Texas Eviction Process Basics for DFW Landlords

An eviction in Texas is a possession lawsuit, not a self-help remedy. You give a written notice to vacate, file a sworn petition in the justice of the peace court for the precinct where the property sits, an officer serves the tenant, a judge hears the case, and if you win, an officer executes a writ of possession. An uncontested nonpayment case may take approximately three to six weeks from delivery of the notice to execution of a writ, but contractual notice periods, federal law, service problems, court scheduling, and constable availability can make the process materially longer. If the tenant contests or appeals, add a month or more.

This guide is educational, not legal advice. It describes the framework in Texas Property Code Chapter 24 and Part V of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, current through the amendments effective July 1, 2026. Chapter 24 was substantially rewritten by S.B. 38, effective January 1, 2026, so older guides online describe a process that no longer exists in several respects. Your lease can change the deadlines too. Consult a qualified Texas attorney about a specific matter.

How long does a Texas eviction actually take?

The statutory floor is short. The practical timeline is longer, because dockets, service attempts, and constable scheduling consume days the statute does not account for.

Add roughly four to eight weeks if the tenant perfects an appeal: the justice court forwards the file to county court between the sixth and tenth day after the appeal is filed, and the county court must hold a trial de novo within 21 days of receiving it (Rule 510.20). Two things stretch these numbers in practice. If the constable cannot find the tenant, the trial date slips. And a precinct with a heavy eviction docket sets toward the 21-day end of the window, not the 10-day end.

What gives a landlord grounds to evict in Texas?

Texas eviction suits come in two related forms, and the labels matter. Under §24.001, a person commits forcible entry and detainer by entering the real property of another without legal authority or by force and then refusing to surrender possession on demand. Under §24.002, a person commits forcible detainer by refusing to surrender possession on demand when they are a tenant holding over after their right of possession terminated, a tenant at will or by sufferance, or a tenant of someone who acquired possession by forcible entry. The ordinary landlord-tenant case is a forcible detainer. The difference is procedural as well as descriptive: Rule 510.10 writes the summary-disposition track one way for a suit alleging forcible entry and detainer and another way for a suit alleging forcible detainer only. Either way, the demand for possession must be in writing and must comply with §24.005.

For owners that reduces to two scenarios:

• Lease default. Nonpayment of rent is the most common, but any material breach the lease defines as grounds for termination can support a suit once you have terminated the right of possession and given proper notice.
• Holdover. The tenant stays past the end of the term or renewal period. If the tenancy is month-to-month, terminate it correctly first: under §91.001 a monthly tenancy ends one month after the day notice is given, unless both parties signed an instrument setting a different notice period or none. Section 24.005(a) requires holdover suits to comply with §91.001.

A justice court decides only who is entitled to actual possession. Under §24.004(c) it cannot adjudicate title, and counterclaims and third-party joinder are not permitted. A rent claim can be joined with the eviction suit if the unpaid rent is $20,000 or less, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including attorney's fees, if any (Rule 510.1(a)). Check that jurisdictional figure, and the treatment of attorney's fees, interest, and costs, against the current justice court jurisdiction and the current text of Rule 510 before you plead a money amount. Note too that the possession claim and the money claim can proceed differently on appeal.

Does the CARES Act 30-day notice still apply?

Sometimes, and it is worth checking before you send a three-day notice. Section 4024 of the CARES Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. §9058, applies to a "covered dwelling" on a "covered property" — one that participates in a covered federal housing program or carries a federally backed mortgage loan. Subsection (b) created a 120-day filing moratorium that began March 27, 2020 and expired in July 2020. Subsection (c) is different: a lessor may not require the tenant to vacate before the date that is 30 days after the lessor provides a notice to vacate. Section 4024(c) does not contain an express expiration date. Many courts and agencies have continued to treat its 30-day notice requirement as applicable to covered properties, although questions about its scope and enforcement have generated litigation. Determine whether the property is covered and obtain current legal advice before relying on a shorter period.

