How much notice does a Texas landlord have to give before evicting for nonpayment?

Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005 requires a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit. The 3 days run as calendar days. Texas courts require precise demand language; overstated amounts or missing required disclosures void the notice.

Can I include late fees in the amount demanded?

Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005 prescribes no content for the notice, so Texas has no statutory rule confining the demand to rent. Demanding only past-due rent is still the safer practice, because a demand the tenant does not actually owe invites a defective-notice defense; pursue late fees, utilities and repair charges in the suit instead. Any late fee claimed must satisfy Tex. Prop. Code sec. 92.019: notice of the fee must be included in a written lease, the fee must be reasonable, and it may not be collected unless some portion of the rent has remained unpaid two full days after the date the rent was originally due. A landlord who violates sec. 92.019 is liable to the tenant for $100, three times the late fee collected, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.

What happens if I accept partial payment after serving the 3-day notice?

Accepting partial rent after serving the 3-day notice may waive the notice and require a fresh notice for the remaining balance. Texas courts have voided eviction suits where the landlord accepted any portion of the rent demanded after the notice was served. Best practice: do not accept any payment during the notice period unless it is the full amount.

How is the 3-day notice served?

Delivery must be by one of the four methods listed in Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005(f-3): mail, including first class mail, registered mail, certified mail, or a delivery service; delivery to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place; hand delivery to any tenant of the premises who is 16 years of age or older; or, only if the parties have agreed in writing, electronic communication including e-mail or other electronic means. S.B. 38 (Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 960), effective January 1, 2026, repealed the former sec. 24.005(f), (f-1), (f-2), (g), (h) and (i), which is where the main-entry-door posting procedures used to live; they are no longer law. Under sec. 24.005(f-4) the list does not apply if the tenant actually receives the notice.

Can the tenant pay after the 3-day period expires but before I file the eviction suit?

Yes. The landlord may accept full payment at any time before filing suit, and accepting it waives the notice. Note that Texas gives a residential tenant no statutory right of redemption or reinstatement in a nonpayment eviction - nothing in Chapter 24 of the Property Code lets the tenant undo the suit by paying the arrears after it is filed - so what happens after filing is governed by the lease or by agreement between the parties, not by statute.

Can a Texas city impose rent control or a just-cause requirement?

No Texas city has rent control in force. Under Tex. Loc. Gov't Code sec. 214.902 a municipality may establish rent control only if its governing body finds that a housing emergency exists due to a disaster as defined by Gov't Code sec. 418.004 and the governor approves the ordinance. Texas also has no just-cause eviction requirement at any level of government, so there is no local rent board to clear a notice with and no additional cause recital to include.

How long is the full eviction process if the tenant does not pay?

After the notice period expires the landlord files a sworn petition for forcible detainer (Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.00505). The constable or sheriff must make a diligent effort to serve the tenant by the fifth business day after filing (sec. 24.0051(f)). Trial is set not earlier than the 10th day and not later than the 21st day after the petition is filed, and not earlier than the fourth day after the tenant is served (sec. 24.0051(g)); a postponement may not exceed seven days without written agreement. The landlord may file a sworn motion for summary disposition with the petition, to which the tenant must respond not later than the fourth day after service (sec. 24.005106). A writ of possession may not issue before the sixth day after the judgment unless a possession bond was filed and approved (sec. 24.0061(b)), the officer must execute it not later than the fifth business day after issuance, and a 24-hour written warning must be posted on the exterior of the front door first (sec. 24.0061(d)(1)). An appeal must be perfected not later than the fifth day after the judgment is signed (sec. 24.005107), and the county court tries the case anew not later than the 21st day after the record is delivered.

⚖ Texas Eviction Forms: 3-Day Pay-or-Quit Notice Late Rent Notice Rent Increase Notice All Texas Forms

Free Texas 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

The statutorily-required 3-day notice a Texas landlord must serve before filing eviction for nonpayment of rent. 3 calendar days under Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005. Built for Texas landlords.

Texas 3-Day Notice Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005 Free PDF 2026 Edition

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