Can the City of Houston add eviction rules?
No. Property Code 1.004, added by HB 2127 in 2023, makes void any city or county ordinance regulating evictions or delaying delivery of a notice to vacate or the filing of an eviction suit. A Texas appeals court let the law stand in July 2025. SB 38 then added Property Code 24.0043, which says only the legislature may modify or suspend Chapter 24 eviction procedures.
So Houston has no just-cause rule, no city notice and no rent control. City Hall’s rules for apartment owners come through building and habitability codes instead, covered further down.
The Texas steps, briefly
For suits filed on or after January 1, 2026, SB 38 and the rewritten Rule 510 govern. You give at least three days’ written notice to vacate, or a notice to pay rent or vacate if the tenant hadn’t been late before that month, file a sworn petition, and the court must hold trial between the 10th and 21st day after filing. Appeals run five days, and the writ can’t issue before the sixth day after judgment. Our Texas eviction process guide walks through each rule and the CARES Act overlay.
Which Harris County justice court hears a Houston eviction?
The one for the precinct where the property is located. Property Code 24.0041 sets venue in that justice precinct, and the Harris County Justice Courts say the same. Harris County has 16 justice courts spread across its precincts, and a single Houston ZIP code can sit in a different precinct than the one next door, so look up the parcel before you file.
Also check the county line. Parts of Houston extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, and a building there files in that county’s justice court, served by that county’s constable or sheriff.
Precinct lines and docket size
Harris County’s justice precinct boundaries haven’t been redrawn since 1973, so caseloads are lopsided. Texas Standard reported in November 2024 that Precinct 5 serves over 1.3 million people while Precinct 6 serves about 131,000, and that some eviction dockets carry hundreds of cases.
SB 38 keeps a big docket from stretching your timeline past the statutory window, since trial must happen by day 21 and a postponement can’t exceed seven days without written agreement. A crowded courtroom still means a long morning, so bring your ledger, lease, notice and proof of delivery organized by unit.
Filing in a Harris County justice court
File a sworn petition that meets Rule 510.6. The Harris County Justice Courts posted an updated Petition for Eviction for 2026 cases on their eviction page, along with the full justice court rules effective January 1, 2026.
Two online tools save calls. FindMyCase looks up a case and its court date, and WebDockets shows each court’s daily docket. Under 24.00506, a justice court can’t require mediation, a pretrial conference or extra petition content, so a local practice you remember from before 2026 may no longer apply.
- Tell the court which notice you gave: notice to vacate or notice to pay rent or vacate, and whether the tenant had been late before.
- Name each adult tenant you need bound by the judgment, and budget a citation fee for each one served.
- Have the military status affidavit ready in case of a default.
- Either side has the right to a jury trial, and a nonlawyer agent can represent a party in justice court.
Harris County constables: service and the writ
Each justice precinct is matched with a constable, and the constable serves your citation and executes your writ. Harris County’s posted constable fees are $85 for an eviction citation and $155 for a writ of possession. The court’s own filing costs are separate.
SB 38 put deadlines on both steps. The constable must make a diligent effort to serve within five business days of filing, and must serve the writ within five business days of issuance. Miss either window and you may ask for another trained officer, including an off-duty one. Before the lockout, the officer posts a warning on the front door at least 24 hours ahead, and belongings can’t go outside in rain, sleet or snow, which is a real issue in a Houston downpour.
Houston’s apartment rules owners do have to follow
Houston’s Multi-Family Habitability Program, under Ordinance 2009-1043, requires apartment complexes with three or more units to register with the city, per Section 10-151 of the city code. Inspectors check mostly exterior and common areas such as stairways, balconies, railings, lighting and walkways. An owner still in violation after the correction period faces a misdemeanor fine of $250 to $2,000, and each day is a separate offense.
On May 6, 2026, City Council passed an apartment inspection ordinance that replaces the complaint-driven approach with proactive inspections. Under the new high-risk program, local reporting says a property with 10 or more qualifying code violations in six months is flagged, must register and faces added inspections. These rules don’t change eviction procedure, but a code complaint can trigger the Property Code 92.331 retaliation bar, so keep repairs documented.
Tenant lawyers and rent help in Harris County
Expect more represented tenants than you might in a smaller county. Harris County has funded eviction defense through Lone Star Legal Aid and Neighborhood Defender Services, and in December 2023 it expanded the program to all 16 justice courts.
Represented tenants mean tighter scrutiny of your notice type, the prior-delinquency statement in your petition and proof of delivery. A payment plan or cash for keys agreement, signed before trial, often costs less than a contested case that heads to county court on appeal with rent paid into the registry.
Where Houston filings go wrong
Most delays in a Harris County case trace back to a handful of avoidable mistakes made before the petition is ever filed. Go through this list for each unit before you hand anything to the clerk.
- Wrong precinct: the address is in Houston, but the parcel sits in a different justice precinct than the court you chose.
- Wrong county: the building is inside Houston city limits but in Fort Bend or Montgomery County.
- Wrong notice: a plain notice to vacate went to a tenant who had never been late, when SB 38 required a notice to pay rent or vacate.
- Petition gaps: no statement of which notice was given, how it was delivered, the rent owed at filing or the tenant’s prior delinquency.
- Unit address errors: a building number or unit letter that doesn’t match the lease, which can stall service by the constable.
- Covered property: a federally backed mortgage on the building, which means the writ can’t be served until 30 days after the notice under 24.005(c-1).
- Missing affidavit: no servicemember affidavit in the file when the tenant doesn’t appear.
Worked example: three nonpaying units in a 40-unit Houston building
Assume three one-bedroom units at $1,150 a month each, one adult tenant per unit, none late before, rent due Monday, February 1, 2027, and an assumed $650 attorney fee per case. You hand-deliver notices to pay rent or vacate on Tuesday, February 2, the three days run through Friday, February 5, and you file all three petitions Monday, February 8.
The constable serves Thursday, February 11, within the five-business-day window. The earliest trial is the 10th day after filing, Thursday, February 18, which is also at least four days after service. The appeal deadline closes Tuesday, February 23, so the writs can issue Wednesday, February 24.
Daily rent is $37.81 per unit ($1,150 × 12 ÷ 365). If the constable posts the 24-hour warning the day the writs issue, possession comes Thursday, February 25, day 24. If the constable uses the full five business days, the warning goes up Wednesday, March 3, and execution lands Thursday, March 4, day 31.
| Item | Fast constable (day 24) | Full 5 business days (day 31) |
|---|---|---|
| Lost rent, 3 units | $2,722.19 | $3,516.16 |
| Constable fees, 3 × ($85 + $155) | $720 | $720 |
| Attorney fees, 3 × $650 (assumed) | $1,950 | $1,950 |
| Total before court filing costs | $5,392.19 | $6,186.16 |
What multifamily owners in Houston should plan for
For a 5+ unit building, the risk is several cases moving at once in a busy precinct, each with its own constable deadline, writ window and appeal clock. Calendar the 60-day limit on issuing the writ and the 90-day limit on executing it for every unit, since a missed date means starting over.
Keep your city registration current and your code file clean, because a tenant with a recent repair complaint can raise retaliation, and the high-risk program puts problem properties under a brighter light. Our landlord-tenant law guide covers deposits and repairs if you need the background.
Selling your Houston apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Houston and across Harris County, with tenants in place, as-is, including buildings with nonpaying units or suits on a justice court docket. You don’t have to finish the cases first. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977, and we typically respond within 48 hours.
