Texas Eviction Process: 3-Day Notice to Writ, Step by Step

By Steve Levine · Updated November 4, 2026

Short answer: The Texas eviction process starts with a written notice to vacate of at least three days under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, unless your lease sets a different period, followed by a suit in justice court. For cases filed on or after January 1, 2026, Senate Bill 38 and a fully rewritten Rule 510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure tightened nearly every deadline, so a contested case can move from notice to a writ of possession in about three weeks.

Texas Eviction Process at a Glance

Rule	Texas	Statute
Notice to vacate (nonpayment, breach, holdover)	At least 3 days in writing, unless the lease says otherwise	Prop. Code § 24.005(a)
First late payment of the tenancy	Notice must be a “pay rent or vacate” notice	Prop. Code § 24.005(a)
Ending a month-to-month tenancy	At least one month’s notice	Prop. Code § 91.001
Written answer	Optional; you may file one on or before the trial day	Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.11
Response to a summary-disposition motion	Within 4 days after you are served	Prop. Code § 24.005106
Appeal to county court	Within 5 days after judgment is signed	Prop. Code § 24.005107
Earliest writ of possession	The 6th day after judgment	Prop. Code § 24.0061(b)
Illegal lockout penalty	One month’s rent plus $1,000, plus damages and fees	Prop. Code § 92.0081(h)

Step 1: The Notice to Vacate and How It Must Reach You

Texas uses one basic notice for almost every ground. Under § 24.005(a), a landlord must give a tenant who defaults or holds over “at least three days’ written notice to vacate” before filing a forcible detainer suit. The lease can change that number in either direction, so read your lease’s default clause before you count.

SB 38 added a twist for nonpayment. If your right to stay is ending only because of unpaid rent, and you were not late or delinquent before the month the notice is given, the notice must take the form of a notice to pay rent or vacate. If you had been late before, the landlord may choose either a pay-or-vacate notice or a straight notice to vacate. That notice is the closest thing Texas has to a cure right.

Holdover cases add one more requirement. A landlord suing because the term ended must also satisfy § 91.001, which ends a month-to-month tenancy on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is given.

Delivery methods

Section 24.005(f-3) lists the ways a notice may be delivered. At least one must be used:

mail, including first class, registered or certified mail, or a delivery service;
delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place;
hand delivery to any tenant of the premises who is 16 or older; or
email or other electronic means, but only if you agreed to that in writing.

Under § 24.005(f-4), the method rules do not matter if you actually received the notice.

How the days are counted

New § 24.0042 fixes the counting method for every period in Chapter 24. The trigger day does not count, weekends count, and a deadline landing on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day.

Step 2: The Suit in Justice Court

The landlord files a sworn petition in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits, and a sheriff or constable usually serves the citation. Under § 24.0051(d), the first page of that citation must warn you, in English and Spanish and in bold, that the suit “involves immediate deadlines” and that active-duty servicemembers may have extra protection.

Under amended Rule 510.15(b), no eviction trial can be held until 4 days have passed after service, and the court may not postpone a trial beyond 21 days after service of the citation and petition unless both sides agree in writing.

The new summary-disposition track

SB 38 lets a landlord attach a sworn motion for summary disposition to the petition. Under § 24.005106(a), the judge may grant possession without any trial unless, no later than the fourth day after you are served, you file a response laying out the facts, with documents, that you dispute. If the judge finds a real dispute, the case must be set for trial no earlier than the 10th and no later than the 21st day after the petition was filed.

Step 3: Your Answer and the Defenses That Work in Texas

Rule 510.11 says you “may, but [are] not required to,” file a written answer on or before the trial day. You can simply show up and defend yourself. If you want a jury, Rule 510.15(c) requires a written demand at least 3 days before trial or 3 days after service, whichever is later, plus a jury fee or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.

Defenses that come straight from the Property Code include:

Defective notice. The notice was too short, was not a pay-or-vacate notice when § 24.005(a) required one, or was delivered by a method § 24.005(f-3) does not allow.
Retaliation. Under § 92.331(b), a landlord may not file an eviction within six months after you, in good faith, requested repairs, complained to a code agency, or joined a tenant organization. Section 92.333 adds a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, actual damages, costs and attorney’s fees.
Payment or acceptance of rent. If you paid in full within the pay-or-vacate deadline, or the landlord took rent after the notice in a way that waived it, bring receipts.
Discrimination. An eviction motivated by race, disability, familial status or another protected trait violates fair housing law.

The Texas Attorney General’s renters’ rights guide warns that you generally cannot withhold rent over repairs, so a repair complaint usually works best as a retaliation argument.

Step 4: Trial, Judgment and Default

Rule 510.15(a) requires you to appear on the trial day listed in the citation. If you do not, the court can enter a default judgment for possession and any unpaid rent claimed in a sworn petition. Under § 24.0061(c), the court must mail you a copy of a default judgment, or a summary-disposition judgment, by first class mail within 48 hours.

After judgment, any payment deal is up to the landlord, so get it in writing and filed with the court.

Step 5: Appeal, Bond and Rent Into the Registry

Under § 24.005107(a), either side may appeal to county court by filing a bond, a cash deposit, or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs with the justice court within 5 days after the judgment is signed. A tenant who appeals must swear, under penalty of perjury, to a good-faith belief in a meritorious defense and that the appeal is not for delay.

