How does a Texas eviction notice work, and how long do I have before I must move?

The Texas notice to vacate: 3 days, unless your lease says otherwise

Before filing an eviction, a Texas landlord must give a tenant who defaults or stays past the end of the lease at least 3 days' written notice to vacate, unless the parties agreed to a shorter or longer notice period in a written lease. A tenant at will or by sufferance gets the same 3 days. The landlord cannot file before the notice period has passed. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a), (b) · Texas State Law Library

• Pay rent or vacate, if you weren't late before. For unpaid rent only, if you were not late or behind on rent before the month the notice is given, the notice must be a notice to pay rent or vacate. If you were late before, the landlord may use either that or a plain notice to vacate.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)
• A shorter period needs a written lease. The 3 days can be changed only by a written lease or agreement. A 24-hour or 1-day notice is lawful only if your written lease sets it.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)
• Ending a month-to-month tenancy. Either side can end a monthly tenancy by notice; it ends on the later of the date in the notice or 1 month after the notice is given, unless you both signed an agreement setting a different period.Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001
• After a foreclosure sale. If you pay rent on time and are not otherwise in default, a buyer at a foreclosure sale who won't continue your lease must give you at least 30 days' written notice to vacate.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(b)
• Federal notice rules, such as the CARES Act. If a federal rule requires a longer notice, Texas law lets the landlord file after the Texas notice, but a writ of possession can't be served until the federal period has passed since the notice was delivered. The State Law Library says the CARES Act requires 30 days for homes with federally backed mortgages or in certain federal programs.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(c-1) · Texas State Law Library

How the days are counted, since January 1, 2026

Every period in the eviction chapter is counted the same way. The day of the event that starts the period doesn't count; Saturdays, Sundays and state or federal holidays do count; the last day counts; and if the last day lands on a Saturday, Sunday or state or federal holiday, it moves to the next day that is not one. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0042

How the notice must be delivered

The notice must be delivered by at least one of four methods: by mail, including first class, registered or certified mail or a delivery service; inside the home, in a conspicuous place; by hand to any tenant who is 16 years of age or older; or, if you agreed in writing, by e-mail or other electronic means. These rules don't matter if you actually received the notice. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f-3), (f-4)

What changed in Texas eviction law on January 1, 2026

Senate Bill 38 (Acts 2025, 89th Legislature, chapter 960) added and amended a series of sections in Property Code chapter 24, effective January 1, 2026. The ones a tenant meets most: Tex. Prop. Code ch. 24

• One way to count days, weekends included, with the weekend and holiday move at the end. § 24.0042
• The suit is filed in the justice precinct where the home is, as a sworn petition. §§ 24.0041, 24.00505
• Courts may not require mediation or a pretrial conference before the trial, or extra content in the petition beyond the rules. § 24.00506(b)
• The trial is set 10 to 21 days after the petition is filed, not before the 4th day after you are served, and can't be postponed more than 7 days unless both sides agree in writing. § 24.0051(g)
• Summary disposition: in a forcible entry and detainer suit (someone who entered without authority), the landlord can ask for judgment without a trial; you have 4 days after service to file a response with your facts and documents. § 24.005106(a)
• Appearing by video or phone is allowed if both sides agree and the court permits. § 24.005105
• Appeals must be filed within 5 days of the judgment, with a sworn statement of a good-faith defense, and the county court must hold its trial within 21 days of getting the papers. § 24.005107
• Only the Legislature can modify or suspend these eviction procedures, apart from narrow disaster orders by the Supreme Court. § 24.0043

When the landlord files: the petition, the citation and your trial date

A constable or sheriff serves you with the citation and the petition, and must try to do so within 5 business days of filing. The State Law Library says the papers can be handed to you or to a household member over 16, and if two tries fail, the judge can allow service by mail plus slipping the papers through the door or affixing them to it. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0051(f) · Texas State Law Library

• The citation must warn you. It must say that failure to appear for trial may result in a default judgment, and, in English and Spanish, that the suit involves immediate deadlines, that active-duty service members may have special rights, and that the State Bar of Texas finds lawyers at 1-877-9TEXBAR.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0051(c), (d)
• Usually no written answer. In justice court a tenant is not required to file a written answer, but must go to the trial or risk a default judgment. A tenant can ask for a jury at least 3 days before the trial.Texas State Law Library (Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.6, 510.7)
• Possession, not title. The court decides only who has the right to the home. Counterclaims are not allowed in the eviction suit; a claim against the landlord, such as for repairs, goes in a separate case.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.004(c)
• You can represent yourself. In justice court, both sides may represent themselves or use an authorized agent who need not be a lawyer.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011(a)
• Attorney's fees. A landlord can recover attorney's fees only with a fee clause in a written lease, or after a demand to vacate sent by registered or certified mail at least 10 days before filing that warns you to leave before the 11th day. A tenant who wins can recover fees on the same terms.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.006

