Eviction procedure in Texas

Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.6 — 6. Starting An Eviction Lawsuit

Held word for word in the DocketRouter rules corpus; this is the rule's own text, not a summary.

(a) Contents. To start an eviction lawsuit, a petition must be filed with the court. A petition in an eviction case must be sworn to by the plaintiff and must contain: (1) the name of the plaintiff; (2) the name, address, telephone number, and fax number, if any, of the plaintiff’s attorney, if applicable, or the address, telephone number, and fax number, if any, of the plaintiff; (3) the name, address, and telephone number, if known, of the defendant; (4) the amount of money, if any, the plaintiff seeks; (5) a description of any other relief requested; (6) the basis for the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant; (7) a description, including the address, if any, of the premises that the plaintiff seeks possession of; (8) a description of the facts and the grounds for eviction; (9) a description of when and how pre-suit notice was given, and whether it was a notice to vacate or a notice to pay rent or vacate; (10) the total amount of rent due and unpaid at the time of filing, if any; (11) if the eviction is based solely on nonpayment of rent and regardless of whether the landlord is joining a claim for back rent, whether the tenant was late or delinquent in paying rent before the month in which notice was given; (12) a statement that attorney fees are being sought, if applicable; and (13) if the plaintiff is alleging a forcible e…

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Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.2 — 2. Definitions

Held word for word in the DocketRouter rules corpus; this is the rule's own text, not a summary.

(a) “Answer” is the written response that a defendant who is sued may file with the court. (b) “Citation” is the court-issued document required to be served on a defendant to inform the defendant that the defendant has been sued. (c) “Claim” is the legal theory and alleged facts that, if proven, entitle a plaintiff to relief against a defendant in court. (d) “Clerk” is a person designated by the judge as a justice court clerk, or the judge if there is no clerk available. (e) “County court” is the county court, statutory county court, or district court in a particular county with authority to hear and decide appeals of eviction cases from justice court. (f) “Court proceeding” is an appearance before the court, such as a trial. (g) “Default judgment” is a judgment awarded to a plaintiff when the defendant fails to file an answer or appear at trial to dispute the plaintiff’s claims in the lawsuit. (h) “Defendant” is a party who is sued. (i) “Defense” is an assertion by a defendant that the plaintiff is not entitled to relief from the court. (j) “Discovery” is the process through which parties obtain information from each other to prepare for trial or enforce a judgment. (k) “Dismissed without prejudice” means a case has been dismissed but has not been finally decided and may be refiled. (l) “Forcible detainer” is when a person, who has not forcibly entered …

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Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.10 — 10. Request For Summary Disposition

Held word for word in the DocketRouter rules corpus; this is the rule's own text, not a summary.

(a) In a Forcible Entry and Detainer Suit. (1) Motion for Summary Disposition. The plaintiff may, at the time of filing a sworn petition alleging a forcible entry and detainer, file a sworn motion for summary disposition without trial. The motion must set out all supporting facts, and all documents on which the motion relies must be attached. (2) Response; Deadline. The defendant may file a response setting out supporting facts showing why the defendant may not be evicted. The response may provide documents to support it. The defendant must file the response within 4 days after the defendant is served with the petition. The court may consider a late response if the court determines that there are genuinely disputed facts and judgment has not been entered. (3) No Disputed Facts. After proper service and consideration of the sworn petition and defendant’s response, if any, the court may enter judgment for the plaintiff if there are no genuinely disputed facts. (4) Trial. If the court determines that there are genuinely disputed facts, and a trial setting is not pending, the court must set a trial date at least 10 days after the petition’s filing, but within 21 days after the petition’s filing. The court may immediately set the case for a trial upon the defendant’s request for a trial in response to a motion for summary disposition. (5) Judgment. Judgment entered o…

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Tex. R. Civ. P. 510.10 — 10. Request For Summary Disposition

Held word for word in the DocketRouter rules corpus; this is the rule's own text, not a summary.

at the address of the premises as provided in Rule 510.16. (b) In a Forcible Detainer Suit. In a suit alleging forcible detainer only—not forcible entry and detainer—a party may file a sworn motion for summary disposition of all or part of a claim or defense without trial. The summary disposition motion, response, hearing, and order are governed by Rule 503.2.

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