Appealing does not suspend rent. Under § 24.0053(a-2), you must pay one rental period’s rent into the justice court registry within 5 days after filing the appeal, and then pay each period’s rent at the start of that period while the appeal is pending. If you miss a payment after receiving the court’s written notice, § 24.0054(a) requires the court to issue a writ of possession immediately, without a hearing.

The justice court sends the file to county court between 4 p.m. on the 6th day and 4 p.m. on the 10th day after you file the appeal. The county court must then hold a new trial, from scratch, within 21 days after the papers arrive.

Step 6: The Writ of Possession and Your Belongings

Under § 24.0061(b), a writ of possession cannot issue before the 6th day after judgment unless the landlord posts a possession bond. SB 38 made issuance a “ministerial act not subject to review or delay” and requires the sheriff or constable to serve the writ within 5 business days after it issues.

Before removing anyone, the officer must post a warning of at least 8.5 by 11 inches on the outside of your front door, giving a date and time at least 24 hours away. At execution, your belongings are moved outside near the unit, but not onto a public sidewalk or street, and not while it is raining, sleeting or snowing. The officer may hire a bonded warehouseman to store them, and a city may provide a free closed container.

Lockouts and Utility Shutoffs Are Not an Eviction

Under § 92.0081(b), a landlord may not intentionally keep you out of your home except by judicial process. The narrow exceptions are bona fide repairs or emergencies, removing contents of an abandoned unit, and changing locks on a tenant who is behind on rent, and that last one comes with strict rules. The right must be in your lease, and § 92.0081(d) requires advance written notice: mailed at least 5 calendar days, or hand-delivered or posted inside your main door at least 3 calendar days, before the change. After the change, the landlord must post a notice on your door telling you where to get a new key around the clock, and must give you a key regardless of whether you pay. Violations carry the § 92.0081(h) penalty shown in the table.

Utility cutoffs are covered by § 92.008. A landlord may not interrupt utilities you pay for directly, and may not cut off landlord-furnished water, wastewater, gas or electricity except for repairs, construction or emergencies or as that section specifically allows. The penalty under § 92.008(f) is again your actual damages, one month’s rent plus $1,000, fees and costs.

Realistic Texas Eviction Timeline

Stage	Fastest (no contest)	Typical (tenant appears)
Notice to vacate	3 days	3 days or the lease period
Filing to service	1 to 3 days	About a week
Service to trial	4 days minimum	Up to 21 days
Judgment to writ	6th day after judgment	6 days, or longer with an appeal
Writ to removal	24-hour posting	Up to 5 business days
Total	About 3 weeks	4 to 6 weeks; longer with an appeal

These ranges add up the statutory minimums and maximums; an appeal adds the transfer window plus up to 21 days.

Worked Example: A First Late Payment in El Paso

Marisol rents a $1,250 apartment and has never been late. On Thursday, March 5, she still owes March rent. Because this is her first late month, § 24.005(a) requires a notice to pay rent or vacate. Her landlord hands the notice to her at the door on March 5, which is hand delivery to a tenant 16 or older under § 24.005(f-3). Day one is March 6, so the third day is Sunday, March 8, which rolls forward to Monday, March 9 under § 24.0042.

Marisol cannot pay, and the landlord files on March 10. A constable serves her on March 12. Her trial cannot happen before March 16 (4 days after service) and should be held by April 2 (21 days after service). She attends on March 24 and loses. The writ can issue on March 30 unless she appeals by then and deposits $1,250 into the registry within 5 days of filing.

Diversion, Counsel and Records

Texas has no statewide right to counsel or mandatory mediation in evictions. Under Rule 510.13, a court may refer a case to alternative dispute resolution only if that does not delay the trial. Ask the justice court clerk about local rental-assistance programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Texas landlord still give a “notice to vacate” instead of a pay-or-vacate notice?

Yes, but only if you were late or delinquent before the month the notice was given. For a tenant whose only problem is a first late month, § 24.005(a) now requires a notice to pay rent or vacate.

Do I have to file anything before my justice court trial?

Not usually. Rule 510.11 makes a written answer optional. The exception is a petition that includes a summary-disposition motion: you must file a written response within 4 days after service, or the judge may grant possession without a trial.

How fast can a constable remove me after I lose?

The writ cannot issue before the 6th day after judgment, and the officer must serve it within 5 business days of issuance.

Will appealing to county court stop the eviction?

It pauses it only if you keep paying. You must pay one period’s rent into the court registry within 5 days of filing the appeal and every period’s rent on time after that. Missing a payment triggers an immediate writ without a hearing under § 24.0054.

My landlord changed the locks because I am behind. Is that legal?

A lockout for unpaid rent is allowed only if the landlord follows § 92.0081 exactly, including posting a notice telling you where to get a new key at any hour and giving you that key even if you cannot pay. If the landlord refuses, you can recover possession and at least one month’s rent plus $1,000.

If you have been served, write down your trial date today and call a legal aid office. The Legal Services Corporation’s get legal help page lists the Texas programs, and this guide is general information rather than legal advice for your situation.

Our Houston, San Antonio and Dallas guides name each city’s eviction court.

Sources

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