Texas Post-Pandemic Eviction Surge in a Landlord-Friendly Environment

Texas
Post-Pandemic Eviction Surge in a Landlord-Friendly Environment

In Texas, residential evictions have surged past pre-pandemic levels in many jurisdictions, and the state has doubled down on its traditionally landlord-favorable laws. The first half of 2025 finds Texas landlords navigating higher eviction volumes, the end of COVID-era protections, and a new state law that wipes out local tenant protections. Major Texas metros like Houston and Fort Worth are seeing eviction filing numbers far above 2019 levels, even as some pandemic relief measures lingered into 2023. At the same time, Texas law continues to allow rapid evictions (often in just a few weeks) and prohibits rent control or local slowdowns, which means the market forces are in full effect.

Eviction Filing Explosion in 2024–2025: Data and Trends

Texas has experienced one of the sharpest rebounds in eviction filings nationwide. By 2024, eviction filings across the state not only recovered from the 2020 lows but exceeded pre-2020 volumes by a wide margin. According to Eviction Lab research, landlords in Texas filed far more evictions in 2024 than the historical average – notably, Houston’s eviction filing rate jumped from about 6.9% of renter households pre-pandemic to 9.2% in 2024. That translates to roughly 83,000 eviction filings in the Houston area over the past year, 42% higher than pre-2020 levels. In absolute terms, Houston alone had about 20,000 more cases in 2024 than a typical year before the pandemic – a staggering surge, equivalent to all the evictions filed in a city like Tampa in a year.

Other Texas cities also saw big increases. Fort Worth experienced a 25% rise in eviction filings (around 47,000 filings in the last year) compared to pre-pandemic averages. Austin recorded an 18% increase, with roughly 10,850 filings in the past year – this is notable because Austin traditionally had lower eviction rates, but the housing affordability crunch there is feeding more evictions. Even mid-sized cities in Texas (San Antonio, El Paso, etc.) reportedly saw elevated eviction activity in 2024 as rental assistance ended. The only major Texas city bucking the trend was Dallas, where filings in the past year (approx. 38,000) were actually about 6% below pre-pandemic levels. Dallas’s slight decline could be due to local policies during COVID or demographic shifts, but it’s an outlier – statewide, Texas is among the leaders in the “eviction rebound.”

Why so many evictions in Texas? Experts point to the expiration of pandemic relief and consistently rising rents  as key factors. During 2020–2021, eviction filings in Texas were suppressed by eviction moratoria (federal and local) and the Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP), which helped cover back rent. The TEDP ended on June 30, 2023 when its funding ran out. Up to that point, some tenants could pause their eviction by showing they had a pending rent relief application. Once TEDP and Texas Rent Relief closed, many tenants no longer had a financial rescue, and eviction courts saw an influx of cases that may have been pent-up. Texas’s Supreme Court had also issued emergency orders aligning with diversion (like requiring a 60-day abatement if both parties agreed to diversion), but those orders expired in mid-2023. So by late 2023, the procedural barriers to eviction were gone.

Meanwhile, rents in Texas rose significantly from 2021 to 2023 – the state had some of the fastest population growth in the country, and housing construction, while robust, struggled to keep up. Landlords across Texas imposed rent hikes that, cumulatively over three years, have been substantial (double-digit percentage increases in many cities). By 2024, many tenants were facing rent amounts much higher than their pre-COVID leases, and combined with high inflation (especially in 2022), this led to more defaults. News reports and housing experts in Texas widely cite the end of COVID aid plus years of rent increases as the one-two punch driving evictions upward.

It’s also instructive to look at Harris County (Houston) data: Harris County Justice of the Peace courts (which handle evictions) have been extremely busy. Officials there note eviction filings began climbing in 2022 and by 2023 were well above 2019 levels. They also saw a spike in eviction appeals – in fact, appeals in Harris County’s courts were running double the pre-pandemic volume by 2024. This indicates more tenants are trying every avenue (including appeals) to delay or fight evictions, possibly due to the higher stakes (rentals harder to come by, etc.). The increase in appeals also clogged up county courts, with average resolution time increasing from 40 days to 63 days, which affects landlords waiting for a final outcome. In response, Harris County in 2024 funded an eviction appeal docket with an associate judge to speed things up – a sign of how large the caseload became.

