Texas Eviction Notice
Texas eviction notice: the 3-day notice to vacate under Property Code Section 24.005, now counted by calendar days. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
This page's compact notice text is the actual eviction notice a Texas landlord fills out and serves, not a broader explainer of how Texas eviction law works, and there's a brand new rule that changes how every deadline on it gets measured. Effective January 1, 2026, Texas Property Code Section 24.0042 codifies, for the first time, how to count a Chapter 24 notice period: it counts Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays as part of the days, and only pushes the deadline forward if the LAST day would otherwise land on one of those. That is the opposite convention from states that exclude weekends and holidays from the count, so a Texas 3-day notice served on a Friday can expire the following Monday, not the Tuesday after. Texas also does not split its pre-filing notice into different day counts by cause the way some states do. Nonpayment of rent, a lease violation other than rent, and holding over past the lease term all default to the same at least 3 days' written notice to vacate under Property Code Section 24.005, unless the parties' written lease contracts for a shorter or longer period. What changes by cause is the notice's required form: straightforward nonpayment cases must use a notice to pay rent or vacate, while other defaults use a plain notice to vacate, and Texas law does not guarantee a separate statutory chance to cure a non-rent violation.
Key Things to Know
- 1
An eviction notice, called a notice to vacate in Texas, is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible detainer suit in a Texas justice court.
- 2
Texas requires at least 3 days' written notice to vacate before filing suit, unless the lease contracts for a shorter or longer period. Since January 1, 2026, that count follows a new statutory formula: it includes weekends and holidays and excludes only the day the notice is given, moving the deadline to the next non-weekend, non-holiday day only if the last day would otherwise fall on one. (Tex. Prop. Code Sections 24.005(a), 24.0042)
- 3
Texas does not vary the day count by cause. Nonpayment of rent, holdover past the lease term, and other lease violations all default to the same 3 days; what varies is the notice's required form, not its length. (Tex. Prop. Code Section 24.005(a))
- 4
If a tenant's possession is being ended solely for nonpayment of rent and the tenant was not already late before that month, the notice must be captioned as a notice to pay rent or vacate, not a plain notice to vacate. If the tenant was already delinquent, the landlord may use either form. (Tex. Prop. Code Section 24.005(a))
- 5
Texas law does not create a statutory cure period for lease violations other than nonpayment. A lease default other than rent, or a holdover past the lease term, gets the same 3-day notice to vacate with no legally guaranteed chance to fix the problem; any cure right comes only from the lease itself. (Tex. Prop. Code Section 24.005(a))
- 6
The governing law is Texas Property Code Chapter 24, the Forcible Entry and Detainer statute. The notice may be delivered by any one of four methods, mail, leaving it inside the premises in a conspicuous place, hand delivery to any tenant 16 or older, or agreed-upon electronic delivery, with no required order of preference; actual receipt by the tenant satisfies the requirement regardless of which method was used. (Tex. Prop. Code Sections 24.005(f-3), 24.005(f-4))
- 7
There's no state-mandated form for the notice itself. Separately, a landlord who wants to be eligible to recover attorney's fees must send a distinct written demand by registered or certified mail at least 10 days before filing suit, warning that fees may be recovered if the tenant does not vacate before the 11th day after receiving it. (Tex. Prop. Code Section 24.006)
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Texas, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
Open the Eviction Notice guideCustomize your Eviction Notice Template with DocDraft
Texas Requirements for Eviction Notice
At least 3 days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer suit, unless the parties' written lease or agreement contracts for a shorter or longer period. Effective January 1, 2026, the count follows Texas Property Code Section 24.0042: it excludes the day the notice is given, includes Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays, and moves the deadline to the next non-weekend, non-holiday day only if the last day of the period would otherwise fall on one.
Any one of four delivery methods is sufficient, with no required order of preference: mail (first class, registered, certified, or a delivery service), delivery to the inside of the premises in a conspicuous place, hand delivery to any tenant of the premises age 16 or older, or electronic communication if the parties agreed to it in writing. A defective delivery method does not matter if the tenant actually received the notice.