Texas law now addresses the interaction directly. Section 24.005(c-1), added by S.B. 38, provides that where federal law requires longer notice, a landlord who satisfies the state requirement need not delay filing and the federal requirement is not a basis to delay or abate the suit — but a writ of possession may not be served until the period between delivery of the state notice and service of the writ equals or exceeds the federal period.

The lowest-risk practice is ordinarily to provide the full federal notice period before filing. New Section 24.005(c-1) also addresses cases in which the landlord proceeds after satisfying the shorter state notice requirement but delays execution of the writ until the federal period has elapsed. Because the interaction between state procedure and federal law is legally significant, counsel should review any covered-property filing.

Step 1: The notice to vacate

Section 24.005(a) requires at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing, "unless the parties have contracted for a shorter or longer notice period in a written lease or agreement." Read your lease first. For the ordinary state-law notice period, a written lease may establish a shorter or longer period. That contractual period remains subject to any controlling federal law and other nonwaivable requirements.

The form matters too. When the tenancy is being terminated solely for nonpayment, the required notice form may depend on whether the tenant was previously late or delinquent within the statutory period: if possession is terminated solely for nonpayment and the tenant was not late or delinquent before the month in which notice is given, the notice must be a notice to pay rent or vacate. Because the petition must disclose that history and the landlord may need to prove it, review the ledger and prior payment records before choosing between a pay-or-vacate notice and an unconditional notice to vacate.

Under §24.005(f-3), notice must be delivered using at least one of these methods:

• Mail, including first class, registered, certified, 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 years of age or older
• Electronic communication — the statute's words are "including e-mail or other electronic means" — if the parties have agreed to it in writing

Subsection (f-4) adds that these rules do not apply if the tenant actually receives the notice. Exterior door posting is no longer one of the expressly enumerated delivery methods. Although the statute separately addresses actual receipt, landlords should not rely on exterior posting alone as their planned method of compliance. Document whichever method you use and keep the proof.

Electronic delivery can be operationally efficient when the parties' written agreement clearly authorizes the specific method. The statute's "other electronic means" language reaches beyond email, so a message through a resident portal can qualify — but only when the written agreement covers it. The clean approach is a lease clause in which both parties agree that official notices, including a notice to vacate, may be delivered by email to stated addresses or through the resident portal, naming the specific channels. Preserve the lease authorization, the complete notice, transmission records, recipient information, and any delivery or access records. In a high-risk case, consider using more than one authorized delivery method. If your current lease has no such clause, use one of the physical methods for now and add the authorization at the next renewal.

Attorney's fees hinge on the notice too. Under §24.006 a landlord recovers fees only if the lease provides for them, or if the demand to vacate warns that failure to vacate before the 11th day after receipt may expose the tenant to fees and goes out by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days before filing. A contractual attorney-fee clause may provide an independent basis for recovery, subject to pleading and proof. Without an applicable lease provision, Section 24.006 imposes specific warning, delivery, and timing requirements that may lengthen the pre-filing period.

Time is counted under §24.0042: exclude the day of the triggering event, count weekends and holidays, and if the last day lands on a weekend or holiday, extend to the next business day.

Step 2: Filing in the right justice of the peace court

Venue is not optional. Section 24.0041 requires the suit to be brought in the justice precinct where the property is located, and Rule 510.6(c) says that if it is filed elsewhere the judge must dismiss it. Filing in the wrong precinct requires dismissal and ordinarily means incurring new filing and service costs in the correct court.

Each of the big DFW counties runs several precincts:

• Dallas County Justice of the Peace Courts
• Tarrant County Justice of the Peace Courts
• Collin County Justices of the Peace
• Denton County Justice Court Civil Suits

Confirm the precinct by property address on the county's precinct map first. A rental in Plano and one in Frisco are both Collin County but may sit in different precincts with different judges and docket habits.

