MAKE YOUR FREE Texas Eviction Notice

In general, yes. You can draft a Texas Eviction Notice (more specifically referred to as a 3-Day Notice to Quit) to kick off the process. However, due to the pandemic, some limitations and protections have been established for tenants. Although the eviction moratorium imposed by the CDC was blocked at the federal level, the state and municipal governments in Texas are able to create and enforce their own restrictions for evictions. Ask a local lawyer, if you are unsure.

If you wish to file an eviction lawsuit against a tenant, you are required to deliver a Notice of Eviction as a first step. Here are some situations where you may need to use one:

• The tenant has fallen behind on rent payments
• The tenant brings in a cat or dog and your rental contract contains a no-animals clause
• The tenant brings on a subletter in violation of the rental terms
• The tenant has caused material damage to the property
• The tenant creates a nuisance or disturbs their neighbors
• The tenant is using the property for illegal activity

Outside of these examples, a tenant generally may be evicted by their landlord for other reasons that are not related to their conduct, such as when the owner needs to move back in. Please note that the list shown above isn't absolutely exhaustive and that the lawfully acceptable reasons for evicting tenants may change. If you have any particular hesitations or questions related to Texas eviction laws, you can connect with an attorney.

You can tap or click on "Make document" to check out the Texas Eviction Notice sample and see what information you'll need to build your eviction letter. Before getting started, you generally might want to organize the following critical details for a Notice to Vacate in Texas:

• The address and description of your property
• The lessee's contact information
• How many past due rent payments need to be made (if appropriate)
• How long the notice period will last
• Which of the lease provisions have been violated

If your tenant is not at fault, you are able to add more details since the decision could potentially be a surprise. More custom modifications are possible, if necessary. It is important to verify that any policies and terms that you reference in the Eviction Notice are spelled out in the rental contract that was signed by all parties.

Eviction laws often change over time and the actual legal process and guidelines can be relatively nuanced for a first-timer. In certain cases, there will be varying notice periods or other requirements depending on how long the tenant has lived in the unit and why they are being evicted. As a result, it is highly recommended that every landlord speak with an eviction lawyer when writing a Notice of Eviction.

Fortunately, you will not need to start from scratch when making your document. When using Rocket Lawyer, you are able to create Texas Eviction Notices online very easily. Your document will be assembled piece by piece so you can feel confident that it contains all of the relevant details. This route, in most cases, would end up being much more affordable than finding and hiring a traditional attorney.

If you want to understand what the full cost of an eviction would be, you'll need to take into consideration the cost of filing court documents, attorney fees, the value of unrecovered rent payments, storage and cleaning fees, and ultimately, the time and money spent looking for a new tenant. Fortunately, you will not need to pay hundreds of dollars to make a Notice of Eviction. When using Rocket Lawyer, you are not just filling out an eviction template. In case you ever need assistance from a lawyer, your membership offers up to a 40% discount when you hire an attorney.

The duration of the eviction process for Texas tenants depends on the type of notice, along with the total volume of proceedings occurring simultaneously. Below, you will find a generalized breakdown of Texas notice periods:

• Rent-related: 3-day notice
• Rental agreement violations: 3-day notice
• No direct fault: 1-month notice

After the notice period is over, the eviction itself can still take between 4 and 10 weeks. It is important to note that in certain kinds of housing, for instance where rent is subsidized by the government, the notice period may be longer.

While it is feasible to prepare an Eviction Notice without assistance, most rental property owners who take tenants to court have legal representation. Depending on whom you approach, some lawyers may not even agree to review documents that they didn't author. A more favorable approach might be through Rocket Lawyer attorney services. If you sign up for a Premium membership, you can request a document review from an experienced attorney or get answers to other legal questions related to your TX Eviction Notice. We're here for you.

Upon finishing your Texas Eviction Notice with Rocket Lawyer, you'll be able to retrieve it wherever and whenever you choose. You should feel free to engage with it by editing it and saving it in PDF format or as a Word document. You will need to sign the notice before it is served on the tenant(s). Your Texas Eviction Notice includes an affidavit of service so that you can have clear documentation of the delivery. There are a few methods for serving a notice:

• Work with a professional process server
• Send it through certified mail with a return receipt
• Deliver it personally

As a reminder, "do-it-yourself" or "self-help" evictions are illegal. You shouldn't shut off utilities, throw out personal belongings, change the locks or harass and threaten your tenant in any way in order to force them out. Acting lawfully before and during the eviction process is critical to removing tenants successfully with a final judgment from the court.