-day period; many Texas leases specify one day.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy without cause works differently. To terminate the tenancy, you first serve what amounts to a notice of non-renewal, a termination notice under Section 91.001 that ends the tenancy one month after you give it. That notice ends the rental relationship; it is not a notice to vacate. If the tenant stays past that termination date, they become a tenant at sufferance, and only then do you serve a separate three-day notice to vacate before you file suit.

If you bought the property at a foreclosure or tax sale under a lien superior to the tenant's lease and the tenant is current and not otherwise in default, Section 24.005(b) requires at least 30 days' written notice to vacate if you don't continue the lease.

Step 1: serving a proper notice to vacate

Every default under Section 24.005 needs at least three days' written notice, and only certain delivery methods now count.

In nonpayment of rent cases, if the tenant paid on time the month before, you must serve a notice to pay rent or vacate, which gives them a chance to cure the default. If the tenant has been late before, you may serve that same notice to pay rent or vacate or a straight notice to vacate.

SB 38 repealed exterior door posting on January 1, 2026, so notices taped to the outside of the door no longer satisfy the statute. Under the current Section 24.005(f-3), you must use at least one of these methods:

• Mail, including first class, registered, certified, or a commercial delivery service such as UPS or FedEx
• Delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place
• Hand delivery to any tenant of the premises who is 16 or older
• Email or other electronic delivery, only if the parties agreed to it in writing

Under Section 24.005(f-4), the method doesn't matter if the tenant receives the notice.

Counting the notice period and federal exceptions

Under Section 24.0042, the period excludes the day of delivery, includes weekends and holidays, and extends to the next business day if it would end on a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday.

The CARES Act, at 15 U.S.C. § 9058(c), requires 30 days' notice in a nonpayment case for a covered dwelling, meaning Section 8, public housing, LIHTC, or any property with a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or other federally backed mortgage; separately, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act extends similar federal notice protections to bona fide tenants when a covered property goes into foreclosure. The provision has no expiration date, and the Congressional Research Service and the Texas Justice Court Training Center treat it as still in effect, though a minority of courts have held otherwise.

SB 38 lets you file after satisfying Texas notice rules, but under Section 24.005(c-1) the writ of possession cannot be served until 30 days have passed since you delivered notice. The Texas Justice Court Training Center's position is that filing before the 30 days expire may still create a dismissal risk, so the safe play on covered properties is to give 30 days and wait.

Step 2: filing an eviction suit in justice court

You file a sworn petition in the justice court for the property's precinct. Section 24.00505 requires the petition to include the contents the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure require, and Section 24.00506 bars a court from requiring extra petition content, mandating mediation or pretrial conferences, or dismissing a petition that meets or can be amended to meet the rules.

Filing costs have a statewide base of $54, plus county-set constable service and writ fees running from a few dollars to the $405 writ fee in Dallas County's Precinct 3-1. Counties reset fees each January, so budget per-defendant service at your county's current rate.

The constable must attempt to serve the citation and petition within five business days of filing; if that deadline passes, you may arrange service by any other authorized law enforcement officer. Service must occur at least six days before trial under Rule 510.4.

Step 3: the eviction hearing and court judgment

The court must set trial no earlier than the 10th day and no later than the 21st day after filing, and never earlier than the fourth day after an officer serves the tenant. The court may postpone only seven days unless both parties agree in writing. In practice, bring the lease, the notice, proof of delivery, and a rent ledger. Expect to prove the tenancy and proper notice, then document the default or termination.

If the tenant fails to appear at the hearing, the court can enter a default judgment for possession without a trial. You can also pursue this outcome earlier by filing a sworn motion for summary disposition under Section 24.005106 along with your petition. That motion asks the court to enter judgment without a trial on the grounds that no genuinely disputed material facts exist. The court will grant it unless the tenant responds within four days of service and identifies a genuinely disputed material fact, and if the tenant simply fails to respond, the court enters a default judgment in your favor.

The court must include language in every eviction judgment telling the tenant they may appeal within five days by bond, cash deposit, or Statement of Inability.

Step 4: writ of possession and physical removal

The writ of possession puts you back in the unit after judgment. Under Section 24.0061, the writ may not issue before the sixth day after the court signs the judgment, unless the court has approved a possession bond filed under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Even then, an officer cannot execute the writ until at least the seventh day after serving the defendant with notice of the bond. Issuance is ministerial and not subject to review or delay. The constable must serve the writ within five business days; if that deadline passes, you may arrange service by another qualified officer.

The officer posts a written warning at least 8.5 by 11 inches on the exterior of the front door, stating a date and time for execution no sooner than 24 hours later. Execution happens Monday through Saturday only, and never during rain, sleet, or snow. The officer delivers possession to you, orders occupants out, removes them if they refuse, and may use reasonable force under Section 24.0061(h).

