Guide to Evictions
Summary: 10 steps to an eviction
NOTE: If your rental falls under the CARES Act, you may have additional time and protections. Go to our COVID-19 Housing Resources page for more information.
Self-help evictions are NEVER allowed in Texas. Your landlord cannot call the police, change locks permanently, or shut off services. The landlord has to follow some steps:
Give you a written notice (on paper) to vacate of three days, unless your written lease provides for shorter notice.
Sue you in Justice Court.
Have a hearing in Justice Court.
If you lose at the hearing, you have five calendar days to appeal with a bond or cash deposit or an Affidavit of Inability to Pay.
If you appeal, you have five calendar days to pay rent into the court registry and you can stay there the rest of the month. If you do not appeal, the landlord can ask for a writ of possession. It is a 24-hour notice posted on your door.
If you appeal with a bond (usually 2-3 months of rent), you don’t have to pay rent into the court registry or to your landlord.
If you appeal with an Affidavit of Inability to Pay, you have to pay the rent each month into the court registry within five calendar days of when it’s due. Every month after that, you still pay into the court. If you do not pay one month’s rent into the court, the landlord can ask for a writ of possession. It is a 24-hour notice posted on your door.
Have a hearing in county court.
If you lose and you haven’t moved out, landlord has to ask for a writ of possession. It is a 24-hour notice posted on your door.
If you don’t move, the constable or sheriff can remove you and your things.