A Texas 3 Day Notice To Quit is a letter which complies with state legal requirements to begin eviction against a tenant for nonpayment of rent. The tenant must pay the balance due or move out within three (3) calendar days of receiving notice.
When To Use a Texas 3 Day Notice To Quit
A Texas 3 Day Notice To Quit begins the eviction process when the tenant is late on rent. A landlord may deliver this notice when any portion of the rent remains unpaid, beginning the day after it’s normally due.
Some other types of Texas lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.
How To Write a Texas 3 Day Notice To Quit
To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Quit:
- Use the full name of the receiving party, and address of record, if known
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Specify the basis for terminating the tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Serve a Texas 3 Day Notice To Quit
Texas landlords may deliver a Notice To Quit using one of these methods:
- Hand delivery to the other party
- Hand delivery to a person at least age 16 on the property who can accept the notice on behalf of the other party
- Delivery by regular mail, by registered mail, or by certified mail, return receipt requested
- Posting the notice on the main entry door of the other party’s address (landlords must try to post inside the entry door and can only post on the exterior if they believe harm will come to the person attaching notice to the inside of the main entry door, or if there is no onsite mailbox and an alarm on the premises), PLUS delivery by mail
When posting notices on the exterior of the premises, the notice must be placed in a sealed envelope with the receiving party’s name and address written on it, and “IMPORTANT DOCUMENT” written in all capital letters on the affixed envelope. All notices must be mailed from a post office in the same county as the rental unit.
Sources
- 1 Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f)
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Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), the notice to vacate shall be given in person or by mail at the premises in question. Notice in person may be by personal delivery to the tenant or any person residing at the premises who is 16 years of age or older or personal delivery to the premises and affixing the notice to the inside of the main entry door. Notice by mail may be by regular mail, by registered mail, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the premises in question.
Source Link - 2 Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(f-1) & (f-2)
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(f-1) As an alternative to the procedures of Subsection (f), a landlord may deliver the notice to vacate by securely affixing to the outside of the main entry door a sealed envelope that contains the notice and on which is written the tenant’s name, address, and in all capital letters, the words “IMPORTANT DOCUMENT” or substantially similar language and, not later than 5 p.m. of the same day, depositing in the mail in the same county in which the premises in question is located a copy of the notice to the tenant if: (1) the premises has no mailbox and has a keyless bolting device, alarm system, or dangerous animal that prevents the landlord from entering the premises to affix the notice to vacate to the inside of the main entry door; or (2) the landlord reasonably believes that harm to any person would result from personal delivery to the tenant or a person residing at the premises or from personal delivery to the premises by affixing the notice to the inside of the main entry door. (f-2) Notice to vacate under Subsection (f-1) is considered delivered on the date the envelope is affixed to the outside of the door and is deposited in the mail, regardless of the date the notice is received. Source Link
