An eviction is a formal procedure that involves the landlord giving you written notice to leave and the filing of a lawsuit in the Justice of the Peace (JP) court.

Your landlord must first give you a written Notice to Vacate. This notice, also known as a demand for possession, must:

• Be in writing
• State that your right to occupy the premises is being terminated
• State the number of days you have to vacate the premises. It must give you at least 3 days to vacate the premises unless your written lease says it will be a different time period, such as 24 hours.
• State the reason for the eviction
• State the amount of rent owed, if any.
  

You do not have to move out by the date stated in the Notice to Vacate. If you decided to stay, the landlord will then need to file an eviction suit in the Justice of the Peace court. A Constable will try to serve you with the eviction citation papers. If the Constable is not successful at serving you, the Constable will post the eviction outside the rental unit or mail it.

In Travis County, you will need to contact the JP court by 10:00 am on the 7th day after you were served to file an answer unless the landlord has filed for a 6-day immediate possession bond. If this is the case, you will have 6 days to contact the JP court to file an answer and set a hearing. It is very important to contact the JP Court to file an answer. Failure to do so can result in the landlord taking a default judgment against you to evict you and levy fees against you.

During this period from the date you get the Notice to Vacate until the date the final order is signed by the Court, your landlord does not have the right to take your possessions or property unless you have abandoned them or if the landlord has a landlord’s lien.

NOTE: If you live in public or subsidized housing, the eviction process is different. If you live in Travis County, please contact the Austin Tenants Council at (512) 474-1961, or Texas RioGrande Legal Aid at (512) 447-7707, for help.

Yes, if the Notice to Vacate states that the eviction is for non-payment of rent, the landlord doesn’t have to accept your rent. It’s a good idea to go ahead and offer the past-due rent to see if the landlord will accept it. If the landlord does accept it, make sure to get a receipt and confirmation that the eviction suit has been dropped. You can call the JP Court to confirm that the suit was dismissed. If the eviction is not dropped and you have the receipt, you can bring the receipt to the Court as proof of payment.

Yes. You have 5 days to move out or appeal the JP Court decision. If you appeal, you will:

• Have to pay an appeal bond or file an affidavit saying that you don’t have the money or property to pay the appeal bond.
• File a written answer within 8 days after the appeal is filed in county court, if you haven’t already filed one, or the landlord will win by default.
• Pay the county court filing fee within 20 days of getting notice of the fee or file an affidavit of inability to pay costs. If you don’t, the case will be dismissed and the landlord will be able to evict you.
  

If you file an affidavit and the eviction is for non-payment of rent, you continue to live in the rental property by paying a month’s rent into the court’s registry but you have to pay it within 5 days. You can stay at your place during the appeal process as long as you to keep paying rent into the court registry for every month that is due. If the eviction is not for non-payment of rent, you will need to pay the landlord rent or the eviction process can start all over again.

Small inconveniences and minor repairs are not legally the responsibility of the landlord unless he has agreed to make such repairs, either in a written lease stating he is responsible for such repairs or possibly if he’s orally agreed to make the repairs. If your lease requires the landlord to make the repairs like the dripping faucet, contact him in writing and ask that it be repaired. If the repairs are not made, you can then pay to have the repairs made and go to small claims court to get reimbursed. You cannot deduct the amount from your rent, unless the landlord agrees.

In certain circumstances, such as situations where there has been domestic violence, naming the parents as joint managing conservators is not presumed to be in the best interest of the child. If this is the case, one parent will be named the sole managing conservator and the other parent will be named possessory conservator. Typically, the sole managing conservator will have the right to make decisions without consulting the possessory conservator. The child will live with the sole managing conservator, who will have the right to receive child support. The possessory conservator will have visitation with the child and pay child support.

Your landlord must make reasonable efforts to repair conditions, such as rats, which materially affect a tenant’s physical health and safety of an ordinary tenant. If the landlord doesn’t, you might be able to pay for the repairs yourself, get a rent deduction for that amount and a penalty of one month’s rent plus $500; or terminate the lease and move out. To do any of these things, you first need to follow the steps set out in the next paragraph. If you simply stop paying rent or only pay part of your rent, your landlord could have you evicted.

Here’s what you have to do to withhold rent or get damages:

• Give your landlord written notice of the problem and state that it materially affects your health and safety. It’s best to send it by certified mail, return-receipt-requested. Make sure you don’t owe your landlord any rent at the time you send the notice. Keep the receipt when it is returned to you.
• Your landlord has a reasonable time to repair the problem. What is determined to be reasonable depends on the particular problem that you’re having.
• If your landlord doesn’t fix the problem within a reasonable amount of time, you must give your landlord a second notice stating that you will be moving out, repairing the condition yourself, or suing him for damages unless the repairs are made. Again, send the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep the receipt when it is returned.
• If the landlord still doesn’t fix the problem, you have the right to:
  
  • Move out,
  • Repair the problem and deduct from rent,
  • Sue and request a rent reduction, or
  • Sue and request of one month’s rent plus $500.

If you have to hire an attorney and win your case, the landlord must pay your attorney’s fees.

Your landlord has 30 days to return your security deposit to you. You are entitled to get your security deposit back if you fulfilled the terms of your lease, left the property in good condition and left a forwarding address. Your landlord can’t deduct money from your security deposit to make repairs due to ordinary wear and tear, however, check your lease. If it has a “make ready” or “redecorating” clause, your landlord can deduct fees for those costs.

If you landlord does not give you back your full deposit, you are entitled to a written list and explanation of all the deductions that were made. If your landlord doesn’t provide this when you get your security deposit back, ask for it in writing and send it certified mail, return receipt requested.

Assuming you fulfilled the terms of your lease, you left the property in good condition and left a forwarding address, you might be able to get 3 times the amount of your security deposit, $100, and attorney fees by filing a lawsuit against your landlord.

No. If you do, your landlord could sue you for 3 times the amount of rent and attorneys fees.

If you are behind in rent, yes. But your landlord has to give you notice that he’s going to change the locks, the earliest date that the locks will be changed, and what you need to do to stop the locks from being changed. If your landlord does change the locks, he must tell you where you can get the key to the new lock and the key must be available to you 24 hours a day. Your landlord has got to let you in whenever you want, even if you are behind in rent. You don’t have to pay your landlord anything, such as rent, the cost of the key or the lock, to get back in.

It’s a way to force a tenant who is behind in rent to get in contact with the landlord. Your landlord can’t legally use a lockout as a way to permanently keep you from getting into your apartment. Your landlord must use the eviction process to get you to move out.