When a tenant in Texas stops paying rent, you cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, or move their belongings to the curb. You have to work through a specific legal sequence: a written notice to vacate, an eviction lawsuit in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits, a hearing, and, if you win, a writ of possession executed by a constable or sheriff. Cutting a corner at any step resets the clock and can cost you weeks of additional lost rent.
When Rent Is Legally Late
Texas has no statutory grace period. Unless your lease grants one, rent is legally late the day after the due date. That matters because the eviction process cannot start until the tenant is actually in default under the lease.
You can charge a late fee, but only if the lease says so in writing, and not until rent is at least two full days past due. Texas Property Code Section 92.019 sets safe-harbor caps at 12 percent of monthly rent for buildings with four or fewer units and 10 percent for buildings with five or more.1Texas Public Law. Texas Property Code Section 92.019 – Late Payment of Rent; Fees Fees within those limits are generally upheld without much scrutiny; anything higher has to reflect your actual costs from the late payment. One accounting detail worth getting right: when a tenant makes a partial payment, the money applies to rent first, not to outstanding late fees.
Deliver the Notice to Vacate
Before you can file anything in court, Texas Property Code Section 24.005 requires a written notice to vacate that gives the tenant at least three days to pay or leave. Your lease can shorten that period (some go as low as 24 hours) or lengthen it, and whatever the lease says controls.2State of Texas. Texas Property Code Section 24.005 – Notice Required Before Filing Certain Eviction Suits
The statute allows four delivery methods:
- First class, certified, or registered mail, or a delivery service.
- Placement in a conspicuous location inside the unit.
- Hand delivery to any tenant on the premises who is at least 16.
- Email or other electronic means, but only if the lease specifically permits it in writing.
Defective notice is one of the most common reasons eviction cases get thrown out. Certified mail with a return receipt is the cleanest way to prove delivery if the tenant later denies receiving anything.
CARES Act 30-Day Notice
If the property has a federally backed mortgage or takes part in a federal housing program, federal law overrides the shorter state period and requires 30 days’ notice. Covered properties include those with FHA, VA, or USDA-insured loans, loans held or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and properties receiving Section 8, public housing, or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit subsidies. This requirement has no expiration date. A conventional loan later purchased by Fannie or Freddie counts, and in a multi-unit property, one covered unit makes the whole property covered. Serving a three-day notice on a covered property can invalidate the entire eviction.
File the Eviction Suit
Once the notice period expires and the tenant has neither paid nor left, you file a forcible detainer suit in the justice court for the precinct where the property is located. Not where you live. Not where the tenant works. The correct precinct.
Statewide, the filing fee is $54, plus a service fee of at least $100 per defendant for delivery of the citation.3Texas Courts Information and Records Administration (CIRA). Fees for Justice Courts (Effective 01/01/2026) Service fees run higher in some counties: $125 per defendant in Montgomery County4Justice of the Peace Precinct 4. Civil Fee Schedule and $175 in Wise County.5Wise County, TX. Evictions Budget roughly $150 to $230 for a single-defendant case, and more if you’re naming multiple tenants.
Your petition should include the tenant’s full legal name, the property address, the specific lease violation, and confirmation that you served the required notice. You can request back rent and court costs in the same filing. After you file, the court issues a citation that a constable, sheriff, or authorized process server delivers to the tenant.
The Court Hearing
Trial cannot be held sooner than six days after the tenant is served.6South Texas College of Law. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.7 – Trial Most courts schedule hearings two to three weeks after service. You don’t need a lawyer, but this is a real trial. Show up with:
- The original signed lease.
- A rent ledger or bank records showing what’s owed.
- A copy of the notice to vacate with proof of delivery.
- Any texts, emails, or letters exchanged about the missed rent.
The judge needs to see two things: the tenant violated the lease by not paying, and you followed the required legal process.
Expect defenses. The most common are that the tenant already paid, that the notice was defective, or that the eviction is retaliatory. Under Texas Property Code Section 92.331, a landlord cannot evict in retaliation for a tenant exercising a legal right (such as requesting repairs or filing an agency complaint) within the previous six months.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code Chapter 92 – Section 92.331 The tenant bears the burden of proving retaliation, and the presumption doesn’t block eviction for genuine nonpayment, but the timing can complicate a case if you filed shortly after a repair request.
Military Service Affidavit
If the tenant does not appear and you want a default judgment, federal law adds a step landlords routinely miss. Under 50 U.S.C. ยง 3931, you must file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is in military service, is not in military service, or that you could not determine their status after a good-faith effort.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Default Judgments A false affidavit is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison. If the tenant is on active duty, the court must appoint an attorney before entering any default. The Department of Defense provides a free online tool to check military status.
After the Judgment
Winning the trial gets you a judgment for possession. What comes next depends on whether the tenant appeals.
The tenant has five days after the judgment is signed to appeal by posting a bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.9South Texas College of Law. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.9 – Appeal That last option is the one that stings: a tenant with no money can appeal without putting up any funds, and the case transfers to county court for a new trial, adding weeks or months.
If no appeal is filed and the tenant does not leave voluntarily, you can request a writ of possession. The writ cannot issue until at least six days after judgment.10Harris County Justice of the Peace Courts. Texas Property Code Chapter 24 – Section 24.0061 Once issued, the officer executing it must first post a written 24-hour warning on the front door before physically removing the tenant and their belongings, which are placed outside the unit nearby.
Realistically, an uncontested Texas eviction runs three to five weeks from notice to physical possession. Add appeals or defense issues and the timeline stretches considerably.
Do Not Attempt a Self-Help Eviction
No matter how much rent is owed, you cannot change the locks, cut off utilities, remove belongings, or block access without a court order. Under Texas Property Code Section 92.0081, that is an unlawful lockout. A tenant who is illegally locked out can call police, demand immediate re-entry, and sue for actual damages, one month’s rent plus $500 in statutory penalties, court costs, and attorney’s fees. The math almost always ends up worse than going through the legal process, even counting the additional weeks of lost rent.
Collecting What You’re Owed
After the tenant leaves or is removed, you can apply the security deposit to unpaid rent and to damage beyond normal wear and tear. Under Texas Property Code Section 92.103, you must return whatever remains, along with an itemized list of any deductions, within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the premises.11State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 92.103 Miss that deadline and you can be liable for three times the wrongfully withheld amount plus attorney’s fees.
A deposit rarely covers months of back rent. For the balance, you can file a separate small claims action in justice court for amounts up to $20,000. Keep every ledger entry, notice, and photograph. You’ll need them whether you’re suing for the balance or handing the account to a collection agency.
Unpaid Rent and Your Taxes
One common assumption is worth clearing up: unpaid rent generally is not a tax deduction. If you report rental income on a cash basis, as almost every individual landlord filing a Schedule E does, you only report rent you actually received. Rent that never came in was never in your income, so there is nothing to deduct.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 527 (2025), Residential Rental Property
Landlords using accrual-basis accounting recognize rent when it’s earned rather than received, and uncollected rent may later be deductible as a business bad debt.13Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 414, Rental Income and Expenses If you eventually collect past-due rent through a judgment or settlement, report it as rental income in the year you receive it, regardless of when it was originally owed.