Default judgments remain a major factor in Texas evictions. A Texas Tribune analysis found that in one busy Houston court, nearly one-third of eviction cases were won by landlords via default (tenant no-show) even during 2021–2022. Post-pandemic, defaults likely continue at high rates given many tenants lack representation. With the end of diversion, fewer cases are getting paused for mediation or rent assistance – they’re proceeding straight to judgment if tenants can’t pay or respond.

It’s important to highlight Texas’s unique eviction process features that affect these trends. Texas law only requires a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment (unless the lease stipulates otherwise). There’s no state-mandated grace period or payment plan requirement. This means as soon as a tenant is 3 days late on rent, a landlord may initiate filing. Some cities tried to mandate a longer “notice to cure” (for example, Dallas and Austin passed ordinances requiring a 21 or 30-day notice before filing during COVID), but as we discuss below, the state has since preempted those. Thus, in most of Texas in 2025, landlords can move to evict a tenant very quickly after a missed rent, leading to consistently high filing rates. The ease of filing in Justice Court (JP) – low filing fees (around $46), simple forms, and often no attorney needed – also encourages landlords to file as a collection tactic. Many Texas landlords will file an eviction by the second week of the month if rent isn’t paid, essentially to pressure the tenant to pay or leave.

By the numbers, Texas’s eviction filing rate in 2024 was around 7.8% of renter households statewide, well above the national average. In Houston, the filing rate hit 9.2% (as mentioned), and in some sub-markets within Houston (certain low-income zip codes) the annual filing rate exceeds 20% of renter households – meaning a very high chance of an eviction filing in a given year for those renters. Even in Dallas, where filings were slightly down, the 2024 eviction filing rate was about 7.4%, only a bit lower than its ~8.6% pre-2020 rate. Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Houston have been cited as the three metro areas where housing instability (eviction risk) is now worse than it was before the pandemic, whereas many other places recovered to similar levels. For landlords in Texas, this environment means the courts are busy but generally efficient in processing evictions, and there is no shortage of new renters to replace those evicted (given Texas’s population growth). It can, however, also mean some tenants will push back (with legal aid groups stepping up in places like Houston to provide representation, though not to the extent of a formal right-to-counsel). Landlords should be prepared for full courtrooms and possibly slightly longer wait times for a hearing date in the busiest precincts, but overall Texas’s system still disposes of cases quickly by national standards.

Legal and Policy Developments: State Preemption and Post-Pandemic Norms

Texas has made headlines for a 2023 law that dramatically shifts the power between state and local regulations – often called the “Death Star” preemption law. House Bill 2127 (Texas Regulatory Consistency Act). took effect on September 1, 2023 and nullified any local ordinances that touch on areas already regulated by state law, including property and eviction matters. This law explicitly prohibits cities or counties from enacting or enforcing ordinances that “prohibit, restrict, or delay” an eviction or add requirements beyond state property code. The motivation was to create uniform business regulations statewide, but it directly targets local tenant protections.

Practical impact: HB 2127 wiped out local “right-to-cure” ordinances in Dallas and Austin that had given tenants extra time before eviction. Dallas had an ordinance requiring a 21-day Notice of Possible Eviction and an opportunity to catch up on rent, and Austin had a 60-day “Fair Notice” ordinance with similar intent

As of Sept 2023, those ordinances became unenforceable by state law. Landlords in Dallas and Austin no longer have to provide more than the state-required 3 days’ notice for non-payment. Local “eviction delay” measures are preempted – cities cannot, for example, mandate mediation or payment plans, nor pause evictions during emergencies (unless the state authorizes it). Essentially, Texas centralized eviction rules at the state level: if it’s not in the Texas Property Code or Rules of Civil Procedure, local governments can’t impose it. The law even allows individuals to sue cities if they think a local rule violates this preemption, putting teeth into the enforcement.

