dallas eviction help

hello all

without going into much detail because i am not looking for sympathy or hand outs, i am wondering how long a tenant has after they are served with eviction papers to actually move without being locked out. i am familiar with the california eviction process but not dallas.

I have not been served with anything as of yet but i expect to be served the early part of this week.

any information would be great. i tried looking online and pulled up confusing information.

Once they file eviction.. you usually have ten days before court date. Once they go to court and win..they file a WRIT of Possession, after that they usually allow up to 6 days before lock out. Usually, if you can pay the rent and other fees before lock out, most landlords will let you stay.

I am not sure that is LAW... but I am speaking from personal experience.

thats what i thought, sounds reasonable to me. someone told me they could red tag you within a week thats what had me scared lol

...i am wondering how long a tenant has after they are served with eviction papers to actually move without being locked out. Originally Posted by Jules Jaguar

You might read this, which is a brochure regarding evictions in Dallas County:

"Eviction: What's Next?"

Once they file eviction.. you usually have ten days before court date. Once they go to court and win..they file a WRIT of Possession, after that they usually allow up to 6 days before lock out. Usually, if you can pay the rent and other fees before lock out, most landlords will let you stay.

I am not sure that is LAW... but I am speaking from personal experience. Originally Posted by reese foster

No offense, but I would not rely on this as an accurate statement of the law. A person facing eviction should at least read the brochure I referred to.

thanks for the link, so it looks as if i have at least a week to get stuff handled which is good news for me.

I had a friend who was evicted and I know that once they locked him out, he had to make arrangements to get his stuff. They cannot legally keep it. And while we were moving his stuff there we were watched by employee's of the apartment complex

well hopefully my situation wont get that bad, i had a roommate flake out on me and i just can not afford to live here alone any longer, and after that experience i never ever want to roommate again!

i just kinda of wanted to know how much time i would have to get my affairs in order.

Once they file eviction.. you usually have ten days before court date. Once they go to court and win..they file a WRIT of Possession, after that they usually allow up to 6 days before lock out. Usually, if you can pay the rent and other fees before lock out, most landlords will let you stay.

I am not sure that is LAW... but I am speaking from personal experience. Originally Posted by reese foster

From what I have seen, This is correct. Jules, You need to contact your local clerk of court or sheriff department ASAP.

thanks for the link, so it looks as if i have at least a week to get stuff handled which is good news for me. Originally Posted by Jules Jaguar

You probably have at least a week before your landlord can get a court order evicting you, but your landlord may lock you out of your apartment for non-payment of rent in 3 days.

Section 92.0081 of the Texas Property Code allows landlords to change the door locks on an apartment if the rent is delinquent. However, the owner must first notify the tenant at least three days before the locks are to be changed. After the lockout, the landlord must leave a notice telling the tenant where the key can be obtained 24 hours a day. The tenant must contact the landlord to gain access to the apartment, but the landlord cannot refuse to allow the tenant back in, even if the tenant hasn't paid their rent. If the tenant hasn't paid their rent, though, they'll still be subject to any of the landlord's remedies against the tenant for non-payment, including another lockout.

I had a friend who was evicted and I know that once they locked him out, he had to make arrangements to get his stuff. They cannot legally keep it. Originally Posted by Spirit13

That's not strictly true. Let me explain.

In Texas, if the lease includes the appropriate provision,* the landlord can enter the apartment and remove items like TVs, stereos, sports equipment, etc., and keep them until the tenant pays the rent. This provision in the lease must be underlined or in conspicuous bold print for it to be legally-enforceable. The landlord cannot remove items that are exempt** from sale. Seized items may be sold if the landlord gives the tenant at least 30 days' written notice before the sale.

*A standard-form Texas Apartment Association Apartment Lease Contract contains this provision. See:

Texas Apartment Association, Apartment Lease Contract, § 13.

