Houston Eviction Attorney – Houston Eviction Process

1. Notice to Vacate

The first step is to send a Notice to Vacate to your Bad Tenant.  Texas has legal requirements for 1) the contents of the Notice, 2) how it must be served on the Bad Tenant, and 3) how much notice Owners must provide.

We serve the notice on the Bad Tenant in accordance with the law and on our letterhead so the Bad Tenant knows that you engaged an actual LAW FIRM and not a real estate agent looking to make a few extra bucks.  Many “eviction services” are not attorneys and claim that by hand-delivering the notice for you, they can intimidate your tenants into paying.  This is not accurate.  A hand-delivered notice is not likely to intimidate anyone and can be void under Texas law.  We send a Notice to Vacate to your Bad Tenant by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested and by Regular USPS Mail on LAW FIRM letterhead.  This is the BEST way to politely communicate that you are serious!

Please see a few samples of the Notices to Vacate we send in our Evictions Forms section.

2. Eviction Trial

If the Bad Tenant does not pay after receiving the Notice to Vacate, we begin the eviction process by filing the lawsuit to evict all tenants on the lease, handling all the notices and affidavits, and represent you on the day of trial. This is where most evictions stop because, once evicted, most tenants pack up and leave.

3. Writ of Possession / Eviction Appeal

After an Owner receives a Judgment in their favor, the Justice Court gives the Bad Tenant five (5) days by which they must vacate the property or appeal the judgment.  On occasion, they don’t leave or they file an appeal.  It’s rare, but it happens.

• Writ of Possession
  If the Bad Tenant does not vacate the property after five (5) days, the Owner must file a Writ of Possession with the Justice Court.  The Constable will serve the Writ and then, if the Bad Tenant still does not leave, another Constable will go to the property and remove the Bad Tenant, so that you may get their stuff out of the house and change the locks.

• Eviction Appeal
  If the Bad Tenant appeals the Judgment, the appeal is called an Appeal De Novo and must be argued before a county court judge.  At the county court, all rules of Texas civil procedure and evidence are enforced and the judge expects anyone before the court to KNOW THE RULES. The judges are not tolerant of people who do not know proper law and procedure.  When hired, we handle all filings and notices, create all affidavits, and represent you on the day of trial.