How Long Does an Eviction Stay on Your Record in Texas?

It’s one of the first things renters ask us: how long does an eviction stay on your record in Texas? There are two clocks running at once. One is for the court record, and one is for tenant screening reports. Knowing how they differ can save you application fees at places that were never likely to say yes.

Your court record and screening report run on different clocks

Texas justice of the peace (JP) court filings stay in the record. In Texas, court records are open to the public by default. Judges rarely seal an eviction record, and Texas has no law for expunging an eviction.

So the eviction filing at the JP court that heard your case stays in the public record. It doesn’t matter how the case came out, whether you paid, or whether it was dismissed. A judgment for the landlord stays, a judgment for the tenant stays, and so does a dismissal. Paying or waiting won’t remove it.

Tenant screening reports have a limit. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681c (opens in new tab)), the companies that build these reports usually can’t list civil lawsuits more than 7 years old. That includes eviction cases, and the clock usually starts on the date the case was filed. The FCRA’s exceptions (big loans, large life insurance policies, jobs paying $75,000+) don’t apply to apartment screening. Screening companies like SafeRent Solutions, RealPage, TransUnion, and Experian RentBureau are supposed to drop older records from the reports landlords actually see.

What shows up when a landlord screens you

It comes down to when the eviction was filed:

• Under 7 years old: the eviction filing can show up on the screening report
• Over 7 years old (dropped on time): the eviction should not show up on the screening report
• Over 7 years old (never dropped): it shows up anyway, so dispute it under the FCRA

The court record itself is still there if a landlord looks it up at the JP court. From what we see, most landlords don’t bother. They go by the screening report. But some managers, especially at places that approve a lot of renters with past evictions, search the court records themselves.

How approval odds change as your eviction ages

Even before the seven year FCRA window closes, we see approval odds get better in fairly predictable steps as an eviction ages:

• 0 to 12 months: the hardest stretch. Most Class A (newer, higher end) and mid market properties deny automatically.
• 1 to 2 years: still hard. Class B (older, moderately priced) and independent properties open up a bit.
• 2 to 3 years: a big improvement. Many Class B and mid market properties look at your file by hand.
• 3 to 5 years: lots of options. Most Class B, many mid market, and some Class A.
• 5 to 7 years: often close to normal approval odds if your rental history has been clean since.
• Over 7 years: should be off screening reports entirely.

Our eviction age approval odds guide covers each age range in more detail.

How balance status and age work together

Age isn’t the only factor. In the files we work on, your balance status (paid, unpaid, or in collections) and whether the case was dismissed both play into it:

• Two years out, a paid balance is usually easier to place than an unpaid one
• A dismissed filing over 3 years old is usually easy to place with proof of the dismissal
• Six years out, an unpaid balance is still often harder than a paid one
• A filing over 7 years old with any status usually shouldn’t show up on screening at all

If your balance is still open, see our unpaid balance service.

How to check what’s actually on your record

You’ll want to check two places:

1. Your own tenant screening report: ask SafeRent Solutions, RealPage (opens in new tab), or Experian RentBureau (opens in new tab) for a copy of your file. Each one gives you a free copy every 12 months. In our placements, that’s the report most landlords look at.
2. JP court records: search the county where your eviction was filed. Many large Texas counties let you search JP cases online. In others you’ll need to call or visit the JP clerk.

Our check your history guide walks you through it county by county.

What to do if your eviction is over 7 years and still showing

Screening companies sometimes miss older records they should have dropped. If yours is over 7 years old and still showing on your report, you can dispute it. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you that right:

1. Ask for a free copy of your screening report from the company named in your latest adverse action notice (the denial notice). You have 60 days from the notice to ask
2. Check that the case was filed more than 7 years ago
3. Send a written FCRA dispute straight to the screening company
4. Include a copy of the court filing showing the date

The screening company has 30 days to look into it, or up to 45 days in some cases. From what we see, disputes on records older than 7 years often win, since the record is too old to report.

Our FCRA dispute guide covers each step. It’s general information, not legal advice. For help with your own case, TexasLawHelp.org can point you to legal aid in your county.

Putting the two clocks together

• Court filing: stays public and almost never gets sealed, but usually not what landlords check first
• Screening report: 7 year FCRA window, and you can dispute it if it’s wrong or too old
• Approval odds: often get noticeably better at 2, 3, 5, and 7 years

Step one is knowing where your eviction falls on this timeline. From there, we send you a short list of properties that may approve your file, based on how old your eviction is today.

Ready to see your options? Head to our home page or call us at 888-846-7541.