When and How to Deliver a 3 Day Notice in San Antonio TX
Rent is usually due on the first day of the month, no matter whether this is a weekend or vacation, unless various terms are specified in the lease or rental contract. For example, a Texas rental agreement might stipulate that the rent will be due on the next business day if the first of the month or other specified lease due date falls on a weekend or vacation. But after that due date the rent is late. You may have a grace period where you do not charge a late fee but the rent is due on the first of the month and considered late on the second day of the month and you can eviction someone in San Antonio the 2nd day of past due rent.
When Rent Is Considered Late and Due
Unless otherwise consented to in the lease or rental contract, rent is thought about late the day after it is due. For instance, if the renter does not pay rent that is due on the first of the month, the landlord can begin the eviction process on the 2nd.
Landlord Options for Accepting Late Rent
In some states, when offered an eviction notice, occupants have the option to either pay the late lease or move out of the rental unit. If the tenant pays the rent, then the eviction procedures do not continue. In Texas, the landlord gets to choose whether the tenant has the option to pay the rent or leave.
If the landlord decides to give the tenant the alternative to pay the late rent, then the landlord should inform the renter in writing that the occupant owes lease. This notice must occur prior to the landlord offers the occupant an eviction notice, called Notice to Vacate. If the landlord offers this notice to the renter, then the Notice to Vacate can offer the tenant the alternative to either pay the rent or leave. If the tenant pays the lease, then the eviction proceedings will not continue (see Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 24.005(i)). If the landlord does not send out a notice to the tenant about owing lease prior to sending out the renter a Notice to Vacate, then the only option that will be readily available to the occupant in the Notice to Vacate is to leave.
Timing of Eviction Notices for Failure to Pay Rent in Texas
Under Texas building laws (Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 92.019), a landlord must provide a minimum of a one-day grace period before charging an occupant late charge. However, under state law, there is no grace period prior to a landlord can give a tenant an eviction notice for failure to pay the lease. This implies that a landlord can give an occupant an eviction notice the day after the lease is due).
Once the landlord offers the occupant a Notice to Vacate in San Antonio, the occupant has three days to pay the rent (if that alternative is readily available to the tenant) or leave the rental home. The 3 days start on the date the notice is delivered to the occupant. Weekends and holidays are consisted of in the three-day duration. Under state property law (Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § § 24.005 (a)and( g)), the lease or rental arrangement may permit a longer or shorter amount of time than 3 days, in which case that time period must be followed.
Details Included in Texas Eviction Notices
The Notice to Vacate must remain in composing, and consist of the following info:
- The date the notice was served on the renter(s).
- Name(s) and address of tenant(s) rental.
- The reason for the notice (that the tenant failed to pay lease for a specific amount of time).
- A statement that the occupant has three days to vacate, consisting of the final date and time by which the renter has to be out of the home.
- A demand that the landlord may pursue legal action (an eviction lawsuit) if the tenant does not move, and.
- A statement specifying how the notice was provided to the tenant, either by in fact giving the notice to the tenant or mailing the notice.
If the renter has the option to pay rent, then the notice needs to also include a statement that the occupant has three days to either pay the lease due and owing or vacate.
If an eviction notice is missing essential info, such as the time and date the occupant has to be moved out of the rental unit, then the eviction notice will not be thought about valid and the three days’ notice will not start. The landlord would then have to provide a new notice to the occupant, restarting the three-day timeline, and the notice would have to consist of all the information listed above.
How Landlords Needs to Serve Eviction Notices in Texas.
Landlords in Texas have 4 alternatives for serving a Notice to Vacate under Tex. Prop. Code Ann.§ 24.005(f):
- The landlord, or an agent of the landlord, can personally provide the notice to the tenant or to somebody who is 16 years or older who resides in the rental home.
- The landlord can post the notice on the within the front door of the rental unit. The landlord can just utilize this option if the landlord is able to get in the properties lawfully, for instance, with a key.
- The landlord can send by mail a copy of the Notice to Vacate by regular mail, signed up mail, or licensed mail. If the landlord sends by mail the notice, then the landlord has to request a return receipt.
- If the rental home does not have a mailbox to get the mail and the landlord can not legally go into the rental to post the notice inside the front door, then the notice can be published on the outside of the front door of the building. If the occupant has a hazardous animal, such as a watchdog, or an alarm, that forbids the landlord from getting in the property, then the notice can be firmly published on the front gate or another visible part of the main entrance to the rental property.
If the landlord does not serve the notice effectively, then the landlord has to produce a brand-new notice and begin the process over. The three days’ notice will not be in effect until the landlord serves the renter in among the methods noted above.
Occupant Choices When Served With Notice to Vacate for Nonpayment of Rent in Texas.
What occurs next depends upon the tenant’s reaction to the eviction notice:
- If the renter has the alternative to pay the lease within the three-day time period and does so, then the landlord should not proceed with the eviction.
- If the renter does not pay the lease but moves out within three days, the landlord may use the tenant’s down payment (if any) to cover the unsettled lease. If the security deposit does not cover all the lease due and owing, consisting of late charges, then the landlord can take legal action against the renter for the rent still owed (see Tex. Prop. Code Ann.§ 24.0051).
- If the tenant does not pay the full lease within the three-day period and does not move from the property, then the landlord can proceed to submit a summons and complaint with the Texas justice court. This proceeding is called a forcible detainer match.
Eviction Claims in Texas Justice Court.
The landlord needs to successfully win the forcible detainer case in the court before an officer of the law can lawfully seize the building. It is crucial that proprietors do not take part in “self-help” practices (such as altering the locks or turning off the utilities) which they follow the procedures for filing the forcible detainer grievance.
More details about filing the problem in justice court can be found in Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § § 24.0051– 24.0061.