Free Texas 3-Day Notice to Vacate (Nonpayment)

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Free Texas 3-Day Notice to Vacate (Nonpayment) — overview

A Texas 3-Day Notice to Vacate (Nonpayment) is the statutory notice to vacate for nonpayment of rent under Texas Property Code §24.005. §24.005 governs both nonpayment and lease violations, but §24.005(a) prescribes the form of the notice for nonpayment: where the tenant’s right of possession is terminated solely for 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 as a notice to pay rent or vacate. Where the tenant was late or delinquent before that month, the landlord may use either a notice to pay rent or vacate or a straight notice to vacate – which is what this form produces. The lease may also provide cure rights (acceptance of late payment) that the statute does not require.

Complete the 3-Day Notice to Vacate (Nonpayment)

Complete the form below to generate a Texas 3-Day Notice to Vacate (Nonpayment). The notice must include the tenant’s full name, complete property address, the statutory deadline to vacate, the legal basis (if required by your state), and proper service. Improperly drafted or served notices can be dismissed by the court and force you to start over.

About the Texas 3-Day Notice to Vacate (Nonpayment)

Texas puts the notice requirement for every eviction ground in one section, Texas Property Code §24.005, but that section is not indifferent to which ground is used. Under §24.005(a), 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 written notice shall be given in the form of a notice to pay rent or vacate; where the tenant was late or delinquent before that month, the landlord may give either a notice to pay rent or vacate or a notice to vacate. For a previously-delinquent tenant, then, the landlord serves this 3-day notice to vacate, and after the 3 days may file forcible detainer in the justice court. The lease itself may provide cure rights (such as accepting late payment within a grace period before serving notice) – but the statute does not require this. The 3-day notice period is also the statute default; the lease may set a shorter or longer period. Many Texas leases (especially TAA standard leases) provide a grace period for rent payment with late fees, but the leases also typically authorize the landlord to proceed under §24.005 if the rent is not paid by a specified date. Once the §24.005 notice is served and the 3-day period expires without payment, the landlord may file forcible detainer.

Texas Notice Framework

• Statute: Texas Property Code §24.005 (unified for nonpayment and violations)
• Notice period: 3 days (statute default; the lease may set a shorter or longer period)
• Notice form under §24.005(a): notice to pay rent or vacate is mandatory if the tenant was not late or delinquent before the month of the notice; either form is allowed if the tenant was
• Lease may provide cure rights (acceptance of late payment) – check carefully
• Late fees: must comply with TPC §92.019 + lease terms

Common Mistakes That Get Notices to Vacate Dismissed

• Demanding excessive late fees (must comply with TPC §92.019)
• Ignoring lease grace period for late payment
• Filing forcible detainer before 3-day period expires
• Improper service method (must comply with TPC §24.005)
• Vague identification of which rental period is unpaid
• Demanding amounts not yet due or already paid

Service Requirements

Texas Property Code §24.005(f-3), as rewritten by S.B. 38 (Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 960), effective January 1, 2026, sets out the only permitted methods of delivering a notice to vacate: (1) mail, including first class mail, registered mail, certified mail, or a delivery service; (2) delivery to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place; (3) hand delivery to any tenant of the premises who is 16 years of age or older; or (4) electronic communication, including e-mail or other electronic means, but only if the parties have agreed in writing. S.B. 38 repealed the former §24.005(f), (f-1), (f-2), (g), (h) and (i) – the subsections that used to authorize affixing the notice to the inside of the main entry door and the outside-of-the-door sealed-envelope posting with a mailed copy. Those procedures are no longer law and must not be used. Under §24.005(f-4) the delivery list does not apply if the tenant actually receives the notice, and §24.0042 computes the notice period by excluding the day of delivery, counting Saturdays, Sundays and state or federal holidays, and rolling the last day forward if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or such a holiday. Document service carefully – Texas courts strictly enforce §24.005 service requirements.

What Happens If Tenant Does Not Vacate

If the tenant does not pay or vacate within 3 days, the landlord may file a forcible detainer action in the Justice of the Peace court of the precinct where the property is located. Under §24.0051(g) the justice court sets trial 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. If the landlord prevails, the court issues a judgment for possession and writ of possession allowing the constable to remove the tenant. The landlord may also obtain a money judgment for back rent, late fees as permitted by TPC §92.019, and court costs. The tenant may appeal to the County Court at Law for de novo trial.

Related Resources

• Texas lease termination laws
• Texas eviction notice laws
• Texas breaking lease laws
• Texas landlord tenant laws
• Texas habitability laws
• Lease termination laws by state

What did Texas S.B. 38 change about the notice to vacate, and when did it take effect?