At the trial: what to bring, and what to say

The judge hears both sides and enters a judgment, usually at the hearing. Bring the notice and a note of how and when you got it, your lease, proof of every rent payment, and your written repair requests and photos. If the judgment goes against you by default, the court must mail a copy to the home within 48 hours. Texas State Law Library · Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0061(c)

Appealing to county court: 5 days

Either side can appeal a justice court eviction judgment by filing, not later than the 5th day after the judgment is signed, an appeal bond, a cash deposit, or a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs. A tenant who appeals must swear to a good-faith belief in a meritorious defense, and that the appeal is not for delay. The county court hears the case anew (a trial de novo) and must hold its trial within 21 days after it receives the papers. Tex. Prop. Code §§ 24.005107(a), (c), 24.0052 · Texas State Law Library

• Rent while you appeal. In a residential case the judgment states the rent to pay during an appeal. You must pay one rental period into the justice court registry not later than the 5th day after you file the appeal, then each period as it begins. Without a rental agreement, the court sets it at the greater of $250 or the fair market rent.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0053(a), (a-2)
• Miss a payment and the writ issues. If you don't pay into the registry as required, the court must issue a writ of possession on request, without a hearing.Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0054(a)
• The landlord can contest. A landlord can contest your bond or your statement of inability to pay within 5 days of its filing; the hearing is held within 5 days after that.Tex. Prop. Code §§ 24.00512, 24.0052(d)
• In county court. The State Law Library says the county clerk asks for a written answer if you didn't file one, due within 8 days, and that you can ask for a court-appointed lawyer. A further appeal needs a supersedeas bond within 10 days of the county court judgment.Texas State Law Library · Tex. Prop. Code § 24.007

The writ of possession: when you have to leave

1. 1Not before the 6th day. A writ of possession may not issue before the 6th day after the judgment for possession, so at the earliest 6 days after it, unless a possession bond was approved. § 24.0061(b)
2. 2Served within 5 business days. Issuing the writ is a ministerial act; the constable or sheriff must serve it within 5 business days.
3. 3A 24-hour warning on your door. The officer posts a written warning of at least 8-1/2 by 11 inches on the outside of the front door, with a date and time at least 24 hours later.
4. 4Then the officer removes people and property. Your belongings are placed outside nearby, not blocking a sidewalk, and not while it is raining, sleeting or snowing.

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

A Texas landlord may not keep you out of your home except by court process, with one narrow exception: changing the locks of a tenant who is behind on rent. Even then, the lease must allow it, an advance notice must come at least 5 days before by local mail or 3 days before by hand or posted inside the main door, nobody may be home, and the locks can be changed only once in a rental payment period. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(b), (d), (k)

• A new key at any hour. After a lock change, the landlord must give you a key to the new lock at any hour, whether or not you pay. The notice on your door must give a 24-hour location or a phone number that gets a key to you within two hours.Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(c) · § 92.0081(f)
• What a violation costs the landlord. You can recover possession or end the lease, plus one month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, court costs and attorney's fees, minus rent you owe; one more month's rent if the landlord refused the key.Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0081(h), (i)
• A writ of reentry. File a sworn complaint in the justice court of your precinct; the judge can order you back in at once, before a hearing the landlord can request within 7 days.Tex. Prop. Code § 92.009
• Utilities. A landlord may not cut off water, wastewater, gas or electric service you pay for or that comes with the rental, except for bona fide repairs, construction or an emergency, with separate rules for electricity the landlord submeters; a violation costs one month's rent plus $1,000, damages and fees.Tex. Prop. Code § 92.008

Retaliation: an eviction after you asked for repairs

A Texas landlord may not, within six months after you act in good faith on your rights, retaliate by filing an eviction, cutting services, raising the rent or ending your lease. Protected acts include a notice to repair, a complaint to a building code office or utility, and joining a tenant organization. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331

• When it is not retaliation. Being behind on rent when the notice is given or the case is filed, intentional damage, threats, a serious lease breach, or holding over after notice are valid grounds in any event.Tex. Prop. Code § 92.332(b)
• What you can recover. One month's rent plus $500, actual damages, court costs and attorney's fees, minus rent you owe; with subsidized rent, the fair market rent plus $500.Tex. Prop. Code § 92.333

Free help in Texas

Common questions about eviction notices in Texas

Official sources

1. Texas Property Code, chapter 24: eviction, as amended by S.B. 38 (Acts 2025, 89th Leg., ch. 960), effective January 1, 2026 tcss.legis.texas.gov
2. Texas Property Code, chapter 91: ending a month-to-month tenancy (§ 91.001) tcss.legis.texas.gov
3. Texas Property Code, chapter 92: utilities (§ 92.008), lockouts (§ 92.0081), reentry (§ 92.009), retaliation (§§ 92.331 to 92.333) tcss.legis.texas.gov
4. Texas State Law Library: the eviction process (updated October 21, 2026) sll.texas.gov
5. Texas State Law Library: appealing an eviction sll.texas.gov
6. Texas State Law Library: about evictions, and retaliation sll.texas.gov
7. Texas State Law Library: lockouts sll.texas.gov
8. Texas State Law Library: utility shutoffs sll.texas.gov

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