Under Texas lockout laws, a residential landlord can change the locks on your door only if you are behind on rent, only if your lease specifically allows it, and only after giving you written notice in advance. Even after the locks are changed, the landlord has to give you a new key when you ask, at any hour, whether or not you have paid the back rent. A landlord who skips any of these steps owes you one month’s rent plus $1,000, your actual losses, and your attorney’s fees, and you can go to the Justice of the Peace court for an emergency order putting you back inside.
When a Residential Landlord Can Change the Locks
Residential lockouts are controlled by Section 92.0081 of the Texas Property Code.1State of Texas. Texas Property Code Section 92.0081 – Removal of Property and Exclusion of Residential Tenant All three of the following have to be true before a landlord can lawfully change the locks on your unit:
- Your written lease specifically authorizes the landlord to change locks for nonpayment of rent. No clause, no lockout.
- You are actually behind on rent. A lockout cannot be used over property damage, noise, guests, pets, or any other lease violation that is not unpaid rent.
- The landlord has given you proper written notice beforehand.
The same section also bars the landlord from removing doors, windows, locks, hinges, doorknobs, or any landlord-furnished furniture and appliances, except for a real repair or replacement that gets done promptly. Stripping the unit to drive you out counts as an illegal lockout just as surely as flipping the deadbolt.
The Written Notice Before the Lock Change
The pre-lockout notice has to arrive on a timeline that depends on how it is sent:
- Local mail: at least five days before the lock change date.
- Hand delivery or posting on the inside of the main entry door: at least three days before the lock change date.
The notice itself has to spell out four things: the earliest date the landlord intends to change the locks, the amount of rent you need to pay to stop the lock change, and the name and address of the person or on-site office where you can go during normal business hours to pay or discuss the debt. The fourth item is the one landlords get wrong most often. In bold print or underlined, the notice has to tell you that you have the right to receive a new key at any hour, whether or not you pay the delinquent rent. Leave that disclosure out and the entire lockout is unlawful.
Your Right to a New Key
Right after the locks are changed, the landlord has to post a second written notice on your front door. That notice has to tell you where to get the new key (either an on-site location open 24 hours a day, or a phone number answered 24 hours a day that will send someone to deliver a key within two hours), repeat that the landlord must provide the key at any hour regardless of payment, and state the total amount owed.
This is the piece of Texas law that catches a lot of people off guard. The landlord can change your locks as a pressure tactic, but cannot actually keep you out of your home. You are entitled to the new key on request, day or night, and the landlord cannot hold it hostage for the rent.2TexasLawHelp.org. When Tenants Get Locked Out A landlord who refuses is in direct violation of the statute. Any lease clause that tries to sign away these rights is void.
Shutting Off Utilities Counts Too
Some landlords try to force a tenant out by cutting the water, electricity, or gas instead of changing the locks. Section 92.008 of the Property Code treats that the same way.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code Section 92.008 – Interruption of Utilities A residential landlord cannot interrupt utilities you pay for directly, and cannot interrupt landlord-furnished utilities either, unless the shutoff is for a genuine repair, construction, or emergency.
The remedies match an unlawful lock change. You can either recover possession or end the lease, and you can collect actual damages, one month’s rent plus $1,000, reasonable attorney’s fees, and court costs, minus any rent you legitimately owe. A lease provision pretending to waive these rights is void.
What You Can Recover
If the landlord locks you out without following every step of Section 92.0081, you can recover:
- A civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $1,000.
- Actual damages, which can include hotel bills, lost wages, spoiled food, damaged belongings, and other provable losses from the lockout.
- Reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
Those amounts are offset by any rent or other money you legitimately owe the landlord. If the landlord also refuses to give you the new key after the lock change, that is a separate violation worth another month’s rent on top.
Getting Back In: The Writ of Reentry
When the landlord has locked you out without following the law, the fastest way back inside is a writ of reentry filed in the Justice of the Peace court for the precinct where the property sits. This is an emergency procedure, not an eviction trial.4State of Texas. Texas Property Code Section 92.009 – Residential Tenants Right of Reentry After Unlawful Lockout
You file a sworn complaint describing what happened and also state the facts out loud under oath to the judge. The judge reviews it without the landlord there. If the judge reasonably believes an unlawful lockout likely occurred, the writ can issue on the spot, giving you temporary possession of the unit until a full hearing.
The filing fee for a civil case in a Texas Justice of the Peace court is $54 as of 2026.5Texas Office of Court Administration. Fees for Justice Courts Effective 01/01/2026 If you cannot afford it, you can file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs and proceed without paying up front.
Once the writ is signed, a constable or sheriff serves it on the landlord, property manager, or rent collector, and the officer can use reasonable force to put you back in possession. The landlord then has a right to request a hearing. That hearing has to happen no earlier than one day and no later than seven days after the request. If the landlord does not ask for a hearing within eight days of being served, the court can enter a judgment for court costs against the landlord. A landlord who disobeys the writ can be held in contempt and jailed without bail until they comply.
Commercial Tenants Have Fewer Protections
If the lockout involves a store, office, warehouse, or other commercial space, a different statute applies and the balance shifts. Section 93.002 lets a commercial landlord change the locks for delinquent rent and post a notice on the door with the name and address or phone number of the person who holds the new key.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code Section 93.002 – Interruption of Utilities, Removal of Property, and Exclusion of Commercial Tenant There is no advance-notice requirement, no 24-hour key access, and the landlord only has to hand over the new key during the tenant’s regular business hours and only if the back rent is paid. A commercial tenant who cannot pay can be kept out.
A commercial landlord who violates Section 93.002 owes actual damages, one month’s rent or $500 (whichever is greater), reasonable attorney’s fees, and court costs, minus any rent the tenant owes. Commercial tenants can also seek a writ of reentry through the Justice of the Peace court along essentially the same path as residential tenants.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 93.003
Extra Protection for Active-Duty Military
Active-duty servicemembers and their dependents get an additional layer of protection under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A landlord generally cannot evict a servicemember or the servicemember’s dependents from a residence during military service without first getting a court order, as long as the monthly rent falls below a federal threshold that is adjusted each year for housing price inflation.8U.S. Department of Justice. Know Your Rights: A Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress Someone who knowingly participates in an eviction that violates this protection can be fined, imprisoned up to a year, or both. A Texas lockout that bypasses the court-order requirement for a protected servicemember is both a state and a federal violation, so make sure the landlord knows your status before the situation goes any further.