What is the legal way to evict a tenant from your property? (Austin: lease, eviction)

[Texas6023]

Can a tenant be evicted for damages such as broken windows? Holes in Sheetrock walls? Holes in the flooring? Shower tiles being broken off? Every time rent was paid I asked tenant if everything was ok in the home and was always told it was ok.. This month rent was not paid due to tenant not working because of an injury that didn't occur at premises. So I asked if I could make a walk thru of home and as allowed to. In the walkthru I was amazed at all the damages that would take multiple days if not multiple weeks to repair.. Had lots of water damage in bathroom flooring and surround walls in shower. I asked tenant if she could vacate premises in 30 days due to home being unsafe to be lived in and i was not requiring any delinquent rent to be paid. Do I need to send a letter asking tenant to vacate first within 30 days then an eviction is filed? State of texas

[ilikeme]

Originally Posted by Texas6023

Can a tenant be evicted for damages such as broken windows? Holes in Sheetrock walls? Holes in the flooring? Shower tiles being broken off? Every time rent was paid I asked tenant if everything was ok in the home and was always told it was ok.. This month rent was not paid due to tenant not working because of an injury that didn't occur at premises. So I asked if I could make a walk thru of home and as allowed to. In the walkthru I was amazed at all the damages that would take multiple days if not multiple weeks to repair.. Had lots of water damage in bathroom flooring and surround walls in shower. I asked tenant if she could vacate premises in 30 days due to home being unsafe to be lived in and i was not requiring any delinquent rent to be paid. Do I need to send a letter asking tenant to vacate first within 30 days then an eviction is filed? State of texas

Not a lawyer, but I'm pretty surreal they can be evicted for that. They can also be held liable for the cost of repairs also.

[PeteyC]

Just to be safe, I would send a written demand to vacate the premises via certified mail. Is there anything in the lease agreement regarding eviction that would negate your request?

[aero100]

It all depends on how your lease is set up. Go over to the renting subforum, there are dozens and dozens of threads on bad tenants and evictions.

If they haven't paid it's a 3 day (not 30 day) notice to pay up or vacate. If they don't pay, you can start eviction proceedings.

Nolo (a company that sells legal forms) has some more information online that is worth perusing.
Eviction Notices for Not Paying Rent in Texas | Nolo.com

If you are truly worried about your property - hire a law firm to help you do this. It's a very common action and there are firms that handle this as swiftly as others handle traffic tickets. Removing a tenant is not particularly difficult to do in Texas, but there are specific procedural requirements on how you serve them, etc., and if you mess any of them up you go back to square one. Some tenants are experts at holding on for months and since you don't appear to have done this before, you don't want to learn with thousands of dollars of your property at stake.

Also, instead of the law firm you can just go cash for keys and offer to write a check to get her to leave. Sometimes that is the most practical route.

[Texas6023]

Thanks folks. I have had tenants leave but most the time it's because they are 2 or 3 months behind and they'll leave on their own without having to evict.

This situation the tenant hasn't paid for last month but because she has a broken foot. But being on crutches and the floor falling through in some areas I don't want to take the risk of any injuries occurring on property. And of course the no pet clause was not followed with 6 dogs on premises and poultry.. Not to mention two other guys in the home that were not listed in original agreement.

But I did find some information and just was trying to cover myself in case tenants didn't want to vacate. But I'll get a letter sent out today certified mail.

[High_Plains_Retired]

I was at one time a landlord in Texas (west Texas) and have had to do several evictions, two through the courts .

There are state laws that guide the eviction process in Texas but each county may interpret and enforce the laws differently.

In general, you deliver a "Notice to Vacate" stating a specific date you want the tenants to be out. I always included one in English and in Spanish if my tenants spoke Spanish. Unless your lease states otherwise, the normal time given to vacate is 3 days.

If the tenant refuses to leave by the date on the "Notice to Vacate", you then file a lawsuit against the tenant called “Forcible Entry and Detainer” with the Justice of the Peace in the precinct where the property is located. This is essentially says the tenant must either leave the property by a certain date or answer your charges in a court date they are notified of. When you file this detainer, you will have to pay court costs (I think $72.00 in most counties).

If the tenant does not answer the detainer and still refuses to leave, the sheriff's office (may be different for your county) steps in to forceably remove the tenants. You may have to remove the contents of the property yourself "to the curb" if the tenants refuse to do it. Your county may have rules guiding this process. Do not allow the tenants to remove their belongings to a vacant garage or barn you may have available or you will may have to go through eviction process again.

Check with your specific JP for details to get started but DON'T DELAY. Delaying the delivery of the "Notice to Vacate" is a well-known tenant ploy to get to stay longer. It is you who has to start the clock ticking with the Notice to Vacate.

There is a lot of general information on the process online but here is one I just found:

https://www.evictionresources.com/te...ction-process/

[Texas6023]

Thanks high plains. Pretty close to the info I been rounding up. Not that I'm expecting a world war here but just making sure I do things right. Already sent off notice to vacate. Thanks

[CptnRn]

Austin Tenants’ Council/Tenant-Landlord Fact Sheets

Austin Tenants’ Council/The Eviction Process

http://www.city-data.com/forum/renting/

[Tominftl]

Call the courthouse. They will give you a paper with all the information on it. It's different for every state.

[Texas6023]

Ok. Thanks. I sent a verified letter on November 21 and just now received it back saying it was unable to be delivered. Post office says they make two attempts to deliver letter then return back to sender. So what if I'm unable to deliver the letter to tenants? They do not open door when I am knocking since they recognize me already. What if they do no accept letter if I see them?