Texas Landlord And Tenant Legal Questions

You should notify your landlord in writing of the mold enclosing a copy of the home test results and request that the landlord promptly remediate the situation.  You should make sure your rent is current and all future monthly rent payments are made in a prompt and timely manner until the mold has been remediated.... Read More

If the property management company begins eviction proceedings today, they will not have a hearing until after you have moved out on July 21st.Your landlord is entitled to a writ of possession, an award of damages for the one month's rent you failed to pay, attorney fees, and court costs.  At the end of a lease term, your landlord has the option of not renewing or of allowing you to remain as a holdover tenant month-to-month.  Either party is entitled to give 30 days advance notice to end the tenancy, which your landlord did when it gave you notice on June 20th that you needed to vacate the premises by July 31st.  When you move out, you should, not are not required, to provide to your landlord written notice that you are surrendering possession of the premises to the landlord as of July 22, 2023, along with your new address.  If you provide your landlord written notice of your new address, your landlord must refund your security deposit, less any repairs to the premises of which the landlord must provide you notice, within thirty days.  It is common, but not required, to schedule a walk-through when you surrender possession so that any damage can be assessed and compared to what was reported as already being present when you moved in.  It is advisable that you take a number of photographs depicting the condition of the premises once you have removed all of your belongings and thoroughly cleaned the premises to use as evidence in case you encounter any problem with your landlord refunding your security deposit.Do not--under any circumstances--suggest that the landlord keep your security deposit in lieu of your last month's rent.  This is a statutory violation that may subject you to additional penalties.... Read More

In an eviction suit, the issue is usually did the tenant timely pay the rent required to the landlord.  Your request for a continuance should focus on why you need more time to obtain and present evidence that you timely paid the landlord the rent due.  If your particular eviction is based on something other than non-payment of rent, you need to focus on why additional time is needed to obtain and present evidence refuting whatever breach of the lease the landlord is using to evict you.  Note that the trial of an eviction case can only be postponed a maximum of 7 days unless the parties agree.  TRCP 510.7(c).One of the biggest mistakes tenants make in eviction proceedings is reciting excuses for why they couldn't pay their rent on time.  Making such excuses helps to prove the landlord's case that the tenant did not pay rent on time.  If you couldn't--and therefore didn't--pay your rent on time, you should negotiate with your landlord to pay what you owe plus a little extra for the landlord to waive, or forbear on exercising, its right to evict you.  ... Read More

Hello, Generally speaking, you have 5 days from the date the eviction judgment was signed to appeal it to the County Court or County Court at Law. You must also post a bond or file a statement of inability to post bond. Once at the County Court, you will have a "trial de novo" which essentially means a brand new trial from scratch. Note that while your appeal is pending, you must continue to pay rent if you are staying at the rental property. For more information, the following links are very helpful: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/appealing-an-eviction  https://texaslawhelp.org/article/appealing-an-eviction  If you believe that you may still need to appeal it or if the grounds for your eviction are more complicated than non-payment of rent, I strongly suggest you hire an attorney to handle the appeal as the rules of evidence and procedures are more strict in County Court than in the Justice Court where the original eviction is done. Best wishes, James M. Ringel... Read More

Yes you can. Once the eviction is appealed after the Justice Court, the new court will hear it "de novo" which means the new court will not look at the arguments made at the Justice Court and all of the facts/law must be re-argued from scratch. Therefore, it's important you attend the new trial and argue it just as well (or better!) than you did at the Justice Court. Do note that technically different rules of civil procedure apply to Justice Court and District/County Courts.... Read More

Hello, Unfortunately, with you not being married, your right to stay on the property is extremely limited (assuming it's solely in his name). Unless you have a contract or lease with him, he can simply give you a notice to vacate, and if you fail to leave, he can begin eviction proceedings against you. The notice to vacate must give you three days to leave before he can file an eviction suit and then you have at least 10 days after those three days until there's a hearing. Please see the following helpful link from the Texas State Law Library for additional information: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/eviction-process. Should you receive a notice to vacate, I would suggest talking to a lawyer, but there may not be much an attorney can do for you and you'll likely just have to vacate the premises. I will note though, that given you have 5 children together, him kicking you out may not look great to the Court if you have to go to in front of a judge for a custody dispute. Best, James... Read More

The new company may go by the rental history you established with them to determine whether to renew your lease. They would have to give you notice if they are planning not to renew your lease. Go through the lease and find out how much notice they have to provide so you can mark that date. If they don't give you the required notice, you should be able to renew your lease. However, you should also check the lease to find out when you're supposed to give notice that you want to renew the lease.... Read More

The different name probably does not void your contract. At the end of the day, you made an obligation to somebody to pay rent. You have been paying rent to that somebody, regardless of the name stated on the paper. With that being said, the property manager must tell you who the owner of the complex is.... Read More

Whether you may terminate your lease depends upon a few things. One determining factor is the cause of the leak. Another factor is (i) how you provided your notice; and (ii) whether you provided a seconded written notice. There are specific statutes, as well as your possible terms in your lease, that detail your rights. You may want to contact an attorney to discuss your options.... Read More

It depends on a few other factors, such as whether any rent was disputed. Also, typcially landlords would send the accounting letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, especially if it was a professional landlord. If you did not go to the post office to pick it up, then the court would not look favorably on that. There are weird rules and case law regarding the accounting letters, which help interpret the statutes. Although the statutes seem rather straight forward, they are often interpreted differently than the plain reading.... Read More

You need to follow the rules under the Texas Property Code regarding providing written notice of repair. To make life easier on you, you should provide such notice by certified mail, return receipt requested. If you need asssistance, or the work is not being completed, then you will probably contact an attorney. You do not want attempt the "deduct and repair" option without speaking to an attorney first. It rarely works the way tenants would like, and they are sometimes left with an eviction.... Read More

I understand your frustration. It will be important to review what you needed repair and how you sent the notice to repair such items. It will be the4 best way to determine your exposure, if any. Items that materially affect physical health and safety is about all a landlord is required to repair. Of course, ruptured pipes fall under that category. The Texas Property Code 92.051 et seq. will contain the proper notice procedures.... Read More

Yes, you can be evicted for being 3 or 6 days late on your payment under a lease unless you otherwise agreed to some sort of grace period. The fact that he got the facts wrong could help you, but it may not matter. Different judges may treat it differently (regardless of the law). Most judges I know, after hearing that you were going to vacate by the 31st anyway, would probably abate the case to see whether you moved in that situation.... Read More

The landlord has the duty to provide you with electricity. You should notify the landlord in writing (sent certified mail, return receipt requested) of his requirement to provide you with electricity. If he continues to fail to provide you electricity, then you have certain remedies available to you, which would include terminating the lease.... Read More