Texas Tenant Rights After an Eviction

Losing the case doesn’t wipe out your Texas tenant rights after an eviction judgment. Knowing them can protect you if a landlord tries something illegal and help you plan your next move. Here’s a plain summary of what a landlord can and can’t do once the judgment is in.

A landlord needs a writ of possession first

In Texas, a landlord can’t legally remove you without a writ of possession. That’s the court order that lets them take the unit back. Here’s how the steps go:

1. Landlord gets an eviction judgment (or wins by default if you don’t show up)
2. The 5 day appeal window runs out (the court can’t issue the writ until the 6th day after judgment)
3. Landlord asks the court for a writ of possession
4. Constable carries out the writ, and you have to physically leave
5. The unit goes back to the landlord

Locking you out or forcing you out without these steps is called a self help eviction. It’s illegal under the Texas Property Code. Apart from repairs or emergencies, the one narrow exception is a lock change over late rent, covered below.

What landlords can’t do

• Lock you out without a writ. A lock change over late rent is legal only if the lease allows it and they warn you in writing first. You still get a new key at any hour (§ 92.0081 (opens in new tab))
• Remove belongings without a writ. The exceptions are if you abandoned the place, or if the lease has a landlord’s lien clause in bold or underlined print. That clause lets them hold your things for unpaid rent, but even then they can’t take the basics the law protects (§ 54.042)
• Cut off utilities to force you out (§ 92.008). There’s one exception: if the landlord bills you for electricity and you don’t pay, they can cut it off after warning you in writing
• Post threatening or harassing notices
• Physically threaten you or block you from getting in
• Refuse to let you fix a lease violation when the lease says you can
• Treat you differently based on your race, religion, disability, or another trait protected by Fair Housing law

Seeing any of these? Call a legal aid organization right away. TexasLawHelp.org (opens in new tab) can point you to the group that serves your county.

What landlords can legally do

• File an eviction case at the justice of the peace (JP) court
• Give you a notice to vacate
• Get a judgment (by default or after a hearing where you fight it)
• Ask for a writ of possession once the appeal window closes
• Keep some or all of your deposit for damage and charges you owe under the lease (not normal wear and tear)
• Report what you owe to screening and collection companies
• Sue you separately for unpaid rent and damages

Your belongings after eviction

When the constable carries out the writ, your belongings get moved out and set down outside, near the unit. They can’t block a sidewalk or street, and it can’t happen in rain, sleet, or snow (Texas Property Code § 24.0061 (opens in new tab)).

Here’s what else to know:

• The constable posts a warning on your door at least 24 hours before the writ is carried out, so move what you can before then
• The constable can instead have a bonded warehouse company haul and store your things. You’ll get a notice saying where. For 30 days, you can get basics back, like clothes, beds, medicine, and work tools. You just pay the moving and storage charges on those items (§ 24.0062)
• After 30 days, you have to pay all the charges to get things back, and the warehouse can sell what’s left to cover them

Were your belongings taken without a writ, or were the storage rules ignored? Then you may have a claim, and legal aid can tell you if you do.

Your right to appeal

You have 5 days after the judgment is signed to file an appeal. Is it worth it in your case? Legal aid can help you decide. Here’s what an appeal takes:

1. File the appeal at the JP court and swear you have a real defense and aren’t just buying time
2. Post an appeal bond, make a cash deposit, or file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. That’s the form that says you can’t afford the costs, once called a pauper’s affidavit
3. Under SB 38, start paying your ongoing rent into the court registry (an account the court holds)
4. Case moves to county court, where it starts over from scratch

The county court has to hold that new trial within 21 days of getting the case file. Paying rent into the registry the whole time is what makes appeals expensive.

Getting your security deposit back

Under Texas Property Code §§ 92.103 to 92.109 (opens in new tab):

• The landlord has to return your security deposit within 30 days after you move out
• If they keep any of it, they have to give you an itemized list of the deductions. If the only thing you owe is rent you both agree on, they can skip the list
• If they keep it in bad faith, you may be owed $100, plus three times the amount they wrongly kept, plus attorney fees. If they miss the 30 day deadline, the law assumes bad faith, and it’s on them to prove otherwise

When you move out, give them your forwarding address in writing. Until they have it, they don’t have to send a refund or a list of deductions (§ 92.107).

When a landlord retaliates

Texas Property Code § 92.331 says a landlord can’t punish you for using your rights as a tenant. That includes asking for repairs, reporting code violations, or joining a tenant group. If you get evicted within six months of reporting a maintenance problem or joining a tenant group like BASTA in Austin, retaliation may be a defense you can raise. It doesn’t cover an eviction for being behind on rent (§ 92.332). Ask legal aid whether it fits your case.

Where to get help

You’ll usually get further with a legal aid lawyer on your side than going it alone:

• TexasLawHelp.org: eviction guides and the legal aid group that serves your county
• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid: Austin, San Antonio, Central Texas, and the border (956-996-8752)
• Lone Star Legal Aid: Houston and East Texas (800-733-8394)
• Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas: Dallas, Fort Worth, West Texas, and the Panhandle (888-529-5277)
• BASTA (Austin): Building and Strengthening Tenant Action
• Texas Low Income Housing Information Service: a statewide group that tracks housing laws and policy

Paperwork to keep

If you’re facing eviction or just went through one, keep copies of:

• All lease documents
• All notices from the landlord
• Every message back and forth (email, text, paper mail)
• Photos of the unit’s condition when you moved in and when you moved out
• Receipts for repairs or improvements
• Any evidence of retaliation

All of it can help legal aid defend you. And if the landlord broke the rules, the same paperwork can back up your claim against them.

After the writ

If the eviction has already happened, here’s what we’d do next:

1. Get your belongings right away (if they went to a warehouse, you have 30 days to get basics back for just their charges)
2. Give the landlord your forwarding address in writing
3. Ask for an itemized list of anything they kept from your deposit
4. Ask legal aid whether you have any claims left, like an illegal lockout or a deposit they kept. The appeal window has already closed by now
5. Start planning your next place

When you’re ready to start looking, begin with our home page. Our licensed agents help renters with evictions find their next place, and it’s free to you.

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and we aren’t attorneys. For legal help with your own eviction, contact a licensed Texas attorney or a Texas legal aid organization.