S.B. 38 replaced every delivery rule in Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 with a single subsection, § 24.005(f-3), effective January 1, 2026. The Act is Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 960. Its Section 18(a) sets the effective date; its Section 17 limits the changes to an eviction suit in which the petition is filed on or after January 1, 2026, leaving earlier-filed suits under prior law. The trigger is the filing date of the petition, not the date the notice was served.

• Renamed the section “Notice Required Before Filing Certain Eviction Suits,” amended subsections (a) and (e), and added (c-1), (f-3) and (f-4).
• Repealed subsections (f), (f-1), (f-2), (g), (h) and (i) outright, in Section 15 of the Act — the door-posting and mailed-copy provisions. A landlord following them today is following a statute that no longer exists.
• Added Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0041 (Venue), § 24.0042 (Computation of Time), and § 24.00505 (Petition), the last requiring a sworn petition to initiate an eviction suit.

What S.B. 38 did not do

S.B. 38 added no new content requirements to the notice and no signature requirement. Section 24.005 does not say who must sign, and the Act did not add a rule. It did address representation: Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 now provides that in any eviction suit in justice court the parties may represent themselves or be represented by their authorized agents, who need not be attorneys — so a property manager may issue the notice and appear for the owner.

One new provision matters to federally regulated housing. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(c-1), a landlord who satisfies Section 24.005 need not delay filing because of a federal pre-vacate notice rule, but a writ of possession may not be served until the period between delivery of the Section 24.005 notice and service of the writ equals or exceeds the federal period.

Can a Texas lease shorten or lengthen the three-day notice period?

Yes — both directions. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a) requires at least three days’ written notice to vacate “unless the parties have contracted for a shorter or longer notice period in a written lease or agreement.” A written lease may cut the period below three days or extend it beyond three; where the lease is silent, the three-day default governs. Read the lease before you set a deadline — many Texas leases contract around the default, and a three-day notice under a lease requiring more is a defect the tenant can raise at trial.

How the three days are counted

Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0042, added by S.B. 38, supplies the count for every period prescribed by Chapter 24. The period excludes the day of the event that begins it; it includes Saturdays, Sundays and state or federal holidays; it includes the last day; and if that last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or state or federal holiday, it extends to the next day that is none of those. A notice delivered Friday runs Saturday, Sunday, Monday — and if that Monday is a federal holiday, the deadline rolls to Tuesday.

How must a Texas notice to vacate be delivered under Section 24.005(f-3)?

Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f-3) requires delivery by at least one of four methods, and only four. Nothing else counts unless the tenant actually receives the notice, because Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f-4) provides that subsection (f-3) does not apply if the tenant actually receives it. Actual receipt is a fallback you prove after the fact, not a delivery plan.

The method that most often fails

Electronic delivery is the one that collapses in court, because it carries a condition the other three do not: a written agreement. An e-mailed notice sent under a lease with no electronic-notice clause is not delivered under Section 24.005(f-3), however promptly it lands. The next most common failure is habit — posting on the outside of the door, or taping the notice to the main entry door and mailing a copy. Those procedures came from subsections S.B. 38 repealed; delivery must now be to the inside of the premises, in a conspicuous place.

When may the suit be filed, and does accepting rent afterward waive the notice?

The notice is a precondition to filing, not an eviction — serving it removes nobody. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a) a forcible detainer suit may be filed only after the notice period has run, so the earliest filing date is the day after it expires as computed under Section 24.0042. Venue is fixed by Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0041: suit must be brought in the justice precinct in which the real property is located, and Tex. Prop. Code § 24.004(a) gives that justice court jurisdiction. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.004(c) confines the court to the right of actual possession — it may not adjudicate title, and counterclaims and joinder of third parties are not permitted.

If a payment arrives after service

Texas has no statute making acceptance of rent an automatic waiver of a notice to vacate. Section 24.005 says nothing about accepting rent, and S.B. 38 added nothing on the point, so waiver turns on the lease and the facts rather than a bright-line rule — which is why it is a fight worth avoiding. Handling a partial payment:

• Check the lease first. Many Texas leases state that accepting a partial payment does not waive the right to proceed; if yours does, that clause decides the question.
• If the payment cures the full amount demanded on a notice to pay rent or vacate, the ground is gone. Do not file on a satisfied demand.
• If it is partial and you intend to proceed, reserve your rights in writing the same day, state the exact balance still owed and the rental period it belongs to, and keep the payment record with the file.
• If you would rather not litigate waiver, decline the partial payment and let the notice period run.

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