Can my landlord lock me out in Texas?

What the law says

A landlord in Texas cannot keep a tenant out of a rented home without a court’s order, except in three cases. Section 92.0081 of the Texas Property Code lists them: genuine repairs, construction or an emergency; clearing out a home the tenant has abandoned; and changing the locks on the unit of a tenant who is behind on rent.

“A landlord may not intentionally prevent a tenant from entering the leased premises except by judicial process”

The rent exception has three conditions, and all of them must be met. The lease must give the landlord the right to change the locks for late rent. The tenant must be behind on all or part of the rent. And the landlord must give written notice first, under section 92.0081(d) of the Texas Property Code.

The timing of that notice is set too. Notice sent by local mail must go out at least 5 days before the locks change. Notice handed to the tenant, or posted on the inside of the main entry door, must come at least 3 days before. It must give the earliest date of the change, the rent that would stop it, and who to see, or which on-site office to visit, to discuss or pay the rent during business hours, according to the Texas Property Code.

The notice must also state, in bold or underlined print, that the tenant can get a key to the new lock at any hour, whether or not the rent is paid. The key rule itself sits in section 92.0081(f) of the Texas Property Code:

“must provide the tenant with a key to the changed lock on the dwelling without regard to whether the tenant pays the delinquent rent”

When the locks are changed, the landlord must put a written notice on the front door. It must name an on-site location where the tenant can go 24 hours a day for the key, or give a phone number answered 24 hours a day that brings the key within 2 hours. It must repeat that the key comes at any hour, and list the rent and charges owed, under section 92.0081(c) of the Texas Property Code.

Some limits apply even when every notice is right. Under section 92.0081 of the Texas Property Code, the locks cannot be changed while the tenant or another legal occupant is inside, or more than once in a rental payment period. A tenant locked out of a unit cannot also be locked out of the common areas.

Timing matters as well. The locks cannot be changed on a day when the landlord or another designated person is not available, or an on-site management office is not open, for the tenant to pay the rent owed. The same goes for the day before such a day, under section 92.0081(e) of the Texas Property Code.

Doors and fittings are protected too. Under section 92.0081(a) of the Texas Property Code, a landlord may not take away a door, window, lock or other fitting, or furniture or appliances the landlord supplied, except for a genuine repair or replacement, which must be done promptly.

What changes the answer

Whether the landlord followed every step decides what a tenant can recover. If a landlord breaks section 92.0081 of the Texas Property Code, the tenant may take the home back or end the lease. The tenant can also recover a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $1,000, with actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees, less any rent or other sums the tenant owes the landlord.

Refusing the new key costs more. When a landlord breaks the key rule in section 92.0081(f), the Texas Property Code adds a further civil penalty of one month’s rent. A lease clause that tries to waive any of these rules is void under the same section.

Under section 92.009 of the Texas Property Code, getting back in goes through the justice court in the precinct where the home is. The tenant files a sworn complaint for reentry there and states the facts under oath to the judge. If the judge believes an unlawful lockout has likely happened, the court may issue a writ of reentry before hearing from the landlord. The writ gives the tenant immediate, temporary possession until a final hearing.

The landlord can ask for that hearing, and it must be held within 7 days of the request. If the landlord does not ask before the eighth day after being served, the court may order the landlord to pay court costs, under section 92.009 of the Texas Property Code.

A writ that is ignored has its own steps. Under section 92.009(i) of the Texas Property Code, the tenant or their attorney may file an affidavit naming the person who disobeyed it and saying what they did. The judge then issues a show cause order, requiring that person to come to court and explain why they should not be held in contempt. If the judge finds after the hearing that the writ was disobeyed, the person can be jailed without bail until they comply as the judge directs.

The cost of filing. Under section 92.009(l) of the Texas Property Code, the filing fee is the same as for a civil case in justice court. The judge may let the tenant pay the filing and service fees later, and court costs can be waived only if the tenant signs a pauper’s affidavit, a sworn statement that they cannot afford them.

Filing in bad faith has a price. Under section 92.009(k) of the Texas Property Code, if a tenant files in bad faith and a writ is served, the landlord may sue for actual damages, one month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees and court costs, less anything the landlord owes the tenant.

The penalty claim is separate. Section 92.009(j) of the Texas Property Code keeps the tenant’s right to bring a separate case under section 92.0081, for the penalty and damages. Section 92.007 says where such cases are filed is governed by section 15.0115 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which this page did not read.

The rules above cover lockouts for unpaid rent. Section 92.0081 of the Texas Property Code treats repairs, construction, emergencies and abandoned homes separately, and it leaves the landlord free to use other remedies, including those in Chapter 24 of the Code, which this page does not cover.