Texas Commercial Lockout Notice: Content, Posting, and New Key

A Texas commercial lockout notice is the written document a landlord tapes to a delinquent tenant’s front door at the moment the locks are changed, and Texas Property Code Section 93.002 requires it to state just two things: the name of the person or company who will provide a new key, and either an address or a phone number where the tenant can reach that person.¹ Get either piece wrong, or skip the posting, and a technically justified lockout can flip into an unlawful one that costs you actual damages, a month’s rent or $500 (whichever is greater), attorney’s fees, and court costs.

When a Lockout Is Allowed in the First Place

Section 93.002 authorizes self-help lock changes for one reason only: the commercial tenant is delinquent in paying at least part of the rent. A non-monetary lease breach, a personal dispute, or wanting the space back for someone else does not qualify. Outside of delinquent rent, the lawful ways to exclude a tenant are judicial process, bona fide repairs or emergencies, or removing the contents of a genuinely abandoned space.¹

Read the lease before you call a locksmith. The statute grants this remedy by default without a specific lease clause, but if the lease conflicts with Section 93.002, the lease controls.¹ A clause waiving the landlord’s right to change locks shuts down the self-help option and forces you into court.

What the Notice Must Say

Section 93.002(f) requires a written notice posted on the tenant’s front door. The statutory content is short:¹

The full name of the person or company from whom the tenant can get a new key.
Either a physical address or a telephone number where the tenant can reach that person or company. Both are fine; one is the minimum.

That is the floor. The statute does not require you to list the delinquent rent amount, but putting it on the notice is smart. A specific dollar figure, cross-checked against your rent ledger, heads off an argument at the key exchange about how much the tenant actually owes. A well-drafted notice usually adds the date of the lock change, the property address, the amount of delinquent rent, and a short statement that the new key will be provided during the tenant’s regular business hours once the balance is paid.

How to Post the Notice

The order of operations matters more than any single step.

Fill out the notice completely before anyone touches a lock. Having it ready lets you post the moment the lock change is done, which is what the statute contemplates.
Rekey every exterior door the tenant uses. Leaving one door on the old key defeats the lockout and muddies the question of whether it was ever in effect.
Affix the notice to the front door right away. Tape it securely so weather doesn’t take it down. A notice that blows away before the tenant sees it is the same as no notice at all.
Keep a copy and photograph the posted notice with a timestamp. If the tenant later swears you never posted, the photo is your evidence.

There is no statutory waiting period. You don’t have to send a warning letter first unless the lease requires one. But the lock change and the posting should happen together. A gap between the two creates room for the tenant to argue the lockout was unlawful during the interval.

Providing the New Key

Once the lockout is in place, Section 93.002 requires you to provide the new key during the tenant’s regular business hours, and only after the tenant pays the delinquent rent.¹

“Regular business hours” means the tenant’s schedule, not yours. If the tenant runs a restaurant open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the contact person on the notice needs to be reachable across those hours. Once the tenant pays, hand over the key promptly. Dragging your feet after payment is exactly the conduct that triggers landlord liability under Section 93.002(g). Take payment in a form you can verify, such as a cashier’s check or money order, document the exchange, and give a receipt.

What You Cannot Do Alongside a Lockout

Changing the locks is the only self-help remedy the statute authorizes for delinquent rent. Section 93.002 blocks several other pressure tactics even when the tenant owes money:

Interrupting utilities the tenant pays directly to the utility company, unless the interruption is for genuine repairs, construction, or an emergency.¹
Removing doors, windows, locks, hinges, or doorknobs from the premises, unless the removal is part of a legitimate repair or replacement that is completed promptly.¹
Hauling out the tenant’s furniture, equipment, or inventory. The lockout keeps the tenant out; it does not transfer their property to you. Removal is only permitted when the premises are genuinely abandoned, and abandonment has its own procedure under Section 93.002(d)–(e).¹

Why a Sloppy Notice Costs You

If you violate any part of Section 93.002, the tenant can pursue both of the following, with the total reduced by any rent still owed:¹

Recover possession or terminate the lease.
Collect actual damages, one month’s rent or $500 (whichever is greater), plus reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.

The rent offset is small comfort when a botched lockout produces claims for lost business income, spoiled inventory, or missed client deadlines. Actual damages in a commercial context can dwarf the unpaid rent you were trying to collect.

There is also a fast-track remedy the tenant can use before any full trial. Section 93.003 lets the tenant file a sworn complaint in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits and state the facts orally under oath. If the justice reasonably believes the lockout was unlawful, the court can issue a writ of reentry without hearing from you first, and a sheriff or constable can use reasonable force to put the tenant back in. You can request a hearing, which must be held between one and seven days after you ask for it, but if you don’t request one within eight days of being served with the writ, the court can enter judgment for court costs against you. Disobeying the writ is contempt, and the justice can order jail time until you comply.²

This is where a missing or defective door notice does real damage. A lockout that was genuinely justified by delinquent rent can still look unlawful to a justice reviewing a sworn complaint if the door was bare or the notice omitted a required element. The tenant walks back in, you pay costs, and you start over. Keep the posted-notice photo, your rent ledger, and any communications with the tenant in one file. Those records protect you against a reentry claim and support the forcible detainer case you may still need to file if the tenant never pays.