The Texas 3-Day Notice to Vacate: What § 24.005 Actually Requires

Before a Texas landlord can file an eviction (a forcible detainer suit) in a Bexar County JP court, Texas Property Code § 24.005 requires a written notice to vacate. The default period is three days, but the lease can change that, and the delivery method matters as much as the wording. If the notice is defective, the JP will dismiss the petition and you restart — another 3 days of notice, another filing fee, another 10–21 days waiting for a hearing setting.

This is the statute landlords in San Antonio get wrong most often. Not the complicated parts — the basics.

When § 24.005 applies

You need a § 24.005 notice before filing eviction in any of these situations:

• Nonpayment of rent. The most common case.
• Holdover after lease expiration. Term expired, tenant still there, no new agreement.
• Lease violation that your lease makes a ground for termination (unauthorized occupant, pet, criminal activity, etc.).
• Month-to-month termination after you've already given the § 91.001 termination notice and the tenancy has ended but the tenant hasn't left.

The § 24.005 notice is separate from a § 91.001 month-to-month termination notice. A § 91.001 notice ends the tenancy (at least one full rental period before the effective date). A § 24.005 notice tells the now-holdover tenant to get out before you sue. On a month-to-month, you usually need both, in that order.

The default is 3 days — unless your lease says otherwise

§ 24.005(a) sets a three-day notice to vacate for nonpayment and for tenants at will or at sufferance. But the same subsection lets the written lease specify a shorter or longer period. The TAA (Texas Apartment Association) residential lease that most San Antonio landlords use keeps the 3 days. Many custom leases do too. Some investor-drafted leases shorten it to 24 hours; some extend it to 5 days for goodwill.

Before you send anything, pull your signed lease and read the termination/eviction paragraph. If the lease says 24 hours, a 3-day notice still works (you gave more than required). If the lease says 5 days, a 3-day notice does not work — you'll lose in JP court on a technicality and restart.

Notice and demand for rent in one document

§ 24.005(e) lets you combine the notice to vacate with a demand for past-due rent. Most landlords should. A single document that says "pay X by date Y or vacate within 3 days" is cleaner than two separate papers, and it preserves your right to accept payment and cancel the eviction without prejudicing the notice if the tenant doesn't pay.

What the notice must say

The statute is light on required wording, but the JP courts in Bexar County (Precincts 1, 2, 3, and 4) will look for these elements. Include all of them:

• Full tenant name(s) as they appear on the lease, plus "and all other occupants."
• Property address, including unit number.
• A clear demand to vacate — the words "you must vacate the premises" or equivalent. Not "please consider moving," not "we may need to file."
• The deadline: the exact date and time by which the tenant must be out. Count carefully (see below).
• The reason, briefly: nonpayment of rent for [months], holdover after expiration on [date], or the specific lease violation.
• If combined with a rent demand: the amount owed, itemized (rent, late fees per the lease, any NSF fees), and a payment deadline.
• Landlord/agent name, signature, and date.
• Method of delivery noted on your copy (for the JP hearing).

Don't include threats, don't include statutory language about attorney's fees unless your lease authorizes it under § 24.006, and don't demand anything you can't collect (utility reimbursements you never billed, damages you haven't assessed).

Delivery — this is where landlords fail

§ 24.005(f) lists the permitted delivery methods. If you use anything else, service is defective. The permitted methods:

1. In person to the tenant or to any person 16 or older residing at the premises.
2. By mail — regular mail, registered mail, or certified mail, return receipt requested — to the premises in question.
3. Securely affixing the notice to the inside of the main entry door.
4. Affixing to the outside of the main entry door, in limited circumstances only.

The outside-door method is narrow

Under § 24.005(f-1), you can post on the outside of the main entry door only if:

• The premises has no mailbox and has a keyless bolting device, alarm system, or dangerous animal that prevents the landlord from entering to affix the notice inside; or
• The landlord reasonably believes that harm to any person would result from personal delivery.

And even then you must: put the notice in a sealed envelope addressed to the tenant, label it with something like "IMPORTANT DOCUMENT," and by 5:00 p.m. the same day deposit a copy in the mail, postage prepaid and addressed to the tenant at the premises.

Taping a notice to the front door because it's easier than driving back out to the property — that is the single most common delivery defect in Bexar County eviction filings. If the tenant shows up to the hearing and says "it was just taped to the door, there was a mailbox and no alarm," the JP dismisses.

Mail adds days

If you mail the notice, the clock doesn't start the day you drop it at the post office — the courts treat delivery as complete when the tenant would reasonably receive it. For a three-day notice, mailing costs you time. Personal delivery or affixing inside the door is faster and creates a cleaner record.

Counting the three days

§ 24.005 doesn't define "day" with the precision some other statutes do. Bexar JP courts generally count calendar days, not counting the day of delivery, and the deadline runs through the last day. Deliver Monday, the tenant must be out by end of day Thursday; you can file Friday morning. If the third day falls on a Sunday or a court holiday, build in a buffer — file the next business day to avoid an argument.

Do not file the eviction petition on day 3. File on day 4 or later. Filing too early is another dismissal trigger.

What most people get wrong

• Using a text message or email as the notice. § 24.005 doesn't authorize electronic delivery. Even if your lease has an e-notice clause, a JP will scrutinize it. Send paper.
• Taping to the outside door when there's a mailbox. Fails § 24.005(f-1). Post inside, or hand-deliver, or mail.
• Counting the day of delivery as day one. Don't. Start the count the next day.
• Sending a "pay or quit" notice that only demands rent and never clearly demands vacatur. The JP needs to see the words. "Pay by Friday" is a rent demand, not a notice to vacate.
• Filing the petition before the notice period expires. Dismissed. Restart.
• Accepting a partial rent payment after sending the notice without a written non-waiver. In Texas, accepting rent for a period after the breach can waive the right to evict for that breach. If you take any money, take it under a signed Partial Payment Agreement that preserves the eviction.
• Not keeping proof of delivery. Photograph the affixed notice with a timestamp. Keep the certified mail green card. Have a witness for personal delivery if possible. JP hearings turn on this.
• Using an old lease's notice period on a renewed tenancy with a new lease. Always notice under the currently effective lease.

After the notice: filing in JP court

Once the notice period has fully run, file a Petition for Eviction in the JP precinct where the property sits. Bexar County has four precincts; the precinct is determined by property address, not by where the landlord lives. File through eFileTexas.gov or in person at the precinct. Filing fees and constable service fees apply (check the current fee schedule with the precinct clerk — they change). The hearing is typically set 10 to 21 days out. Bring the lease, the ledger, the notice to vacate, proof of delivery, and any communications.

If you win and the tenant still doesn't leave, request a writ of possession after the 5-day appeal window, and a Bexar County constable will execute it.

Use the notice period to document

The three days between delivery and filing are a gift. Use them to: pull a current rent ledger, gather the signed lease and any addenda, print the communication history, and photograph the condition of the exterior. If the tenant pays or leaves, you've lost nothing. If they don't, you walk into JP court ready.

For San Antonio landlords looking to list a rental the right way the first time — with lease language that actually supports § 24.005 enforcement — you can post at /list-your-home, or browse current rental comps at /rentals to set a market rate. More landlord-side guides on deposits, disclosures, and lawful entry live at /resources.