Index
Texas Property Code - Prohibition of Self-Help Evictions
Summary
Strictly prohibits landlords from using 'self-help' methods to evict tenants, such as changing locks, removing doors, or shutting off utilities.
Rights & Rules
- 01.Landlords cannot physically remove a tenant, change locks, or cut off essential utilities (like water or electricity) to force a tenant out of their home.
- 02.All evictions must proceed through the formal legal process in court; self-help actions are illegal regardless of whether rent is owed.
Penalties
- 01.Tenants can sue landlords for actual damages, punitive damages, a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $1,000, attorney's fees, and court costs for illegal self-help evictions.
- 02.Landlords may also face criminal charges in some cases for engaging in illegal lockout or utility shut-off practices.
Verified Citations
Texas Property Code § 92.008 (Interruption of Utilities)
Source"A landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption of utility service furnished to a tenant by the landlord or a utility company... if the interruption results from the landlord's intentional or negligent act or omission."
Texas Property Code § 92.009 (Removal of Property and Exclusion of Residential Tenant)
Source"A landlord may not remove a door, window, or attic hatchway cover or a lock, latch, hinge, hinge pin, doorknob, or other mechanism connected to a door, window, or attic hatchway cover from premises leased to a tenant... or remove furniture, fixtures, or appliances furnished by the landlord from premises leased to a tenant unless the landlord removes the item for a bona fide repair or replacement."