Illegal Lockouts and Utility Shutoffs in Texas Rentals: What § 92.008 Actually Says

A landlord in Texas cannot lock you out, cut your power, or shut off your water to make you leave — not when rent is late, not when you filed a repair complaint, not when the lease is up. The only legal tools for removing a tenant are the court-run eviction process under Chapter 24 and a writ of possession executed by a constable. Anything else is a self-help remedy, and self-help remedies against residential tenants are specifically outlawed by Texas Property Code § 92.008 (utility interruption) and § 92.0081 (exclusion and lockouts).

If you're reading this because it's already happening, skip to the remedies section. The statute lets you recover possession, one month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, and attorney's fees — and a Bexar County Justice of the Peace can sign a restoration order fast.

When a utility shutoff is illegal under § 92.008

The default rule is simple: a landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption of utility service paid for directly by the tenant to the utility company unless the interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency.

That covers the common San Antonio setups:

• You have the CPS Energy account in your name. The landlord calling CPS to suspend service is illegal, full stop.
• You have the SAWS account in your name. Same rule.
• The landlord holds the master account and bills you back (common in duplexes, casitas, and some older East Side and Southtown units). The landlord can disconnect only for bona fide repairs, construction, or emergency — and only for as long as that work requires.

"I didn't get paid this month" is not a repair, not construction, and not an emergency. Neither is "the lease ended" or "I'm selling the house."

What counts as an emergency

A gas leak, an active electrical fire hazard, or a burst main — real safety conditions — justify a temporary interruption. The landlord still has to restore service as soon as the hazard is resolved. A landlord who cuts power "because the wiring is old" and then leaves it off for a week is not in emergency territory; that's a shutoff dressed up in a repair costume.

When a lockout is illegal under § 92.0081

A landlord can change the locks on a residential tenant only if all of the following are true:

• The lease specifically authorizes it in underlined or bold print.
• The tenant is delinquent on rent.
• The landlord has given written notice of the proposed lockout at least five days before (or by the deadline the lease specifies, whichever is later — the statute has detailed timing rules).
• After the lockout, the landlord posts a notice on the front door with the name, address, and phone number of the person who will provide a new key.
• A new key is available to the tenant 24 hours a day, on request, regardless of whether the tenant has paid the delinquent rent.

That last point is the one landlords get wrong most often. Under § 92.0081(e), you do not have to pay anything to get the new key. If the landlord refuses to hand one over until you settle up, the lockout is illegal even if every other step was done correctly.

And a lockout is never legal as a response to:

• A repair request under § 92.052
• A complaint to code compliance
• Filing with a government agency
• Exercising any right under Chapter 92

Those retaliation protections live in § 92.331 and they stack on top of § 92.0081.

What you can actually recover

Both statutes give the tenant a nearly identical remedy package. You can sue for:

• A court order restoring possession or utility service
• One month's rent, plus $1,000
• Actual damages (spoiled food in the fridge, a hotel night, a locksmith, missed work)
• Reasonable attorney's fees
• Court costs

The landlord's offset is limited to delinquent rent — and only in the lockout context. A landlord who illegally shuts off SAWS service to a current, paid-up tenant has no offset at all.

How to file in Bexar County

Eviction and lockout/utility cases sit in Justice of the Peace court. Bexar County has four JP precincts, and jurisdiction is based on where the rental property is located, not where you live now if you've been locked out.

Precinct	General coverage area
JP 1	South and southwest Bexar (Southside, parts of 78221, 78224)
JP 2	West and northwest (parts of 78228, 78238, Leon Valley area)
JP 3	East and northeast (Converse, Live Oak, parts of 78218, 78233)
JP 4	North central (Stone Oak, Shavano Park, parts of 78258, 78230)

Filings go through eFileTexas.gov. Filing fees run roughly $50–$75; ask the clerk about a Statement of Inability to Afford if cost is a barrier. The JP can issue a writ of restoration on an expedited basis — sometimes within 24–48 hours — because the statute contemplates emergency relief. Bring your lease, any written notices, photos of the changed locks or dark meter, and proof the account was in your name (a CPS Energy or SAWS bill).

What to do tonight if it just happened

1. Document. Photos of the lock, the door, the posted notice (or the absence of one), the dark house, the dry tap. Time-stamped.
2. Preserve communications. Screenshot every text and email. Do not delete voicemails.
3. Call the utility directly. If CPS Energy or SAWS shows the account in your name and it was disconnected on the landlord's request, tell them the disconnection was unauthorized and ask for a restoration — and a record of who requested the cutoff.
4. Call the non-emergency SAPD line if you're physically locked out. Officers usually label this a civil matter and won't force entry, but you want the incident number for your filing.
5. Call the JP court for the precinct where the property sits and ask about an emergency writ under § 92.0081 or § 92.008.
6. If you can, talk to a lawyer. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and St. Mary's Center for Legal & Social Justice both handle Bexar County tenant cases at no cost for qualifying renters.

What most people get wrong

• "I'm behind on rent, so they can lock me out." No. Being behind matters only as one of several conditions, and even then the landlord must give you a new key 24/7 on request with no payment required.
• "The lease ended, so I'm a trespasser now." No. A holdover tenant is still a tenant for self-help purposes. The landlord has to file eviction, win, and wait for a constable — not call a locksmith.
• "They didn't shut off the power — they just let it lapse in their name." Still covered. If the landlord was the account holder and intentionally let service drop to force you out, § 92.008 treats that as an interruption.
• "The lease says they can cut utilities for nonpayment." Unenforceable. § 92.008(h) voids any lease provision that tries to waive these protections. You cannot sign away the right.
• "I should just change the locks back myself." Risky. Do it through the JP writ. Self-help from the tenant side creates its own problems and muddies the damages picture.
• "I'll wait until I have a lawyer to file." Don't. Restoration orders are designed to move fast. Every day out of the unit is a day of hotel costs and a day the landlord can claim you abandoned the property.

After you're back in

Once possession and utilities are restored, decide whether you want to stay. If the relationship is beyond repair, § 92.0081 and § 92.008 don't themselves terminate the lease, but a serious violation plus uncured habitability issues under § 92.056 can support a judicial termination. Keep paying rent into an account you can show the court — non-payment in protest almost never helps you.

If you're starting over and need a new place in San Antonio, browse current listings at /rentals, and if you want help vetting a landlord before you sign the next lease, the agents at /agents work Bexar County daily and know which operators have a history of this behavior.