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.
Free Texas 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit — overview
The 3-day notice to pay rent or quit is the highest-stakes routine notice in Texas landlord practice. A defective notice voids the eviction, restarts the clock, and can cost the landlord weeks or months of lost rent. Common-mistake exposure includes overstated demands, accepting partial payment, miscounting the notice period, and using non-statutory service methods. The form on this page handles all the mechanics; the page walks through the statutory framework, the common mistakes, and Texas-specific rules.
Notice Period
3 days
Days Type
Calendar
Statute
Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005
Updated
2026
On this page
A Texas 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the statutorily-mandated written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant who has failed to pay rent when due. The notice is governed by Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005. The form on this page produces a Texas-compliant notice; the rest of this guide walks through the statutory framework, the 3-day period mechanics, the proper service rules, and the mistakes that void notices.
What this notice does
The 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the procedural mechanism a Texas landlord uses to demand past-due rent before filing eviction. Without a properly-drafted, properly-served notice, the eviction action will be dismissed and the landlord must start over.
The notice does three things in one document. First, it demands the past-due rent. The amount should be precise to the cent. Sec. 24.005 does not itself limit the demand to rent, but a notice that overstates what the tenant actually owes hands the tenant a defective-notice defense, so keep late fees, utilities and repair charges out of the demand and pursue them in the suit. 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.
Second, it gives the tenant a 3-day period to pay or vacate. The period runs from the date of service. Texas courts strictly construe the timing; a notice computed incorrectly or filed too early voids the eviction.
Third, it documents the procedural foundation for the eviction lawsuit. The signed notice and proof of service are exhibits to the eviction complaint. The eviction action depends on the notice; defective notices defeat the action entirely.
The cost of getting this notice wrong is significant. A defective 3-day notice forces the landlord to start over — new notice, new 3-day period, new filing fees, additional weeks of lost rent. The form on this page handles the mechanics correctly.
Texas legal framework
The 3-day pay-or-quit notice in Texas is governed by Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005. The notice period runs as calendar days.
The three days run as calendar days. The lease may set a longer or shorter period and the lease controls (sec. 24.005(a)). Sec. 24.005(a) also fixes the FORM of the notice by reference to the tenant’s payment history: where possession is terminated based solely on nonpayment and the tenant was not late or delinquent in paying rent before the month in which the notice is given, the notice must be given in the form of a notice to pay rent or vacate – the form this page produces. Where the tenant was late or delinquent before that month, the landlord may give either a notice to pay rent or vacate or a straight notice to vacate.
Delivery requirements. 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.
Demand precision. Sec. 24.005 sets no content requirement, so there is no Texas rule that a demand including non-rent charges is automatically void. The practical rule is the same in the other direction: demand only past-due rent, and pursue late fees, utilities and repair charges in the suit. 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.
Documentation. Retain the signed notice, the proof of service, and any photographs of posting (if applicable) for at least four years. If the eviction suit is filed, the notice and proof become court exhibits. If the tenant pays before the deadline, the documentation supports the cure record.
Federal anti-discrimination overlay. The federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. sec. 3601 et seq.) and the Texas Fair Housing Act, Tex. Prop. Code ch. 301 – enforced by the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission – prohibit eviction decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability. Pretextual rent demands targeting protected-class tenants give rise to fair-housing claims with statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
Anti-retaliation. Texas prohibits retaliatory eviction in Tex. Prop. Code secs. 92.331-92.333. Within six months after the tenant gives a repair notice, complains in good faith to a governmental entity enforcing building or housing codes or to a utility, exercises in good faith a right granted by the lease or by statute, or participates in a tenant organization, the landlord may not file an eviction proceeding, deprive the tenant of the use of the premises, decrease services, increase rent, terminate the lease, or engage in bad faith in a course of conduct that materially interferes with the tenant’s rights. Texas creates no presumption of retaliation – the tenant must prove the retaliatory purpose – and sec. 92.332(b)(1) makes an eviction non-retaliatory where the tenant is delinquent in rent when the landlord gives the notice to vacate or files suit. The remedy under sec. 92.333 is a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
Counting the 3-day period
The 3-day notice period in Texas runs as calendar days. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are counted; the 3 days are continuous from the date of service.