The officer places the tenant's belongings outside at a nearby location that doesn't block a public sidewalk, passageway, or street, but not during precipitation. The writ may instead authorize a bonded, insured warehouseman to store the property at no cost to you; the tenant then has 30 days to redeem it by paying the attributable moving and storage charges. A writ cannot issue more than 60 days after judgment (90 with good cause) and cannot be executed after the 90th day.

Texas eviction timeline from notice to removal

An uncontested Texas eviction runs about three to six weeks from notice to removal, and our state-by-state eviction timeline shows how Texas compares:

• Stage | Action | Typical days
• Notice to vacate | Serve written notice by a permitted method; wait out the period | 3–5 days (30+ if CARES Act or foreclosure rules apply)
• Filing and citation | File sworn petition; constable must attempt service within 5 business days | 1–5 business days
• Filing to hearing | Trial set 10–21 days after filing | 10–21 days
• Judgment to writ | Writ issues no earlier than day 6 after judgment | 6–7 days
• Writ service | Constable serves within 5 business days of issuance | 1–5 business days
• Execution | 24-hour warning posted, then physical removal | 1–2 days
• Total (uncontested) | Notice through execution | Roughly 3–6 weeks

Docket congestion stretches those windows. Harris County has docketed 759 eviction cases in a single day, appealed cases there average about 63 days to final disposition, and Travis County JP 5 can set a hearing on the day of filing.

Expedited removal of squatters and unauthorized occupants

If the person in your property never had a tenancy relationship with you, they may be a squatter, and Chapter 24B (created by SB 1333, effective September 1, 2025) lets you skip court entirely. You submit a sworn complaint to the sheriff or constable, initialing twelve items under penalty of perjury, including that the occupant is not a current or former tenant and that any lease they produce is fraudulent. Attach government-issued ID and, if you're an agent, proof of authority.

Once the officer verifies you are the record owner or agent, the statute directs the officer to act "without delay" by serving a notice to immediately vacate and putting you in possession. You can ask the officer to stay while locks are changed and the occupant's property is moved to the property line, and the officer may arrest for trespass or outstanding warrants.

Chapter 24B applies only if:

• the property was not open to the public when entered
• you and the occupant have no pending litigation
• you directed the person to leave
• the person is neither a current or former tenant nor your immediate family member

Get it wrong and the person you wrongfully remove can recover possession, actual damages, exemplary damages of three times the fair market rent, court costs, and attorney's fees.

Only the legislature may modify or suspend Chapter 24 procedures. Section 24.0043 preempts local eviction moratoria, and the Texas Supreme Court can adjust procedures only for disaster-affected courts under narrow conditions.

Tenant appeals: timeline and bond rules

A tenant has five days from the signed judgment to perfect an appeal. The filing can be a bond or cash deposit; tenants who cannot afford costs may file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. Count weekends and holidays, with the deadline moving to the next open day if the court is closed. Under Section 24.005107, the tenant must also affirm under penalty of perjury a good-faith belief in a meritorious defense and that the appeal is not for delay.

In a nonpayment eviction appeal, Section 24.0053 requires the tenant to pay one rental period's rent into the justice court registry within five days of filing, whether they appealed with a bond or a pauper's affidavit, then keep paying each rental period during the appeal. A missed payment lets you ask the court, under Section 24.0054, to issue a writ immediately without a hearing. Two misses and the tenant cannot cure by paying late.

A perfected appeal sends the case to county court for a trial de novo, as if the justice court proceeding never happened, and the county court must hold trial within 21 days of receiving the transcript. You may contest the tenant's Statement of Inability within five days of notice.

Illegal eviction practices landlords must avoid

Self-help eviction is prohibited in Texas, and it is one of the costliest things landlords cannot do. Sections 92.0081, 92.008, and 54.041–54.048 set the exposure:

• Prohibited action | Statute | Penalty and exceptions
• Locking a tenant out | § 92.0081 | One month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, and attorney's fees; an additional month's rent if you refuse to hand over the new key. Narrow exceptions: bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency; removing the contents of abandoned premises; and a rent-delinquency lock change that follows strict rules (lease authorization, advance written notice, and 24-hour key access regardless of whether the tenant pays).
• Shutting off utilities | § 92.008 | One month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, and attorney's fees. Water, wastewater, gas, and electric service may be interrupted only for bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency.
• Seizing belongings | §§ 54.041–54.048 | Actual damages, return of the property, one month's rent plus $1,000, and attorney's fees. The landlord's lien reaches non-exempt property only if a written lease authorizes seizure and no breach of the peace occurs.

A locked-out tenant can also file a sworn complaint under Section 92.009, and the justice court can order the tenant back into the unit ex parte, before you're heard.

Common tenant defenses and how landlords can respond

Under Section 92.331, you may not evict, cut services, raise rent, or terminate a lease within six months after a tenant exercises a legal right, sends a repair notice, complains in good faith to a code-enforcement agency or utility, or joins a tenant organization. Retaliation is a complete defense to eviction, though not to an eviction for unpaid rent, and a tenant who proves it recovers one month's rent plus $500, actual damages, and attorney's fees.

