The process, end to end

Before you file

Everything that makes the later phases easy is assembled here, weeks before you go near a courthouse.

Know what you are actually suing for

An eviction suit — formally a forcible detainer action — decides who is entitled to possession. A justice court may also award unpaid rent. It may not decide title to the property, and counterclaims and third-party joinder are not permitted in eviction suits at all. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.004(c)

Practical consequence: damages beyond rent — late fees, repair costs, cleaning — generally belong in a separate small claims suit, not in your eviction. A justice court's general civil jurisdiction runs to $20,000 exclusive of interest. Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031(a)(1)

Assemble these now

• The signed lease, every page including addenda. Check what notice period it specifies — that number governs, not the statutory default.
• A rent ledger showing every charge and every payment by month, with a running balance. This is the document a judge will actually read.
• Proof of payments and non-payments — bank statements covering the last good payment through the present. The statement showing the last payment received, and nothing after, is the single strongest page you will own.
• Written communications — texts, emails, notices, anything where the tenant acknowledges the debt.
• Proof you can act for the owner, if the landlord is an entity. See the note on entity representation in Phase 4.

The notice to vacate

You cannot file without first delivering a written notice to vacate. This is the phase where the 2026 changes bite hardest, and where a mistake is fatal rather than fixable.

How long

The statutory default is at least three days, unless the parties contracted for a shorter or longer period in a written lease. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a) Many leases do shorten it. Read yours — do not assume three.

Pay-or-vacate, if this is a first delinquency

New under S.B. 38: where possession is being terminated solely for nonpayment and the tenant was not previously delinquent, the notice must be a notice to pay rent or vacate — not a bare notice to vacate. If the tenant was previously delinquent, either form may be used. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)

How it may be delivered — this is the trap

Notice must be delivered by at least one of these methods, and only these:

1. Mail — including first class, registered, certified, or a delivery service;
2. Delivery to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place;
3. Hand delivery to any tenant of the premises aged 16 or older; or
4. Electronic communication, including email, if the parties agreed to it in writing.

Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f-3)

Prove the delivery, not just the notice

The notice itself is easy. Proving when and how it was delivered is what actually gets tested. Photograph the stamped, addressed envelope going into the mailbox, with the timestamp and location metadata intact. Keep certified-mail receipts as paper originals — scans of them reproduce badly and read poorly in a packet.

Filing the petition

Wait for the notice period to run

Filing before the notice period expires is the most common self-inflicted dismissal. The deadline calculator gives you the earliest safe filing date.

File in the right precinct

Venue is the justice precinct where the property physically sits — not where you live, not where your business is registered. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0041 Counties commonly have several precincts, and boundaries shift with redistricting. Confirm the precinct against the property address before filing; see Resources.

Submitting is not filing

If you e-file, a clerk reviews the submission and either accepts it or returns it for correction. Only acceptance starts the clock. Mine took four days to clear. Build that into your expectations and watch for the acceptance notice rather than assuming.

E-filing is mandatory for attorneys but optional for self-represented filers; some justice courts accept it and some do not. Ask your clerk which applies.

What goes in the petition

• The parties, and the property address.
• The facts: the lease, the default, the notice and how it was delivered.
• What you want: possession, unpaid rent, and court costs. Ask for possession explicitly — see why that wording matters.
• A military-service statement, which you will need for any default judgment. See Phase 4.

Service

This is the phase that most often derails a case, and the one landlords pay least attention to. Everything you assembled is worthless if service is not properly made and documented.

You may never serve it yourself

A sheriff or constable serves the citation and petition. The officer must make a diligent effort to serve not later than the fifth business day after the petition is filed. If that passes without service, you may — but are not obliged to — have it served by any other appropriately trained law enforcement officer, including an off-duty officer with proper identification. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0051(f)

This replaced the old alias citation procedure, which ran on eight calendar days. If a source tells you to request an alias citation after eight days, it is describing repealed law.

The gap between service and trial

Trial may not be held earlier than the fourth day after the tenant is served. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0051(g)(2) S.B. 38 reduced this from six days. Older guidance still says six.

Watch the return of service, not the constable's word

Trial

Short, and usually less dramatic than people expect. The court sets trial no earlier than the 10th and no later than the 21st day after the petition is filed, and may not postpone more than seven days without the parties' written agreement. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0051(g)

If the landlord is a company, you may not need a lawyer

In an eviction suit in justice court, parties may represent themselves or be represented by authorized agents who need not be attorneys. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011(a) A corporation likewise need not be represented by counsel in justice court. Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031(d) S.B. 38 broadened this to cover all eviction suits.

Note the narrower rule on appeal: in county court, non-attorney agent representation is limited. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011(b)

Court day has its own page — what to bring, the four facts to prove, what to say, and how to handle the defences you are most likely to hear.

Judgment and the appeal window

Check the judgment wording before you leave

Read the judgment, or the docket entry, and confirm it expressly awards possession of the premises — not only money. A docket line that recites the rent award alone is how people discover, days later, that they cannot get a writ. More on this.

Then you wait, and you cannot shorten it

Either party may appeal by filing a bond, a cash deposit, or a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs, not later than the fifth day after the judgment is signed. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005107(a) A tenant who appeals must also affirm under penalty of perjury a good faith belief in a meritorious defence and that the appeal is not for delay.

An appeal means a completely new trial in county court — not a review. An appealing tenant is generally obliged to pay rent into the court's registry while it is pending; failing to do so has consequences for possession.

The writ of possession

A judgment does not put you back in the property. A writ does, and only an officer may execute it.

A writ may not issue before the sixth day after the judgment for possession is rendered, unless a possession bond was filed and approved. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0061(b) In practice you also wait out the appeal window. Issuance itself is a ministerial act, "not subject to review or delay" — once you properly demand it and pay the fee, the court issues it. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0061(b-1)

Once issued, the officer must serve the writ within five business days, and posts a written warning on the exterior of the front door at least 24 hours before executing it. Tex. Prop. Code §§ 24.0061(b-1), (d)(1)

The writ and lockout have their own page — including the part that surprises everyone: you supply the labour, not the constable.

After you have the property back

• Change the locks immediately, once the officer has completed the execution — not before.
• Document everything on video: before, during and after. This is your evidence on any later dispute about the tenant's property or the condition of the unit.
• Inventory and photograph damage the same day, while the officer's involvement is still contemporaneous.
• Deal with the security deposit properly. Deposit accounting obligations run on their own statutory deadline and do not disappear because you won an eviction.
• Consider an abstract of judgment if you want any realistic chance at the money. On application by the judgment creditor, the justice who rendered the judgment must prepare and deliver an abstract. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005107 is the appeal section; the abstract duty is § 52.002(a) The abstract does nothing until you record it with the county clerk, which is what creates a lien on the debtor's non-exempt real property in that county. Tex. Prop. Code §§ 52.001, 52.003 A judgment lien runs ten years from recording and indexing, and for a private creditor it is not renewable. Tex. Prop. Code § 52.006

Be realistic about that last point. Why the money half of your judgment is usually theoretical.