Eviction is the only legal way to remove a tenant from your property. It is a legal process that begins with serving the tenant with notice of eviction and it ends with a trial in the eviction court or in the County Court at-law.

You need to file an eviction to remove a tenant who has violated a written or oral lease (or who refuses to vacate after the lease has terminated), or a guest or squatter who refuses to leave, 

The process usually takes 2 - 4 weeks after the eviction lawsuit is filed. However, before filing the eviction suit, the tenant/occupant must receive the proper statutory notice in writing.

The length of the eviction process also depends on how busy the court is. 

The first step in an eviction is to serve the tenant/occupant with the proper eviction notice(s). The eviction lawsuit is filed after the notice deadline expires. The case will be set for hearing and a trial is conducted. The court will sign a judgment after the eviction trial. If the judgment is in favor of the landlord, the tenant has 5 days after the judgment to either vacate the property or to file an appeal.

An eviction lawsuit must be filed in the Justice Court in the precinct where the property is located. An eviction suit is commenced by filing a Petition for Eviction and paying the court's filing fee and Constable fee.

Yes. We will prepare the notice and serve it upon the tenant via one of the methods authorized in Section 24.005 of the Texas Property Code. 

That is up to you. We have no way of knowing if your tenant vacated unless you tell us or if the tenant contacts us (they usually do not).

Sometimes tenants will let you know when they have vacated (most do not when an eviction has been started). Otherwise, you can drive by the property to see if it appears vacant. You can check with neighbors to see if they saw you tenant moving out. You can ask a neighbor to go check for you. You can call the tenant or send the him/her an email or text asking whether they have vacated.

It is rare that a tenant/occupant will vacate after receiving an eviction notice, but proper notice is required by law. Some tenants/occupants vacate after the eviction notice expires, but before the trial date. Most will not vacate until after the eviction trial. 

If your tenant vacates after receiving the eviction notice, but before the eviction lawsuit is filed, then an eviction lawsuit should not be filed (the court cannot evict a person who has already vacated the property).

On the other hand, if the tenant vacates after the eviction suit is filed (and the tenant/occupant has been served by the Constable), then you are entitled to continue the case to obtain a judgment for the unpaid rent and court costs.

Call us at (877) 384-2821 or submit an online request form from our website.  After a brief free consultation, we'll determine whether we can help you. If so, we'll send you an eviction contract for e-signature, and an invoice to pay online. You do not need to visit our office.   

Unless you have an account with us, all fees must be paid-in-full upfront. However, we are able to offer payment plans in some cases.

We will create a secure client portal for communications between you and our office. We will update you through the client portal at each stage of the case.

You can always represent yourself in any court in the U.S. However, that does not mean it's a wise thing to do. Texas eviction law is very technical. Even a minor mistake can result in your case getting dismissed, requiring you to start all over from the beginning. Furthermore, free tenant legal services are available, so you may find yourself going to battle against a very experienced tenant lawyer in court. Doesn't it make more sense to hire a professional eviction agent to make sure everything is done correctly the first time?

Law firms typically charge by the hour, and most law firms rarely handle eviction matters. On the other hand, evictions are our only business. We can handle evictions more efficiently and cheaper than a law firm because it's all we do.

Absolutely. If the court denies the eviction due to our error, we will re-file the eviction at no additional cost to you.

Any civil case can be settled by the parties at any time--before or after trial. If you reach a settlement agreement with the tenant before the trial, then the eviction case will be dismissed.

Yes. Either the landlord or the tenant may request a jury trial. A jury request must be made at least 3-days before the trial and the jury fee must be paid at the time of the request. As a general rule, we do not request jury trials because jury trials take longer, there is an additional jury fee, and there is no advantage to having a jury decide the case.

We are not tax professionals, so we cannot advise you what is or is not tax-deductible. However, as a general rule, expenses incurred in operating a business, including a rental property, are tax deductible. That appears to include eviction fees. Check with your C.P.A. for a definitive answer. 

No. That is illegal and it subjects the landlord to a lawsuit by the tenant for wrongful lockout and reentry, Furthermore, the law requires the landlord to immediately provide the tenant a key upon request, so changing the locks accomplishes nothing and it may end up costing you money.