If a tenant's right of possession is being terminated solely for nonpayment of rent and the tenant was not late or delinquent before the notice month, the written notice must be given in the form of a notice to pay rent or vacate. If the tenant was already late or delinquent before that month, the landlord may use either a notice to pay rent or vacate or a plain notice to vacate.
Texas's eviction statute does not create a separate statutory cure-or-quit notice type or a state-mandated cure period for lease violations other than nonpayment. A landlord terminating for a lease default other than rent, or for holdover past the lease term, serves the same 3-day (or lease-modified) notice to vacate; any opportunity to cure the violation and stay exists only if the parties' written lease itself provides one, not by operation of Chapter 24.
Ending a monthly or month-to-month tenancy without cause requires a notice of termination given by the landlord or the tenant; if the rent-paying period is at least one month, the tenancy ends on whichever is later, the date stated in the notice or one month after the notice is given. A landlord relying on holdover past the lease term for a forcible detainer suit must satisfy this Section 91.001 timing before the 3-day notice to vacate under Section 24.005(a) can run.
Separate from the notice to vacate required to file suit at all: to be eligible to recover attorney's fees, a landlord must send a distinct written demand by registered mail or certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days before filing suit, stating that fees may be recovered if the tenant does not vacate before the 11th day after receiving the demand.
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the justice-court process that follows if the tenant does not comply: Texas Property Code Chapter 24, "Forcible Entry and Detainer," Sections 24.001 through 24.008.
Frequently Asked Questions
Texas requires at least 3 days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer suit, unless the parties' written lease contracts for a shorter or longer period. Since January 1, 2026, that count follows Texas Property Code Section 24.0042: it includes weekends and holidays, excludes only the day the notice is given, and pushes the deadline forward only if the last day would otherwise fall on a weekend or holiday.
No. Texas Property Code Section 24.002(b) requires the demand for possession to be made in writing and to comply with the notice-to-vacate requirements of Section 24.005 before a forcible detainer suit can be filed. Filing without a proper written notice, or with the wrong day count, is a defect that can get the case dismissed.
At minimum, the notice needs the tenant's name, the property address, the reason for the notice, and the deadline to pay, cure if the lease allows it, or vacate. For nonpayment cases where the tenant was not already late before the notice month, Texas Property Code Section 24.005(a) requires the notice to take the specific form of a notice to pay rent or vacate rather than a bare notice to vacate. Dating the notice and keeping a signed copy also documents when the Section 24.0042 clock started.
No. There is no state-mandated fill-in form for the pre-filing notice to vacate itself; a landlord can write their own as long as it contains the content Section 24.005 requires. What is required in certain nonpayment cases is the notice TYPE, a notice to pay rent or vacate rather than a plain notice to vacate, not specific mandated wording.
Only for nonpayment, in the sense that a notice to pay rent or vacate lets the tenant pay and stay within the notice period. For a lease violation other than rent, or for holding over past the lease term, Texas Property Code Section 24.005(a) does not create a statutory right to cure; the tenant simply has the notice period to vacate, unless the lease itself grants a chance to fix the problem.
Start counting the day after the notice is given, not the day it is given. Count every day, including Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays, until you reach the number of days required (3, unless the lease sets a different period). If that final day lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that isn't. (Tex. Prop. Code Section 24.0042)
The landlord can file a forcible detainer suit in the justice court of the precinct where the property sits. If the landlord wins and gets a judgment, a writ of possession generally cannot issue before the sixth day after judgment, and the officer executing it must post a written warning at least 24 hours before removing anyone. (Tex. Prop. Code Section 24.0061)
The statute does not spell out a signature requirement for the notice to vacate itself, but dating it and keeping proof of when and how it was delivered matters, since the delivery date starts the Section 24.0042 countdown and a landlord may need to prove the notice period ran in full before the eviction suit was filed.