For landlords, HB 2127 means less regulatory patchwork. You don’t have to worry that rules differ in Houston vs. Dallas for evictions – they’re uniformly governed by state law now. It also removed any “waiting periods” some cities briefly had. The Texas Apartment Association and other industry groups strongly supported this law, framing it as necessary to prevent a “crazy quilt” of regulations and to protect the eviction process from local interference. Critics argue it undermines renter protections and local democracy. Notably, some cities (like Houston) filed lawsuits challenging HB 2127 as overbroad. In late 2023, a judge struck down part of the law related to labor regulations, but the portions on property code (including eviction) remain in effect as of mid-2025. Landlords should stay tuned for any court decisions on this, but for now, the 3-day notice and state eviction laws are the ceiling and the floor – no Texas city can extend those timelines or add tenant rights like right-to-counsel, etc., on their own.

Apart from preemption, Texas has not enacted new tenant protections at the state level. There is no statewide eviction moratorium or diversion program active (the last remnants expired in mid-2023). The legislature in 2023 did not pass any law to mandate grace periods or payment plans. In fact, a bill was introduced to prevent local eviction protections (which became HB 2127). There were also attempts to shorten the appeal timeline for evictions or make bond requirements stricter (landlord groups have occasionally pushed for that), but no major changes passed. So the fundamental Texas eviction process remains as it was pre-COVID: a 3-day notice, quick court hearing (often within ~2-3 weeks of filing), and a writ of possession that can be executed a few days after judgment if the tenant doesn’t appeal.

However, at the county and local level, there have been some initiatives that landlords should note:

Eviction Diversion and Right-to-Counsel Programs (Local)

Eviction Diversion and Right-to-Counsel Programs (Local): Even though the state isn’t providing, some localities have stepped in. Houston/Harris County launched a limited Right-to-Counsel pilot in 2022–2023. One Justice of the Peace in Harris County partnered with nonprofits to ensure tenants in his court have access to lawyers. That grew into a program offering free legal representation to qualifying tenants (usually low-income) in certain Houston eviction courts. Additionally, cities like Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin provide funding to legal aid groups to assist tenants, though they haven’t mandated counsel. Landlords in Houston might therefore encounter more tenants with attorneys, even though Texas doesn’t require it. The presence of a tenant attorney can mean more negotiations or occasionally a trial, but remember, even a pro bono attorney cannot stop an eviction if rent is owed and not paid – they can only ensure procedure is followed or raise defenses like habitability if valid.

County Eviction Intervention

Harris County not only funded an appeals court as mentioned, but also has the Housing Stability Task Force, which continues to encourage solutions like eviction delay for tenants seeking charity aid. While not a formal rule, some Houston judges give tenants extra time if they show they’ve applied to Houston-Harris County Emergency Rental Assistance (which had a final round in early 2023). Those funds are largely depleted now. Bexar County (San Antonio) and Travis County (Austin) also had rental assistance programs that are closed. In short, local governments are now focusing on mitigating the fallout (through legal aid, diversion to nonprofits, or streamlining court processes) rather than preventing evictions outright.

Enforcement of Evictions

Texas law allows for a quick execution of writs – typically, if a landlord wins, after a 5-day appeal period the landlord can obtain the writ of possession. The constable then posts a 24-hour notice before removal. In 2024, with so many evictions, some constables’ offices had backlogs of scheduling. But overall, Texas enforcement remains swift. Many tenants leave on their own once a judgment is entered (especially because appealing requires a bond of one month’s rent + ongoing rent into court registry, which many cannot afford, so they don’t appeal). Landlords in Texas often regain possession of the property roughly one to two months from the initial missed rent, which is faster than most states. The high volume hasn’t substantially slowed this down, except in extreme cases.

One notable court-related development: nearly one-third of Texas eviction judgments in 2021-2023 were by default, per the Texas Tribune. This underscores that tenants often don’t show up, leading to automatic wins for landlords. With no right to counsel and many tenants unaware of defenses, that trend continues. Landlords should still ensure they provided the proper notices and named the right parties on the lease in the suit – Texas judges do check for basic compliance (for instance, if you evict a tenant who is in the military, you have to follow federal SCRA procedures). But overall, courts lean pro-landlord on interpretations (e.g. no “repair and deduct” defense unless very strictly proven).