Usually not. There are only a few circumstances where a landlord may cut off utilities. Wrongfully cutting off utilities results in the landlord being potentially liable to the tenant for damages of one month's rent, plus $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.

The court will sign a judgment granting the landlord the right of possession of the property and awarding damages for unpaid rent. The judgment does not become final until at least 5-days after the trial date. Within the 5-day period, the tenant has the option to voluntarily vacate the property or to file an appeal.

If the tenant refuses to vacate and does not file an appeal then the landlord may obtain a writ of possession authorizing the Constable to physically remove the tenant from the property. 

If the tenant does file an appeal, the case will be transferred to the County Court for a new trial.

Unlike appeals in most lawsuits, the tenant does not have to have any valid grounds to file an appeal of the eviction judgment. It is simply a right to appeal granted by statute.

In most cases, tenants file an appeal to delay the process. As long as the tenant satisfies all the requirements for an appeal, there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

The filing of an appeal by the tenant does not mean there are any problems with your case or that your eviction agent did anything wrong. 

No.  You can only recover possession of the property, actual unpaid rent, and court costs in an eviction case.

You may file a second lawsuit in the small claims court to recover late fees, property damage, and other amounts owed by the tenant..

All eviction cases must be filed in the Justice of the Peace court. You can assert a claim for unpaid rent up to $20,000 in the eviction lawsuit.

If the unpaid rent exceeds that sum, then you would be have to file a second lawsuit in the County Court or the District Court to recover the unpaid rent. 

In that case, if the tenant did not file an appeal, you would need obtain a writ of possession from the eviction court. The writ authorizes the Constable to physically remove the tenant from the property, if necessary. 

If the tenant moves out before we send out the Notice to Vacate, we will cancel our contract and refund your money, less a $250 set-up fee to cover our time and administrative expenses. If the tenant moves out after we have sent out the Notice to Vacate, we consider that to be a completed eviction and we do not offer any discount or refund.

In most cases, you do not need to attend the eviction hearing, but you are, of course, entitled to be there even if your presence is not required. In some cases, however, the landlord needs to testify at the hearing in order to prove the case. We'll let you know if  your attendance is necessary.

In most cases, the property manager can testify for you. However, if there are important facts that only you know, we would advise you to attend the hearing in case your testimony is needed.  For example, if the tenant testifies that he personally handed you all of the disputed rent money in cash, you would be the only person who could directly dispute that claim.

No. Don't hire us unless you're certain that you want to evict your tenant. 

No. We are eviction specialists who represent landlords in eviction proceedings. Texas Property Code section 24.011 expressly authorizes a landlord to be represented by a non-attorney agent in eviction proceedings. 

We will promptly refund your money if we determine that, for any reason, we are not able to handle your eviction matter.

If your tenant moves out after you hire us, but before we send out the Notice of Eviction, we will refund your money less a $250 set-up fee to cover our time and administrative expenses.

We strongly advise you not to retain us as your eviction agent unless and until you are 100% committed to evicting your tenant.

There is nothing that a lawyer can do in an eviction proceeding in the Justice of the Peace court that we cannot do. In most cases, attorney fees will be at least 2 - 3 times greater than our fees as your eviction agent. However, we encourage you to consult an attorney if you wish to do so.

Not directly. Your lease may provide that the tenant is liable for payment of any costs and fees associated with an eviction. In that case, you are most likely permitted to deduct our fees from the tenant's security deposit.

Otherwise, our fees must be paid by the property owner or landlord. The court cannot order the tenant to pay our fees. Eviction costs are a predictable cost of doing business as a landlord. You should consider revising your lease to allow you to pass those costs on to the tenant and/or increase the amount of the security deposit you collect from a tenant.

No. If you are represented by an attorney, the court may include your attorney fees in the judgment, but nothing requires the tenant to pay any part of the judgment.

Keep in mind that, in order to be entitled to recover attorney fees, the tenant must be given at least 10 days notice before you file the eviction suit.

We have attorneys available to handle your eviction case, at a higher rate, if you prefer to be represented by a lawyer.