Texas Notice to Vacate: 2026 Landlord Rules & 3-Day Statute

Texas Property Code § 24.005(a) requires at least three days written notice to vacate before the landlord files a forcible detainer suit, unless the parties have contracted for a shorter or longer notice period in a written lease or agreement. For month-to-month tenancies, § 91.001 separately requires one rental period of notice (typically 30 days) to terminate the tenancy, after which a three-day notice to vacate under § 24.005 still must be served before filing eviction. Foreclosure-purchaser scenarios under § 24.005(b-1) carry a 30-day notice.

Yes. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a) expressly permits a written lease to specify a shorter or longer notice period. Texas is uncommon in this regard: most states set a floor the lease cannot undercut. A landlord relying on a shortened lease clause should keep a signed copy of the lease with the executed notice in the eviction filing, because the Justice Court will look to the lease language if the tenant disputes the notice period.

No. Texas does not have a statewide just-cause eviction requirement. A landlord may decline to renew an expired lease without stating a reason. The action remains subject to Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331's retaliation prohibition (six-month window after a tenant exercises a protected right) and federal fair housing law. Some Texas cities have adopted local notice-of-proposed-eviction or source-of-income ordinances; scope is limited by state preemption and any local rule must be verified at the current city-government source.

No. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 214.902 preempts municipal rent control. A Texas municipality may establish rent control only if the governing body finds that a housing emergency exists due to a disaster as defined by Section 418.004 of the Government Code and the governor approves the ordinance. The ordinance must be continued or discontinued in the same manner the governor continues or discontinues a state of disaster under Section 418.014. No Texas city currently operates rent control under these conditions.

Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f) lets a landlord effect personal delivery by affixing the notice to the inside of the main entry door, which does not require interaction with the tenant. If the property has no mailbox and access to enter is blocked, or there is reasonable concern of harm, § 24.005(f-1) permits affixing a sealed envelope marked IMPORTANT DOCUMENT to the outside of the main entry door, provided the landlord also deposits a mailed copy in the same county by 5 p.m. that same day. Certified mail with return receipt requested under § 24.005(f) is a parallel option that creates a clean delivery record.

No. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331 prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant within six months after the tenant in good faith exercises a right under the lease or statute, gives a notice to repair, or complains to a governmental entity about a building, housing, or utility issue. Prohibited retaliatory actions include filing an eviction proceeding (except on grounds stated in § 92.332), depriving the tenant of use of the premises, decreasing services, increasing rent, or terminating the lease. A retaliation defense is one of the most common tenant responses to a Texas eviction filing.

No, not automatically. Texas does not have a statewide auto-sealing statute for forcible entry and detainer (eviction) records. Justice Court files are generally public. Sealing is available only by motion under general civil rules, not as an automatic by-product of dismissal or settlement. Landlords reviewing applicant rental history may rely on public Justice Court records subject to applicable fair-housing and screening-disclosure rules.