Worked example. A 3-day notice delivered on Tuesday starts the period the next day (Wednesday) and ends 3 calendar days later. Weekends and holidays are counted – but under sec. 24.0042(4), if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a state or federal holiday, the period is extended to the next day that is not.
Delivery date. Sec. 24.0042(1) excludes the day of the event that begins the period, so the period begins the day after delivery. Texas adds no extra days for delivery by mail – there is no mail-extension rule in Chapter 24.
Cushion as best practice. Even when calendar days apply, giving a few extra days of cushion beyond the statutory minimum is good practice. The extra days work in the tenant’s favor and protect against any miscount.
Pay-or-quit notice form
Complete the form below to generate a Texas-compliant 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. The form computes the deadline and includes the required statutory disclosures. Serve in accordance with Texas service rules.
1. Notice and service dates
2. Property and tenant
3. Landlord / agent
4. Past-due rent
Service rules
Texas authorizes four methods of delivering the notice, and sec. 24.005(f-3) is an exclusive list. Verbal notification is not one of them, and electronic communication counts only where the parties have agreed to it in writing. S.B. 38 repealed the former sec. 24.005(f) through (i) effective January 1, 2026, and with them the main-entry-door posting procedures that Texas landlords used for decades.
Hand delivery to a tenant 16 or older — sec. 24.005(f-3)(3)
The cleanest method. The notice is handed to any tenant of the premises who is 16 years of age or older. Note the narrowing: the repealed provision allowed hand delivery to any person 16 or older residing at the premises; the current statute requires a tenant. The period begins the day after delivery. No mail extension applies in Texas. Best practice: have a witness present, document the time and date, and complete a proof of delivery immediately.
Delivery to the inside of the premises — sec. 24.005(f-3)(2)
The notice may be delivered to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place. This is not the old door-posting procedure: affixing the notice to the inside of the main entry door, and the outside-of-the-door sealed-envelope posting with a same-day mailed copy, were both repealed with sec. 24.005(f), (f-1) and (f-2). Photograph where the notice was left, with a date stamp.
Mail — sec. 24.005(f-3)(1)
Mail is a stand-alone method and needs no posting to accompany it. The statute names first class mail, registered mail, certified mail, and a delivery service. The statute now says first class mail rather than the older term. Certified mail with return receipt requested still gives the best proof, and a separate rule — sec. 24.006 — requires registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days before suit for the written demand that preserves the landlord’s claim to attorney’s fees.
Electronic communication — sec. 24.005(f-3)(4)
E-mail or other electronic means is a valid method only if the parties have agreed in writing. Without that written agreement, an e-mailed notice does not satisfy the statute. Under sec. 24.005(f-4), however, none of the delivery rules apply if the tenant actually receives the notice.
Proof of service
A proof of delivery should be completed by the person who delivered the notice, stating the date, time, location, method, and recipient. Chapter 24 does not prescribe a form for it, but the sworn petition required by sec. 24.00505 is far stronger with one attached, and the original signed proof is filed with the petition as an exhibit.
Documentation retention
Retain the signed original notice, the proof of service, and any photographs of posting (if applicable) for at least four years. If the eviction is filed, the notice and proof become court exhibits.
Common mistakes that void the notice
Overstating the amount demanded
The number-one defect. Including late fees, utilities, repair charges, or any non-rent items in the demand voids the notice. The demand must be for past-due rent only, precise to the cent.
Miscounting the 3-day period
Sec. 24.0042 is the computation rule: exclude the day of delivery, count Saturdays, Sundays and state or federal holidays, include the last day, and extend the period if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or such a holiday. Miscounting produces a defective notice. When in doubt, give an extra day of cushion.