Market Forces: Rental Demand, Relief Exhaustion, and Landlord Considerations

Texas’s rental housing market context is crucial to understanding the eviction spike. Here are some market factors affecting evictions in 2025:

Robust Rental Demand

Texas cities have seen enormous population growth (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio all among top growth metros). This means high demand for rentals. Occupancy rates have been high, and while a lot of new apartments have been built (especially in Dallas and Austin), many are luxury units, and overall vacancy in affordable units remains low. For landlords, this strong demand means that if a tenant isn’t paying, it’s quite feasible to evict and re-rent to someone who can pay. This dynamic can make landlords less inclined to negotiate or tolerate arrears – they know another tenant is likely available. It also fuels rent increases: landlords have been raising rents consistently because the market supports it. High demand + insufficient affordable supply = more evictions, as renters at the bottom get squeezed out when they can’t afford the hikes.

Rising Cost of Living

Texas has historically been affordable, but from 2021 onward, cost of living (especially housing) rose quickly. Rents in DFW and Austin rose over 20% in two years. Even cities like Houston and San Antonio saw double-digit rent growth. Wages went up too, but not uniformly across all sectors. Many working-class tenants fell behind as their paychecks didn’t keep pace with rent and inflation. By 2024, the pandemic savings and stimulus were spent; credit card debt hit record highs nationally. Thus, more Texans started missing rent. Inflation in 2022 (which hit 40-year highs) also meant higher utility bills and gas prices, taking a larger share of income and leaving less for rent.

Landlord Expenses and Behavior

On the flip side, Texas landlords also faced increased expenses. Property taxes in Texas are significant (since there’s no income tax, local governments rely on property tax, and skyrocketing valuations led to big tax bills in 2022–2023). Insurance costs have also risen (especially property insurance in hail-prone or Gulf Coast areas). Maintenance and labor costs are up. As a result, some landlords need to raise rent to keep their margins. If a tenant can’t pay the increase, landlords often choose to replace them rather than keep rent lower. Also, small “mom and pop” landlords may have sold properties during the hot market to investors, and those new owners sometimes implement stricter rent collection policies. In Houston, there have been reports of corporate landlords filing evictions at the first sign of trouble, whereas perhaps an individual landlord might have given a bit more leeway. The ownership mix shifting towards larger firms can lead to more frequent use of eviction as a business strategy (to ensure full paying occupants).

End of Moratoriums and Stigma

During the height of COVID, there was some public pressure on landlords to be lenient and a temporary stigma against evicting (plus the CDC moratorium legally barred many evictions). By 2025, that sentiment is gone. Courts are not granting any COVID-related delays, and public/political focus has moved on. Texas never had a statewide moratorium beyond what the federal government imposed, but local authorities like Harris County had urged compassion. Now evictions are viewed again as routine legal matters. There is essentially no political barrier to evicting in Texas now. This climate means landlords should still follow the law and treat tenants respectfully, but they need not fear sudden moratoriums or judges halting cases for pandemic reasons. The main external risk left would be a future recession causing perhaps a federal eviction moratorium push, but nothing like that is on the table currently.

Tenant Screening and Future Risks

One consequence of the massive number of evictions is that thousands of renters now carry eviction records, which in Texas are public and easily searchable. Landlords often use those records to screen out applicants. This could tighten the rental market as displaced tenants struggle to find new housing, potentially increasing homelessness or doubling-up, etc. Landlords might find applicant pools a bit more limited as many people have blemishes. Texas does not restrict how landlords use eviction records (unlike some places that have started sealing them or banning look-back beyond a certain time). So in Texas, an eviction judgment is a permanent black mark. For landlords, this means if you do evict someone, it’s unlikely they’ll be your tenant again (and they’ll have trouble elsewhere, which some might see as incentive for them to pay up to avoid that outcome). For tenants, it creates a dire situation once evicted, which again may lead to last-minute scrambles to avoid eviction (like filing appeals just to delay or hoping for a miracle). This dynamic can show up in court as more contested cases or more last-minute payments right before the constable arrives.

