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Supreme Court of Texas, Defendant/Tenant’s Answer in an Eviction Case (2024-12-12)

Citation
Supreme Court of Texas, Defendant/Tenant’s Answer in an Eviction Case (2024-12-12)
Jurisdiction
Texas (state)
Source
Official source

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Caution:
x If you want to evict a residential tenant from a foreclosed property who has not
violated the terms of the lease, there are different requirements. See the Notice of
Lease Termination After Foreclosure form and instructions.
x Landlords of subsidized and public housing have additional obligations under the lease
and the law.

These FAQs and instructions are meant to be used with the Notice to Vacate Prior to Filing
Eviction form. Read these instructions carefully. Texas Law has strict rules about the content
and delivery of the Notice to Vacate. If you do not fill out and deliver the notice properly, it
could be invalid. Check with the justice court where you plan to file the eviction. References to
Rules are to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (TRCP) available at
http://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/rules-standards.

I. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between a notice to vacate and an eviction lawsuit? See Texas
Property Code § 24.001, 24.002, and 24.005, and TRCP 510.3-510.4.

The notice to vacate is not an eviction. The notice to vacate is how the landlord tells the
tenant that they will be filing an eviction lawsuit if the tenant does not move out by a
certain date. A landlord must give the tenant a properly worded and delivered notice to
vacate before the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit, otherwise the court cannot evict the
tenant. Providing a tenant with a notice to vacate does not give a landlord the right to
personally remove the tenant from the property. A landlord must go through the court
eviction process to lawfully evict a tenant.