Assuming a mail extension that Texas does not have
Many states add days when a notice is mailed. Texas does not: sec. 24.0042 contains no mail extension, and the period runs from the day after delivery whichever of the four methods was used. The mistake runs the other way too — do not forget that sec. 24.0042(4) pushes the last day forward when it lands on a Saturday, Sunday or a state or federal holiday.
Accepting partial payment after service
Accepting any portion of the rent demanded after serving the 3-day notice may waive the notice and require a fresh notice for the remaining balance. Best practice: do not accept any payment during the notice period unless it is the full demanded amount.
Using a non-statutory service method
Verbal notification never satisfies sec. 24.005, and e-mail or other electronic means satisfies it only where the parties agreed in writing. The four authorized methods are mail; delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place; hand delivery to a tenant 16 or older; and agreed electronic communication. Posting on the main entry door — inside or outside — is not among them any more.
Filing the eviction action one day early
Computing the 3-day deadline correctly but filing the eviction one day before it expires defeats the entire action. Wait until the day AFTER the deadline expires to file.
Inconsistent landlord/agent identification
The notice must identify the landlord (or authorized agent) consistently with the lease and the eviction caption. A notice signed by “John Smith” when the lease lists “Smith Properties LLC” creates a chain-of-title defect.
Wrong tenant names
The notice must name all tenants on the lease. Omitting a co-tenant means the eviction cannot proceed against that co-tenant. List every adult tenant exactly as they appear on the lease.
Looking for a Texas rent board that does not exist
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.
Tenant rights and remedies
Texas tenants served with a pay-or-quit notice have significant statutory and common-law rights. Understanding these helps landlords appreciate why procedural precision matters.
Right to cure by paying in full
If the tenant pays the full amount demanded within the 3-day period, the default is cured and the tenancy continues. The landlord cannot refuse a timely full payment.
Right to challenge an overstated demand
If the demand includes charges the tenant does not owe — including a late fee that fails sec. 92.019 because it is not in a written lease, is unreasonable, or was charged before the rent had been unpaid two full days — the tenant can refuse the unlawful portion, defend the eviction, and counterclaim under sec. 92.019(c) for $100 plus three times the fee collected plus attorney’s fees.
Right to anti-retaliation protection
Texas prohibits retaliatory eviction in Tex. Prop. Code secs. 92.331-92.333. Within six months after the tenant gives a repair notice, complains in good faith to a governmental entity enforcing building or housing codes or to a utility, exercises in good faith a right granted by the lease or by statute, or participates in a tenant organization, the landlord may not file an eviction proceeding, deprive the tenant of the use of the premises, decrease services, increase rent, terminate the lease, or engage in bad faith in a course of conduct that materially interferes with the tenant’s rights. Texas creates no presumption of retaliation – the tenant must prove the retaliatory purpose – and sec. 92.332(b)(1) makes an eviction non-retaliatory where the tenant is delinquent in rent when the landlord gives the notice to vacate or files suit. The remedy under sec. 92.333 is a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
Right to fair housing protection
The federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. sec. 3601 et seq.) and the Texas Fair Housing Act, Tex. Prop. Code ch. 301 – enforced by the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission – prohibit eviction decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability. Pretextual rent demands targeting protected-class tenants give rise to fair-housing claims with statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
Right to challenge defective notice
Defects in the notice — overstated amount, miscounted period, improper service, missing required disclosures — can be raised as affirmative defenses to the eviction. Texas courts dismiss eviction actions based on defective notices, restarting the clock for the landlord.
Rights that exist in Texas — and the ones that do not
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. What Texas tenants do have, and what a landlord should count on being raised, is the repair-and-remedy scheme in secs. 92.052-92.0563 (including repair and deduct capped at one month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater), the bar on lockouts and utility interruptions in sec. 92.0081 (remedy: possession or lease termination plus one month’s rent and $1,000, actual damages, court costs and attorney’s fees), the security-deposit rules in secs. 92.101-92.109, and the anti-retaliation provisions above.