Section 92.332 lists the situations where you are not liable for retaliation if you prove the action was not retaliatory:

• The tenant is delinquent in rent when you give notice or file
• The tenant, a family member, or a guest intentionally damaged property or threatened the safety of you, your employees, or other tenants
• The tenant materially breached the lease through serious misconduct or criminal acts
• The tenant holds over after notice of termination or intent to vacate

Acting under the lease and treating other tenants the same also rebuts the claim.

A tenant's written repair notice is itself a protected act under Section 92.331, so a habitability complaint on file turns a routine eviction into a retaliation question. Keep dated copies of every repair request and your response, and check that file before serving notice. A defective notice is the easiest defense to raise, so recheck delivery method, day count, and CARES Act status before filing.

Evicting tenants without a written lease

An oral or implied tenancy still requires the full eviction process under Chapter 24. An oral month-to-month tenant may hold tenant status. So can a paying roommate or a long-stay guest who contributes to the household, and per TexasLawHelp, removal always requires formal eviction and a court order. The Texas State Law Library notes that paying monthly money to stay may imply a lease, and a guest, generally someone staying a week or less, becomes a tenant by living there continuously, contributing financially, or using the address for mail.

Terminating the tenancy and demanding the tenant vacate are separate notices; the Texas Justice Court Training Center is explicit that a termination notice does not eliminate the notice-to-vacate requirement. The notices map to occupant type as follows:

• Occupant type | Termination notice | Notice to vacate before filing
• Month-to-month tenant (oral or written) | 1 month under § 91.001 | 3 days' written notice
• Holdover tenant after lease expiration | None; already a tenant at sufferance | 3 days' written notice
• Guest who became a tenant | Depends on tenancy type | 3 days' written notice minimum

These defaults are contractually adjustable if both parties signed a written agreement. Chapter 24B excludes current or former tenants, many roommate or long-term guest situations, and your immediate family members, so this table is their only lawful path.

Protect your rental income during and after eviction

Even a clean, uncontested eviction means roughly three to six weeks of unpaid rent, plus whatever repairs the unit needs once the constable hands it back. Landlord insurance in Texas covers the physical damage and the repair-period rent gap; unpaid back rent stays your loss.

If a departing tenant leaves covered physical damage, landlord insurance can pay for the repair, and loss-of-rent coverage pays fair rental value while the unit is uninhabitable, up to 12 months and capped at a sub-limit tied to dwelling coverage. Steadily also writes coverage for vacant properties, which is what the unit becomes the day the writ executes.

Steadily writes landlord policies for rentals, vacant properties, and renovation projects. Get a quote in minutes at quote.steadily.com.

FAQ

These come up most often once the notice is out the door.

What are the legal grounds for eviction in Texas, and how much notice is required?

Rent nonpayment and lease violations require at least three days' written notice unless your lease says otherwise. Holdovers require the same notice; a no-cause monthly termination needs a one-month Section 91.001 notice first.

How do I deliver a notice to vacate, and can I still post it on the door?

SB 38 repealed exterior door posting on January 1, 2026. You can still deliver by mail, inside the premises in a conspicuous place, by hand to a tenant 16 or older, or by email if the lease authorizes it in writing. The three days exclude the delivery day, include weekends and holidays, and roll to the next business day if day three lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday (Section 24.0042).

How long does the full Texas eviction process take?

An uncontested case usually runs three to six weeks from notice to removal; an appeal pushes it past two months.

What happens if the tenant doesn't show up to the hearing?

Chapter 24's fast route is the sworn motion for summary disposition under Section 24.005106. File it with your petition, and if the tenant files no response within four days of service showing a disputed material fact, the court can rule without a trial.

When can the constable physically remove the tenant?

The writ can issue no earlier than day 6 after judgment, and the constable must serve it within five business days, post a 24-hour warning on the front door, and execute Monday through Saturday, never during rain, sleet, or snow.

What does a tenant have to do to appeal?

The tenant files a bond, cash deposit, or Statement of Inability within five days of the signed judgment and affirms a meritorious defense under penalty of perjury. In a nonpayment appeal, rent then goes into the court registry each period; one missed payment lets you request an immediate writ.

What eviction actions are illegal in Texas?

Illegal lockouts and utility shutoffs each cost one month's rent plus $1,000. The tenant can also recover actual damages and fees. The same minimum penalty applies when you seize belongings without written-lease authority. A tenant can also win court-ordered re-entry before you are heard.

How does the SB 1333 squatter procedure work, and is it the same as SB 38?

They are different laws: SB 38 reformed court evictions, while SB 1333 created this court-free path. For occupants with no current or former tenancy and no immediate family tie to you, submit a sworn complaint to the sheriff or constable under Chapter 24B. The officer verifies your ownership, serves a notice to immediately vacate, and restores possession with no court case.