Texas squatter laws give property owners several ways to remove an unauthorized occupant and set strict requirements for anyone trying to claim ownership of land they do not hold title to. As of August 2025, owners can ask a county sheriff to remove many squatters directly, without going through eviction court. When the formal eviction route is required, justice courts must now hold trial within 21 days. On the other side, a squatter seeking title through adverse possession must occupy the property openly, exclusively, and without permission for a statutory period ranging from 3 to 25 years, depending on what documentation they hold.
What Changed in August 2025
Governor Abbott signed two bills on August 14, 2025, that reshaped how squatter situations are handled in Texas.1Office of the Texas Governor. Governor Abbott Signs Laws to Remove Squatters From Private Property in Austin
Senate Bill 1333 added Chapter 24B to the Property Code. It lets an owner ask the county sheriff to immediately remove someone who entered and occupied a dwelling without consent. The sheriff can act without a court order if several conditions are met: the property was not open to the public when the person entered, no lawsuit is pending between the owner and the occupant over the property, the owner has already told the person to leave, and the occupant is not a current or former tenant under any lease and not an immediate family member of the owner.2Texas Legislature. SB 1333 Bill Analysis The same bill increased criminal penalties for occupants who damage property or try to transact real estate they have no legal interest in.
Senate Bill 38 requires a justice court to hold a trial in an eviction suit within 21 days of the petition being filed.1Office of the Texas Governor. Governor Abbott Signs Laws to Remove Squatters From Private Property in Austin Scheduling delays used to stretch the process out considerably.
Which Removal Path Applies to Your Situation
The right path depends on how the occupant got onto the property and what they claim.
Someone who just broke in. This is criminal trespass under Texas Penal Code Section 30.05. A person commits the offense by entering or remaining on property without consent after notice that entry was forbidden or after being told to leave. Notice is defined broadly in Texas: verbal or written warnings, fencing meant to keep people out, posted signs, or purple paint marks on trees or fence posts all count.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.05 – Criminal Trespass Police responding to a clear-cut trespass can arrest the intruder on the spot.
Someone who moved in and is squatting but was never a tenant. This is what Chapter 24B was built for. If the conditions above are met, the owner submits a sworn complaint and the sheriff removes the occupant without a court order.2Texas Legislature. SB 1333 Bill Analysis This closes the old gap where officers would decline to act and tell the owner it was a civil matter.
Someone who was a tenant, or whose status is disputed. The formal eviction process is required. The Chapter 24B shortcut does not apply to current or former tenants under any lease. If the occupant produces a document that suggests a right to be there, or if any ambiguity exists about their status, the owner has to go through the courts.
How Formal Eviction Works
Texas calls this a forcible entry and detainer suit. It is filed in the justice court of the precinct where the property sits.4State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.004 – Jurisdiction Dismissal The justice court decides who gets possession. It cannot resolve a true dispute over title; that requires a separate suit in a higher court.
Before filing, the owner must serve a notice to vacate. For someone who entered by force, the notice may be oral or written and can demand immediate departure or set a deadline. For tenants at will or by sufferance, the notice must be in writing and give at least three days, unless the lease specifies a different period.5State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.005 – Notice Required Before Filing Certain Eviction Suits Trial must occur within 21 days of filing under the new SB 38 timeline.
If the owner wins, the occupant has five days to appeal to county court by posting a bond, making a cash deposit, or filing a sworn statement of inability to pay.6Texas Office of Court Administration. Rule 510 – Eviction Cases If no appeal is filed, the owner can request a writ of possession starting on the sixth day after judgment. A constable or sheriff must serve the writ within five business days. The officer posts a written warning on the front door, waits at least 24 hours, then returns to execute the removal: delivering possession to the owner, telling everyone inside to leave, and placing personal property outside at a nearby location.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 24.0061 – Writ of Possession Filing fees typically run from around $50 to $150 depending on the county, with additional fees for writ execution.
What Happens If the Squatter Files Bankruptcy
A bankruptcy filing triggers a federal automatic stay that halts most legal proceedings against the person who filed, including state court evictions. The owner cannot just keep going. They have to file a motion in bankruptcy court asking for relief from the stay before the eviction can resume. How long that takes varies by court and judge, from days to several weeks. When judges see filings that look like strategic delay, some will issue orders preventing future filings from triggering additional stays for a set period. Once the bankruptcy case is dismissed, the state court eviction can continue.