The filing must be a sworn petition (§24.00505). Rule 510.6(a) lists the required contents; two catch owners out. Subsection (a)(9) requires a description of when and how pre-suit notice was given and which form it took. Subsection (a)(11) requires you to state, in a nonpayment case, whether the tenant was late before the month notice was given — which is what determines the required notice form.

Rule 510.6(d) is the other trap: if the eviction is based on a written residential lease, you must name all lease-obligated tenants residing at the premises whom you seek to evict. No judgment or writ may issue or be executed against a tenant who was not named and served. Check the specific justice court's current filing instructions before you file. Many courts accept or require electronic filing through eFileTexas for certain filers, while procedures for self-represented parties can differ.

Step 3: Citation, service, and the trial setting

The court issues citation immediately on filing. Citation is initially served through the officers authorized by the current eviction rules (Rule 510.8(d)), and the officer must make a diligent effort within five business days. Service can be personal, or by leaving a copy with someone over 16 other than the plaintiff at the tenant's usual residence, and it must happen at least four days before trial. Citations cannot be served on a Sunday. If timely service is not achieved, the plaintiff may have remedies involving alias citation or another authorized server, subject to Rule 510 and the court's procedures.

The trial date on the citation must be not less than 10 days nor more than 21 days after filing (Rule 510.8(b)(10) and §24.0051(g)). The court may not try the case earlier than the fourth day after service, and may not postpone it more than seven days unless both parties agree in writing. Either party may demand a jury, in writing and with the fee, at least three days before trial or three days after service, whichever is later.

S.B. 38 added a summary disposition track: under §24.005106 and Rule 510.10, a plaintiff filing a sworn petition alleging a forcible entry and detainer may file a sworn motion for summary disposition with the petition, and Rule 510.10(b) provides a separate path, governed by Rule 503.2, for a suit alleging forcible detainer only. The new summary-disposition procedure is document-intensive and should not be treated as an automatic fast track. The sworn motion and supporting materials must establish entitlement to possession without a genuine factual dispute, and a timely tenant response — due within four days after the defendant is served with the petition — identifying a disputed material fact returns the matter to the ordinary trial process. It is new, not right for every case, and a good example of why counsel is worth involving.

Step 4: Judgment

If the defendant fails to appear or otherwise defend, the court may enter default judgment only after determining that service, notice, venue, and the landlord's evidence establish entitlement to the requested relief. If both sides appear, the judge or jury decides possession, unpaid rent as of the judgment date, court costs, and attorney's fees if recoverable.

Two features matter to owners. In a residential case the court must state in the judgment the rent the tenant would pay into the court registry each rental period during any appeal (§24.0053(a)); absent a rental agreement, that is the greater of $250 or court-determined fair market rent. And under Rule 510.18(i), no motion for new trial may be filed in justice court. If the judgment was a default or summary disposition judgment, the court must mail a copy to the premises by first class mail within 48 hours (§24.0061(c)).

Step 5: The five-day appeal window

Either party may appeal by filing a bond, a cash deposit, or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs with the justice court within five days after the judgment is signed (§24.005107(a), Rule 510.19(a)). A tenant who appeals must affirm under penalty of perjury a good faith belief in a meritorious defense and that the appeal is not for delay.

A tenant who appeals a residential eviction may stay in possession only by paying rent into the court registry: the initial payment within five days of filing the appeal, then the judgment-stated amount at the beginning of each rental period. Miss a payment, and if the justice court gave the required written notice, the court shall issue a writ of possession without a hearing on request (§24.0054(a)). The registry requirement protects the landlord against continued possession during appeal without payment of the court-determined rent.

The justice court then forwards the file to county court no earlier than 4 p.m. on the sixth day and no later than 4 p.m. on the tenth day after the appeal is filed, and the county court must hold a trial de novo within 21 days of receiving it. To supersede enforcement of the county court's possession judgment during further appeal, the appellant must comply with the supersedeas requirements and deadline in Section 24.007.