**Items exempt from sale are:
(1) wearing apparel;
(2) tools, apparatus, and books of a trade or profession;
(3) schoolbooks;
(4) a family library;
(5) family portraits and pictures;
(6) one couch, two living room chairs, and a dining table and chairs;
(7) beds and bedding;
(8) kitchen furniture and utensils;
(9) food and foodstuffs;
(10) medicine and medical supplies;
(11) one automobile and one truck;
(12) agricultural implements;
(13) children's toys not commonly used by adults;
(14) goods that the landlord or the landlord's agent knows are owned by a person other than the tenant or an occupant of the residence; and
(15) goods that the landlord or the landlord's agent knows are subject to a recorded chattel mortgage or financing agreement.

See Texas Property Code § 54.042.

Jules, You need to contact your local clerk of court or sheriff department ASAP. Originally Posted by Naomi4u

I don't agree. Jules hasn't even been served with a notice to vacate, which the landlord must serve before filing an eviction suit. In other words, there's nothing filed in the court to ask the court clerk about. The court clerk can't give legal advice. Calling the sheriff would probably result in the operator asking, "Huh?"

You might read this, which is a brochure regarding evictions in Dallas County:

"Eviction: What's Next?"

No offense, but I would not rely on this as an accurate statement of the law. A person facing eviction should at least read the brochure I referred to. Originally Posted by ShysterJon

As I stated, this was from my previous experience. No offense taken.


Thanks for the link. I am sure it will come in handy for many.

For purposes of my response let's just assume you live in the non-descript, seemingly everywhere 2 bedroom apt. in a sprawling complex with a hundred plus units and some vacancies run by a professional management company. You pretty much keep to yourself and don't cause trouble (e.g. they aren't looking for a reason to boot you).

As important as it is to know the law and your rights, practically speaking, knowing how your property deals with evictions is maybe more valuable. Surely over the last years a number of your neighbors got the boot. What did they do? People talk. Heck for a looker like you, even the property manager will talk. For the most part property managment companies are consistent. They follow a policy manual. They will do you exactly the same way they did the person before you.

While you may be dealing in bad faith (since in your post you said you can't afford the place without a roomie, but won't ever have a roomie again), if you acknowledge you are late on the rent, have cash flow problems, blah blah blah, but are working to fix it, they may actually try to work with you and as a result buy yourself sometime.

I have no idea that answer to this legal question. However, the resources SJ has given you should be helpful. You might also look at this one. The Austin Tenants' Council used to be a good group back when I last knew about them many years ago. I would assume that they still are.

http://www.housing-rights.org/evictions.html

This is from the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service.

http://texastenant.org/eviction.html

If you qualify, you might call your local legal aid group for legal representation or other information. If you end up speaking with a non-lawyer, that's OK. They often know almost as much on routine matters such as this. Don't feel slighted or piss them off. They may be your best bet for real help.

http://www.lanwt.org/locations_dallas.asp

well hopefully my situation wont get that bad, i had a roommate flake out on me and i just can not afford to live here alone any longer, and after that experience i never ever want to roommate again!

i just kinda of wanted to know how much time i would have to get my affairs in order. Originally Posted by Jules Jaguar

Wait, you had a roommate? Were both of you on the lease or just you?

Reason is that if both were on the lease, some leases are not considered broken until both names are removed before end of lease.

In one case my friend Jason and his EX GF were on the lease, she did a nutty and took her stuff, trashed the place and laughed about it.

He in turn, called some friends over, we cleaned the place up and he had checked the lease and realized that he could legally remove his name and his ex Gf would be on the hook.

So, one rental truck later and he had moved into my spare bedroom and stored his stuff in a Uhaul storage place. Then he took his name off the lease. The complex then called her cell as well as her new BF's cell (amazing what some sam spade work can do) to inform her she was delinquent on rent. That is when she found out she was the only person on the lease. She had to break the lease which put a blemish on her record.

no just my name so im shit out of luck on that one

thanks again sj & others that info was helpful

just move on out b4 they take u to court sweeety!