Adverse Possession: What a Squatter Must Prove to Claim Ownership
Adverse possession is the doctrine that lets a long-term occupant eventually claim title to land they do not own. Texas defines it as the actual and visible use of another person’s property, carried out continuously under a claim of right that conflicts with the true owner’s title.8Texas Real Estate Research Center. Fences and Adverse Possession
The claimant has to prove four things. Possession must be actual: physical use of the property the way an owner would use it. It must be open and obvious, so the true owner has a fair chance to notice and act. Secret or hidden occupation does not count. It must be exclusive, meaning the occupant does not share the land with the public or the actual owner. And it must be hostile, which in this context just means without the owner’s permission. If the owner gave consent or granted a license to use the property, the possession is not hostile and the clock never starts.9Cornell Law Institute. Adverse Possession All of this must continue, without a significant gap, for the full statutory period. Any meaningful break resets the timeline.
The Four Statutory Periods
Texas has four separate limitation periods. Which one applies depends on what the occupant can document.
- Three years (Section 16.024). The occupant holds title or color of title, meaning a deed that appears to transfer ownership but has a technical defect, such as a missing signature or flawed legal description. Peaceable and adverse possession under that document for three years.10State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies 16.024 – Adverse Possession Three-Year Limitations Period
- Five years (Section 16.025). The occupant uses the property, pays all applicable property taxes, and holds a recorded deed. All three elements must be met for the full five years. Claims based on a quitclaim deed, a forged deed, or a deed executed under a forged power of attorney do not qualify.11State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies 16.025 – Adverse Possession Five-Year Limitations Period
- Ten years (Section 16.026). The most common path for someone with no deed. Use for at least ten years. Without a recorded title document, the claim is capped at 160 acres unless the land actually enclosed exceeds that amount.12State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies 16.026 – Adverse Possession 10-Year Limitations Period
- Twenty-five years (Section 16.027). The catch-all. After 25 years of peaceable and adverse possession, an occupant can claim the property regardless of whether the true owner was under any legal disability during that time.13State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies 16.027 – Adverse Possession 25-Year Limitations Period Notwithstanding Disability
Tacking, Tolling, and Military Protections
Successive occupants can combine their periods of possession under Section 16.023, a concept called tacking. If one occupant uses the property adversely for six years and passes it to a second occupant who continues for four, the combined ten years may satisfy the statute. Each occupant needs a legal connection, called privity of estate, to the one before. That connection can come from an agreement, a gift, an inheritance, or a devise in a will.8Texas Real Estate Research Center. Fences and Adverse Possession Abandoning the land and having a stranger move in does not create privity. Each occupant must independently meet the requirements of whichever period they are claiming under, and there can be no gap in physical possession between them.
Tolling runs the other direction and pauses the clock to protect owners who cannot defend their rights. Under Section 16.022, the statutory period does not run during the time an owner is under a legal disability, defined as being younger than 18, being of unsound mind, or serving in the U.S. armed forces during wartime.14State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.022 The disability must exist at the time the adverse possession begins. An owner who becomes incapacitated years after a squatter moved in does not get the pause. The 25-year statute is the exception; it overrides disability protections entirely.13State of Texas. Texas Code Civil Practice and Remedies 16.027 – Adverse Possession 25-Year Limitations Period Notwithstanding Disability
Federal law adds a layer for military families. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides that a servicemember’s period of active duty may not be counted when computing any state limitation period for actions involving the servicemember’s property.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3936 – Statute of Limitations An adverse possession clock effectively freezes while the owner is deployed, regardless of which Texas timeframe applies.
How Owners Defeat a Claim Before It Ripens
The elements a claimant has to prove, continuous, exclusive, open, and hostile possession, are also the elements an owner can disrupt. Inspect your property regularly. Pay your own property taxes. Post clear no-trespassing signage, including the purple paint marks that satisfy Texas notice law. Send written notice revoking any permission to occupy the land. If you grant someone a license to use the property, document it, because consent prevents the possession from ever being hostile. Any of these actions can undermine one of the required elements and defeat a claim before the statutory period runs.