Quote:
Originally Posted by Jules Jaguar
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.
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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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spirit13
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.
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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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Naomi4u
Jules, You need to contact your local clerk of court or sheriff department ASAP.
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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?"
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