FORCIBLE DETAINER, FORCIBLE ENTRY & DETAINER, AND SUIT FOR PAYMENT OF RENT

Assisting Landlord & Tenants in Eviction Suits & Breach of Lease Contracts  

Landlords and businesses depend on payment of rent by tenants for operational costs and payments onHouston Real Estate Attorneys debts and liabilities. When tenants fail to pay rent, especially those that are repeatedly late in such payments or those that have defaulted on the lease agreement, it severely disrupts the landlord’sbusiness putting such business at risks. Depending on the lease agreement and the type of lease, residential or commercial, the eviction process may take up to one month or more. As such, it is important that landlords take immediate action when these situations arise. The Houston Commercial Eviction Attorneys and the North Houston Law Suit For Payment of Rent Lawyers at the Law Offices of Steven Tuan Pham will assist you in filing a “Forcible Detainer Action”, filing a “Forcible Entry & Detainer Suit”, or a to file a “Suit For Payment of Rent.” Please read below for more information and how to contact one of our experienced Houston Eviction Lawyers, the Houston Landlord Tenants Attorneys, or the Spring Breach of Lease Agreement Attorneys at Law Offices of Steven Tuan Pham

“Forcible Detainer” is an action in the Justice of the Peace Court (hereinafter “JP Court”) to take possession of the property from a hold-over tenant after the termination of the lease or from a tenant who currently has possession of the property without a proper lease. A “Forcible Entry & Detainer Suit” is an action to evict a current tenant who defaulted on the lease. Lastly, a “Suit for Payment of Rent” should be filed concurrently with the suit for forcible entry and detainer if the tenant breached the lease agreement and currently owes back rent. The amount owed has to be within the jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace Court, which is set by the Texas Constitution. Currently, the jurisdictional limit of the Justice of The Peace Court in Texas is $10,000, excluding attorney’s fees and reasonable costs in filing the suit and to prosecute against the defaulted tenant.

Generally, a Landlord in Texas must provide Notice of Default to a tenant for at least 10 days via certified mail with return receipt, as well as personal delivery service by posting the notice on the Tenant’s front door prior to filing a forcible entry and detainer or an action for forcible detainer. Subsequent to the 10 days notice, the landlord may file an eviction suit in the JP Court in the county that has jurisdiction over the property. The price for filing a forcible detainer and a forcible entry and detainer suit is the same in most counties, which would also include service of citation by a peace officer. As stated above, if the amount of rent owed, up to the date of trial, is less than the jurisdictional limit, then it may also be included in an eviction suit. If the amount of rent owed is higher than the jurisdictional limit, the landlord should consider filing different suit in either county court or district court. However, the eviction can only be filed in a JP court. Subsequent to filing, depending on the court and the county, the Court Clerk would issue a tentative trial date in which the Landlord and/or his Eviction Attorney have to appear ready for trial.

The Houston Eviction Lawyers and the West and Southwest Houston Landlord & Tenant Attorneys will appear on your behalf in court with evidence to prove your case. Prior to the trial date, our Houston Eviction Counsel will review your case with you. We will request any other evidence that may be necessary for your case and prepare you for trial, including role-playing if necessary. Although the majority of tenants in a residential lease agreement do not appear thereby speeding up the process, you must be prepared to present your case if the Tenant appears, especially if the eviction concerns a commercial lease. As such, it is advisable that the landlord or representative appear for trial with our Houston Eviction Attorneys in these suits.

Subsequent to the trial, the court would make its decision, usually immediately after hearing the facts from all parties. If the landlord prevails, an order will be rendered and the court will allow the tenant a very limited amount of time to remove personal possessions and leave the premises. If the tenant refuses to leave the property, especially if the tenant failed to appear, then the Landlord must obtain a writ of possession from the court and pay a fee for a peace officer to execute the writ and forcibly remove the Tenant from the property. The writ of possession cannot be filed within 5 days after the trial date. Within this 5-day period, the Tenant has the right to pay a bond and appeal the JP court’s decision to a higher court.

Please contact our Harris County Eviction Attorneys and the Fort Bend County Eviction Lawyers for more information on filing an eviction suit. Our Houston Landlord and Tenant Attorneys and our Northwest Houston Eviction Lawyers would be glad to review your lease agreement and advise you as to the course of action needed to evict a tenant who is in default of the lease contract. Our attorneys can be contacted at 832-484-905 or via our online inquiry.

DISCLAIMER

The information above is NOT intended to replace a personal consultation with our Houston Landlord and Tenants Lawyers and our Southwest Houston Landlord Tenants Litigation Attorneys. Readers should not construe the information as a consultation. There may be other legal issues based on the specific fact of each case. Every case is unique and our Houston Real Estate Litigation Attorneys and our Houston Landlord Tenants Dispute Lawyers need to review the facts and circumstances of each individual case in order to provide a meaningful personal consultation. Please feel free to give us a call at 713-517-6645 or complete our Contact Form.

Serving Clients in Houston, West Houston, Southwest Houston, Sugar Land, Katy, Copperfield, Memorial, Spring, Northwest Houston, Northchase, Spring Cypress, Champion Forest, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Humble, Lake Houston, Midtown, Memorial, West Oaks, Royal Oaks, Clear Lake, League City, Westchase Business District, Harris County, and Galveston County.