Step 6: The writ of possession

The writ is what actually returns the property. It cannot issue before the sixth day after the judgment is signed, or the day following the tenant's appeal deadline, whichever is later (Rule 510.18(g)(1)) — unless the court approved a possession bond, which under Rule 510.9 allows immediate issuance if notice of the bond was served at least seven days earlier and the other conditions are met. There are outer limits too: a writ may not issue more than 60 days after judgment (extendable to 90 for good cause), and may not be executed after the 90th day. Sit on a judgment too long and you start over.

Once the statutory conditions are met, issuance and execution of the writ are generally mandatory rather than discretionary, subject to any controlling appeal, bankruptcy stay, court order, settlement, or other legal restraint. The officer must serve it within five business days (§24.0061(b-1)). Section 24.0061(d) tells the officer what to do:

• Post a written warning of at least 8.5 by 11 inches on the exterior of the front door, stating the writ will be executed on or after a specific date and time not sooner than 24 hours after posting
• Deliver possession to the landlord
• Instruct occupants to leave immediately and physically remove them if they do not
• Remove personal property and place it outside at a nearby location, not blocking a sidewalk, passageway, or street

The statute restricts the outdoor placement of personal property during specified weather conditions; coordinate timing and procedure with the executing officer.

The officer may engage a bonded or insured warehouseman to store the property at no cost to the landlord (§24.0061(e)), and may not require the landlord to store it. A landlord is not liable for damages resulting from proper enforcement (§24.0061(i)). The officer's set-out authority does not adjudicate ownership of the personal property or extinguish claims about property that is mishandled.

Do not treat the property as recovered, remove occupants or belongings, or begin turnover work until the officer has executed the writ and delivered possession. Any earlier entry must have an independent lawful basis under the lease and applicable law and must not interfere with the tenant's possession. Line up your locksmith, cleaning crew, and set-out labor for the execution window, not the judgment date.

What landlords must never do

Texas generally prohibits using self-help measures to recover possession, and the penalties below are the fastest way to turn a winnable possession case into a claim against you. A limited delinquency lock-change procedure exists, but it is a collection mechanism rather than an eviction: it does not terminate the tenancy, it does not deliver possession to the landlord, and it does not allow the landlord to withhold a replacement key.

Do not lock the tenant out casually. Section 92.0081(b) prohibits intentionally preventing a tenant from entering the premises except by judicial process, with narrow exceptions. One is changing the locks on a delinquent tenant's door, and the conditions are strict: the right must be in the lease, the tenant must actually be delinquent, and written notice must be locally mailed at least five calendar days before, or hand-delivered or posted inside the main entry door at least three days before, stating the earliest proposed lock-change date, the amount that would prevent it, where to pay, and in bold or underlined print the tenant's right to a key at any hour. A notice must then go on the front door giving a 24-hour location for the key, or a number answered 24 hours a day that delivers one within two hours — and the landlord must provide it regardless of whether the tenant pays anything (§92.0081(f)). Locks may not be changed while an occupant is inside, or more than once per rental payment period, and a tenant may not be locked out of common areas.

Get it wrong and under §92.0081(h) the tenant may recover possession or terminate the lease, plus a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, court costs, and attorney's fees — with an additional month's rent for refusing the key (§92.0081(i)) — and can obtain an ex parte writ of reentry from the same justice court under §92.009, sometimes within a day.

Do not remove doors, windows, or appliances. Section 92.0081(a) prohibits removing a door, window, attic hatchway cover, lock, latch, hinge, hinge pin, doorknob, or landlord-furnished furniture, fixtures, or appliances, except for a bona fide repair or replacement promptly performed.