Looking ahead, Texas landlords should continue to follow best practices: serve proper notices (3 days or what lease calls for), document any lease breaches, and make use of the JP courts which are generally favorable venues. The recent legal changes (HB 2127) favor you by removing local hurdles. But remember, some judges in big cities are sympathetic to tenants and might use their discretion to give a few extra days or urge mediation. It can pay to be a bit patient or even utilize programs like the new Harris County Eviction Intervention if it means recovering rent. For instance, in Harris County, even after TEDP ended, many landlords and tenants were voluntarily working out payment plans or accepting charity assistance to avoid eviction – sometimes facilitated by the court on the trial date. If the tenant is otherwise good, a landlord might consider a stipulated repayment agreement rather than a straight eviction; the courts will honor those agreements and you can get a judgment if the tenant defaults on the plan.

In conclusion, Texas in 2025 is seeing a high-volume eviction environment, with minimal legal obstacles to landlords exercising their rights. Eviction filings are way up, especially in Houston and other booming areas, largely due to economic stress on tenants and the lack of remaining safety nets. The state government has acted to ensure landlords face uniform, business-friendly regulations (preventing any city from slowing down evictions). While this means easier navigation of laws for landlords, it also correlates with a humanitarian challenge as more low-income families face displacement. Property managers and owners would do well to stay informed (the legislative session in 2025 could bring further tweaks, though none major expected in tenant favor) and possibly invest in tenant engagement strategies (like early communication when rent is late, connecting tenants to charities) as a way to prevent income loss. Ultimately, the practical implication is that a Texas landlord can more readily enforce their lease than in many other states, but with great power comes the need for diligence – make sure to treat tenants fairly and keep good records, as the courts will process your case quickly if you do everything by the book.

Sources

• Florida eviction trends and central Florida data – Central Florida Public Media (March 31, 2025)-cfpublic.orgcfpublic.org; University of Florida Shimberg Center housing data.
• Florida House Bill 615 (2025) – Electronic notices law, signed May 2025(evict.comwctv.tv).
• WCTV Tallahassee news – “New Florida law allows quicker communication…” (May 27, 2025)-wctv.tvwctv.tv.
• Florida statewide legislative changes – Florida Senate bills (2025 session) on rental housing: HB 1417 (notice period)-belonghome.com, HB 1471 (tenant rights)-flsenate.gov, HB 873 (post-lease eviction grace)-flsenate.gov, HB 619 (domestic violence)-flsenate.gov.
• Florida local preemption – Belong Home article on 2024 law preempting local ordinances(belonghome.com); Orlando Weekly report on Orange County ordinance status(belonghome.com).
• Eviction Lab – Eviction Tracking System data (updated May 1, 2025) for Florida cities(evictionlab.orgevictionlab.org)
• Michigan eviction data and court reforms – Michigan Supreme Court Justice for All Commission report (2023)-courts.michigan.govcourts.michigan.gov; Michigan Legal Help summary of Nov 2023 rule changes(michiganlegalhelp.orgmichiganlegalhelp.org).
• Michigan legislative proposals – Michigan League for Public Policy press release (Nov 2022)-mlpp.orgmlpp.org; UpNorthLive News (Dec 4, 2024) on pending bills(upnorthlive.com).
• Michigan HB 4021 analysis (Feb 18, 2025) – House Fiscal Agency(legislature.mi.govlegislature.mi.gov).
• Detroit Right to Counsel program – City of Detroit Office of Eviction Defense information(detroitmi.govdetroitmi.gov).
• Texas eviction surge and data – Belong Home report “Evictions in Texas are Soaring in 2024”(belonghome.combelonghome.com) citing Princeton Eviction Lab; Eviction Lab 2024 Report(evictionlab.orgevictionlab.org).
• Texas HB 2127 details – KERA News (Aug 29, 2023)-ketr.orgketr.org; Texas Tribune/Bloomberg coverage of preemption law(ketr.orgketr.org).
• Harris County eviction trends – Harris County Commissioner’s Office news (July 2024)-cp4.harriscountytx.govcp4.harriscountytx.gov.
• Texas State Law Library – note on Texas Eviction Diversion Program end(guides.sll.texas.gov).
• General legal process info – Texas Property Code & civil procedure (via Texas State Law Library guides)-guides.sll.texas.gov.