The Texas Eviction Process

An eviction in Texas is not a landlord changing the locks. It is a lawsuit under chapter 24 of the Property Code, filed in justice court, tried before a judge or a jury, and enforced, if the landlord wins, by an officer holding a writ. Every step runs on a clock measured in days. S.B. 38 rebuilt the procedure effective January 1, 2026, and Rule 510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure was rewritten to match, so older descriptions of Texas evictions no longer fit the current text.

The notice to vacate comes first

No landlord goes straight to the courthouse. Under section 24.005, a tenant who defaults or holds over must get written notice to vacate at least three days before the suit is filed. Three days is only the default: a written lease or agreement can set a shorter or a longer period. A landlord filing over a holdover must also meet the tenancy termination requirements of section 91.001.

When the case rests on unpaid rent, the form matters too. A tenant who was not late before the month of the notice must receive a notice to pay rent or vacate if unpaid rent is the sole ground. A tenant who was late before that month may get either that or a plain notice to vacate.

Delivery is prescribed. Section 24.005(f-3) requires at least one of four methods: mail, including first class, registered, or certified mail or a delivery service; delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place; hand delivery to any tenant of the premises who is 16 or older; or, where the parties have agreed in writing, electronic communication such as e-mail. If the tenant actually receives the notice, the method rules fall away.

One situation carries a longer fuse. After a tax foreclosure sale or a trustee's foreclosure sale under a lien superior to the tenant's lease, a purchaser who chooses not to continue the lease owes a residential tenant who timely pays rent, and is not otherwise in default, at least 30 days' written notice.

Whatever the period, never ignore the notice. Its expiration puts nobody on the street; it opens the courthouse door. The deadlines that follow are tight, so this is the time to gather the lease, the payment record, and any repair or retaliation evidence.

The suit lands in justice court

Sections 24.004 and 24.0041 put jurisdiction and venue in the justice court of the precinct where the property is located; a petition filed in the wrong precinct must be dismissed. The suit begins with a sworn petition whose contents, including when and how the pre-suit notice was given, are set by Rule 510.6.

The court's job is deliberately narrow. It decides only the right to actual possession, never title, and counterclaims and third-party joinder are not permitted; excluded claims go into a separate suit in a court of proper jurisdiction. Unpaid rent can ride along within the cap Rule 510.6 sets. And under section 24.011, parties in justice court may represent themselves or use authorized agents who need not be attorneys.

From citation to judgment

Section 24.0051 and Rule 510 set the clocks that run from filing to judgment.

1. The citation issues and is served

   The court issues the citation immediately, and a sheriff or constable must make a diligent effort to serve it within five business days of filing, at least four days before the trial day.

2. The trial date is printed on the citation

   The citation states the day the defendant must appear in person: not less than 10 nor more than 21 days after the petition is filed. No trial may be held until four days have passed after service, and no postponement may exceed seven days unless the parties agree in writing.

3. No answer is required, but a response clock may run

   Under Rule 510.11 a written answer is optional. But a landlord alleging a forcible entry and detainer may attach a sworn motion for summary disposition to the petition, and the tenant then has until the fourth day after being served to file a response showing genuinely disputed facts. If none appear, the court may enter judgment for the landlord without a trial; a late response still counts if it shows a genuine dispute and arrives before judgment.

4. Trial, before the judge or a jury

   Any party may demand a jury in writing at least three days before trial or three days after service, whichever is later. A defendant who fails to appear in person risks a default judgment. A prevailing landlord gets possession, costs, delinquent rent as of the judgment date, and attorney fees where recoverable by law.

Five days to appeal

The window is five days from the day the judgment is signed. A party appeals by filing a bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs with the justice court; the appeal is perfected the moment one of those is timely filed. A tenant who appeals must affirm, under penalty of perjury, a good faith belief in a meritorious defense and that the appeal is not for delay. Five days means calendar days under section 24.0042: weekends and holidays count, though a period ending on one stretches to the next business day. There is no motion for new trial to buy time; Rule 510.18 forbids it.

Appealing and staying put are different things. To remain in possession during a residential appeal, the tenant must pay one rental pay period's rent into the justice court registry within five days of filing the appeal, then keep paying rent into the registry of whichever court holds the case on or before the beginning of each rental pay period. Miss a payment after the court gave the required written notice of those deadlines, and the court on request shall issue a writ of possession immediately, without a hearing.

The appeal itself is a restart, not a review. Under section 24.005107, the county court tries the case de novo no later than the 21st day after the transcript and original papers arrive from the justice court.

The writ of possession

A landlord who prevails is entitled to a judgment for possession and a writ. Under section 24.0061 the writ may not issue before the sixth day after the judgment for possession is rendered, and Rule 510.18 adds that it also waits until the day after the appeal deadline, whichever is later. The one exception is an approved possession bond under Rule 510.9. If an appeal is perfected and the required rent is going into the registry, the writ must not issue at all.

The writ orders the officer to post a written warning, at least 8-1/2 by 11 inches, on the front door, stating that the writ will be executed on or after a specific date and time no sooner than 24 hours after posting. On execution the officer delivers possession to the landlord and removes the tenant's personal property, placed nearby but not blocking a public sidewalk, passageway, or street, and not while it is raining, sleeting, or snowing, except where a municipality provides a portable, closed container for the removed property. The writ also expires: it may not issue more than 60 days after the judgment is signed, extendable to 90 for good cause, and may not be executed after the 90th day.

What chapter 24 leaves to chapter 92

Notice what is absent from this process: any removal step a landlord performs alone. Statutes limiting lockouts and utility interruptions live in chapter 92 of the Property Code, the chapter behind the security deposit guide and the repairs guide. The notice a landlord owes before changing the locks for unpaid rent, the rule that a new key must be handed over at any hour, and the writs a tenant can seek in justice court are set out in the guide to lockouts and utility shutoffs.

Chapter 92 also reaches into the eviction courtroom. Under section 92.331, a landlord may not retaliate within six months after a tenant in good faith exercises a legal right or remedy, gives a repair notice, complains to a government entity, utility, or civic or nonprofit agency about a code violation or utility problem, or establishes or participates in a tenant organization, and section 92.335 makes retaliation a defense in an eviction suit. The defense has limits: being delinquent in rent when the notice to vacate is given is among the grounds section 92.332 keeps outside retaliation. The rest of the tenant-side rules are collected in the Texas renters' rights guides. Every day-count above comes from the enacted statute or rule, the standard behind our guides to Texas law.