Do not shut off utilities. Section 92.008(a) and (b) prohibit interrupting utility service — whether the tenant pays the utility directly or the landlord furnishes it — except for bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency. The remedy under §92.008(f) is possession or lease termination plus actual damages, one month's rent plus $1,000, attorney's fees, and court costs, and §92.008(g) voids any lease waiver. A narrow, heavily regulated exception exists for submetered or allocated master-metered electricity; it does not apply to a typical single-family rental.

Do not set out belongings yourself. That is the officer's job under §24.0061(d). Do not conduct the writ set-out yourself. Removing or disposing of a tenant's property without lawful authority can expose the landlord to wrongful-eviction, conversion, trespass, statutory, and contractual claims. Separate rules may apply to property genuinely abandoned after surrender, but abandonment should not be assumed.

Do not keep going after a bankruptcy filing. A bankruptcy filing can immediately affect whether an eviction may be filed, continued, or enforced. Stop action and obtain bankruptcy advice upon receiving notice of a filing; do not assume a prepetition notice, judgment, or writ can proceed unchanged.

Do not take a default against a servicemember without checking. Military-service protections can affect default judgments and requests for stays. Confirm compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act before seeking a default.

Do not proceed without testing the reason and the timing. Before termination, review whether the timing could implicate fair-housing, disability-accommodation, retaliation, domestic-violence, repair-remedy, or other statutory protections. Procedural compliance does not cure a prohibited motive.

What does an eviction cost in DFW?

Court costs are the smallest part of the number, but the part you can verify. In the specific Dallas and Tarrant precinct fee schedules reviewed in July 2026, both effective January 1, 2026, filing, service, and writ costs totaled the amounts below. Other precincts and counties may charge different amounts, and fees should be reconfirmed immediately before filing.

• Dallas County (JP 3-1): filing and service for one defendant $134, each additional defendant $80, jury demand $22, appeal $64, writ of possession $405 (fee schedule)
• Tarrant County (JP Precinct 5): eviction $144 total ($54 court plus $90 constable), writ of possession $185, appeal bond with transcript $414, jury fee $22 (fee schedule)

Collin and Denton counties publish their own schedules on the pages linked above. Budget a few hundred dollars in court costs, attorney's fees if you retain counsel, and the real costs: rent lost during the delinquency and the suit, turnover and make-ready, and the vacancy after that. A completed eviction almost always costs more than the original delinquency — which is why the alternatives deserve a hard look.

Alternatives worth considering before you file

Two alternatives are worth pricing against the full cost of an eviction.

Cash for keys. You offer a defined sum for the tenant vacating by a specific date, leaving the property clean and undamaged, and returning all keys and remotes. It makes business sense when the tenant has clearly run out of ability to pay, the delinquency will not be recovered either way, and speed and condition matter more than principle. A negotiated surrender can sometimes cost less than completing an eviction, particularly when collectability is low and prompt recovery of possession has substantial value. Compare the proposed payment against expected delay, lost rent, court expense, turnover risk, and enforceability of the agreement. Use a written surrender agreement that addresses all occupants, possession, keys, property left behind, payment timing, claims, and security-deposit treatment. Make payment contingent on verified vacancy and key return rather than a promise, and have counsel review the release language.

A written payment plan. This fits when the delinquency is a one-off from a specific, resolved event, the tenant has a stable payment history, and the arrears can clear within a few months. Put the schedule in writing with dates and amounts and state what happens on a missed installment. If income has structurally changed, a plan usually just delays the same outcome; if the problem was a single interruption, it preserves a resident you already screened.