Bottom line for landlords. The cost of compliance is small — precise demand, correct period, proper service, no partial payment, accurate notice content. The cost of getting it wrong is a dismissed eviction, additional weeks of lost rent, attorney’s fees, and (in retaliation/fair-housing cases) statutory damages.
Texas statute reference table
| Statute / Authority | Subject | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.005 | Notice before an eviction suit | At least 3 days’ written notice unless a written lease sets a shorter or longer period; notice to pay rent or vacate required where the tenant was not late or delinquent before the month of the notice; (f-3) lists the four delivery methods |
| Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.0042 | Computation of time | Excludes the day of delivery; counts weekends and state or federal holidays; rolls the last day forward if it falls on one |
| Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.0051 | Trial setting | Trial not earlier than the 10th nor later than the 21st day after filing, and not earlier than the 4th day after service |
| Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.0061 | Writ of possession | No writ before the 6th day after judgment absent an approved possession bond; 24-hour written warning posted on the exterior of the front door |
| Tex. Prop. Code sec. 24.006 | Attorney’s fees | Landlord must give a written demand to vacate stating fees may be recovered if the tenant does not vacate before the 11th day after receipt, by registered or certified mail return receipt requested at least 10 days before suit – or the written lease must allow fees |
| Tex. Prop. Code sec. 92.019 | Late fees | Written lease, reasonable, and nothing collectable until rent is unpaid two full days; violation costs $100 plus three times the fee plus attorney’s fees |
| Tex. Prop. Code ch. 301 | Texas Fair Housing Act | Prohibits discriminatory eviction; enforced by the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division |
| Tex. Prop. Code secs. 92.331-92.333 | Anti-retaliation | Six-month window; no presumption of retaliation; civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, actual damages, costs and fees |
| Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code sec. 214.902 | Rent control | Permitted only on a disaster-based housing-emergency finding approved by the governor; no Texas city has rent control in force |
| 42 U.S.C. sec. 3601 et seq. | Federal Fair Housing Act | Federal protection against discriminatory eviction |
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.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice does a Texas landlord have to give before evicting for nonpayment?
Can I include late fees in the amount demanded?
What happens if I accept partial payment after serving the 3-day notice?
How is the 3-day notice served?
Can the tenant pay after the 3-day period expires but before I file the eviction suit?
Can a Texas city impose rent control or a just-cause requirement?
How long is the full eviction process if the tenant does not pay?
When to consult an attorney
Most Texas pay-or-quit notices are routine when the form is correct and service is proper. Consult a Texas landlord-tenant attorney before issuing the notice if: the tenancy is federally subsidized or otherwise subject to a federal notice rule (see sec. 24.005(c-1)), the tenant has raised retaliation or fair-housing claims, the tenant has hired counsel, the eviction would involve a child or elderly tenant, or the lease contains an unusual rent or charge structure. A clean compliance package is the foundation; an attorney’s review at the right moment is far cheaper than litigating a defective-notice dismissal.
Read Texas eviction notice laws
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Sources cited on this page
- Tex. Prop. Code secs. 24.005, 24.0042, 24.0051, 24.005107, 24.0061, 24.006 (Chapter 24 as amended by S.B. 38, Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 960, eff. Jan. 1, 2026)
- Tex. Prop. Code sec. 92.019 (late fees)
- Tex. Prop. Code ch. 301 (Texas Fair Housing Act)
- Tex. Prop. Code secs. 92.331-92.333 (retaliation)
- Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code sec. 214.902 (rent control)
- 42 U.S.C. sec. 3601 et seq. (federal Fair Housing Act)
This form and the accompanying guidance are provided for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Texas eviction law is technical and outcomes are heavily fact-dependent. Always verify current requirements with Texas statutes as currently in effect – Chapter 24 of the Property Code was rewritten by S.B. 38 effective 1 January 2026 – and with a qualified Texas landlord-tenant attorney before relying on this notice in any contested eviction. Review Texas eviction notice laws.
