Forcible Entry & Detainer

FORCIBLE ENTRY & DETAINER (EVICTION) INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION ON FILING A FORCIBLE ENTRY & DETAINER

An eviction case is a lawsuit brought to recover possession of real property, often by a landlord against a tenant. A claim for rent may be joined with an eviction case if the amount of rent due and unpaid is not more than $10,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs, but including attorney fees, if any.

The property in which you are evicting from must be located in Precinct 2, Dallas County, Texas.

You must give notice to vacate according to your lease. If you do not have a lease, you need to contact an attorney or research the statute.

If you are evicting a tenant that resides at the same property as you, you must show ONLY by the defendant’s name.

When you have completed and filed the Petition, Affidavit of Military Status and Justice Court Case Information Sheet, you will be given a court date. The court date is approximately 10 days from the date you file.

Filing fee is $141 for one Defendant. If you are having more than one defendant served, there is an additional $80 service fee for each additional defendant.

The defendant(s) will be served with the citation which will advise them of the court date.

On the day of court, both parties will need to appear. If the plaintiff (landlord) appears and the defendant (tenant) does not appear, a default judgment will be entered. If the defendant appears and the plaintiff does not appear, the case will be dismissed. If the case is dismissed, you need to re-file the case.

If the judge rules in your favor, the defendant will have five days to appeal the case or vacate the property. The five days are calendar days and if the 5th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or if it falls on a day during which the court is closed before 5:00 PM, the defendant has until the next business day. If the defendant files an appeal, this means the case will be transferred to the County Clerks office and heard in another court. They will send you a notice of the court date. If the defendant does not file an appeal or vacate the property, you can request a Writ of Possession and the filing fee is $175. The constable’s office will contact you to schedule a time for the set-out.

If the judge awards the plaintiff a money amount, after ten days, if the defendant has not filed an appeal nor has paid the amount of the judgment, you may file an Abstract of Judgment. The fee is $5 to the court and we will issue the abstract and mail the same to you for your filing with the County Clerk of the county in which you wish to put a lien on any real property the defendant may own.

The plaintiff may also request a Writ of Execution if the money amount is not paid after 30 days from the date the judgment was entered and the defendant has not filed an appeal. You must have a good address to have the defendant served. This authorizes the Sheriff or Constable to seize any non-exempt assets belonging to the defendant that are subject to this writ. Those assets are then auctioned at a public sale and the proceeds are applied to the judgment. If you have any questions regarding this process, you can contact the writ officer at the constable’s office at 214-643-4766.

YOU MUST PROVIDE ENOUGH COPIES OF THE PETITION TO BE SERVED ON EACH DEFENDANT. IF YOU FAIL TO DO SO, THE CLERK MAY MAKE COPIES AND CHARGE $1 PER COPY.

NEITHER THE JUDGE NOR THE CLERKS CAN GIVE YOU LEGAL ADVICE NOR ANSWER ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS. ONLY PROCEDURAL QUESTIONS MAY BE ANSWERED.

Effective 9-1- 17