Common owner mistakes

• Not reading the lease first. Section 24.005 lets the lease set a shorter or longer notice period. A three-day notice under a lease requiring more is a defect the tenant can raise at trial.
• Sending the wrong kind of notice. Against a tenant not previously late, a nonpayment case requires a notice to pay rent or vacate, not a bare notice to vacate.
• Using a delivery method that is no longer enumerated. Taping notice to the outside of the door is not a §24.005(f-3) method, and email counts only if agreed in writing.
• Filing in the wrong precinct. Mandatory dismissal, plus new filing and service costs in the correct court.
• Leaving a co-tenant off the petition. Under Rule 510.6(d), no writ may be executed against a lease-obligated tenant who was not named and served.
• Accepting partial payment without a policy. Before accepting a post-notice payment, determine whether acceptance may waive the existing notice, reinstate the tenancy, cure the pleaded default, or require a new notice. A ledger notation alone may not eliminate waiver; use an attorney-reviewed written policy and reservation when legally effective.
• Enforcing inconsistently. Waiving late fees for one resident and not another can create evidentiary and fair-housing risk if similarly situated residents are treated differently for a prohibited reason.
• Trying self-help because the process feels slow. Lockout and utility-shutoff penalties exceed most delinquencies, and the tenant can be back inside on a writ of reentry within days.
• Winning a judgment and sitting on it. The writ has a 60-day issuance window and a 90-day execution deadline.
• Skipping documentation. The ledger, lease and addenda, notice with proof of delivery, and communication history are the case.

How professional management handles delinquency and eviction

The best eviction is the one that never gets filed, and most of that work happens long before a payment is missed: documented screening criteria, verified income and rental history, clear lease terms, and a rent collection process that runs on the same schedule for every resident every month. Start with tenant screening for DFW rental owners and Texas landlord laws DFW rental owners should know.

When rent is late, a manager's job is to act on the same timeline every time, keep the ledger and communication in writing, tell the owner what each option costs, and produce a clean file — lease, addenda, ledger, notices with proof of delivery, communication history — the moment legal escalation is on the table.

Blue Atlas Realty handles that operational side for DFW owners and coordinates with attorneys when a matter escalates. Section 24.011 allows an authorized nonlawyer agent to represent a party in an eviction suit in justice court. The authority on appeal is narrower and, under subsection (b), applies to specified nonpayment appeals involving multifamily residential property. Blue Atlas can coordinate and, where authorized and legally permitted, appear in justice court, but legal advice, contested strategy, appeals, bankruptcy issues, and complex defenses should be handled by counsel. To talk through how this would work on your property, start on the owners page.

Sources

All sources accessed July 2026.

• Texas Property Code Chapter 24, Forcible Entry and Detainer — §24.001 (forcible entry and detainer), §24.002 (forcible detainer), §24.004 (jurisdiction), §24.0041 (venue), §24.0042 (computation of time), §24.005 (notice required before filing), §24.00505 (petition), §24.0051 (procedures, service, trial setting), §24.005106 (summary disposition), §24.005107 (appeal to county court), §24.0053 and §24.0054 (rent during appeal), §24.006 (attorney's fees), §24.0061 (writ of possession), §24.007 (appeal), §24.011 (nonlawyer representation). Accessed July 2026.
• Texas Property Code Chapter 92, Residential Tenancies — §92.008 (interruption of utilities), §92.0081 (removal of property and exclusion of residential tenant), §92.009 (tenant's right of reentry after unlawful lockout). Accessed July 2026.
• Texas Property Code §91.001, Notice for Terminating Certain Tenancies. Accessed July 2026.
• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, including Part V and Rule 510, current through the amendments effective July 1, 2026 — Rule 510 governs eviction cases. Accessed July 2026.
• Texas Judicial Branch, Rules and Forms. Accessed July 2026.
• 15 U.S.C. §9058 (CARES Act §4024), temporary moratorium on eviction filings and notice to vacate. Accessed July 2026.
• Texas Justice Court Training Center — self-represented litigant packets. Accessed July 2026.
• Dallas County Justice of the Peace Courts and JP 3-1 eviction fee schedule effective January 1, 2026. Accessed July 2026.
• Tarrant County Justice of the Peace Courts and JP Precinct 5 filing fee schedule effective January 1, 2026. Accessed July 2026.
• Collin County Justices of the Peace. Accessed July 2026.
• Denton County Justice Court Civil Suits. Accessed July 2026.