Texas Notice to Vacate: What It Must Say and How to Serve It

If you need a resident out of your Texas rental, you almost always have to send written notice first, and getting it wrong is one of the fastest ways to delay an eviction by weeks. The rules also changed on January 1, 2026, when Senate Bill 38 (SB 38) took effect. A valid notice now has to be the right type, give the right amount of time, and get delivered one of the ways the law allows. Here is what it takes to get it right the first time.

What Is a Notice to Vacate in Texas?

A notice to vacate is the written notice a landlord sends a resident telling them to move out, usually because of unpaid rent or a lease violation. In Texas, written notice is a required first step before you can file an eviction case in court. Skip it, shorten it without authority to, use the wrong type, or deliver it wrong, and a judge can throw your case out before it even starts.

This is not the eviction itself. It is the warning shot the law requires before you can go file one. On the rentals we manage, we use the Texas Apartment Association (TAA) lease and give residents the full 3-day minimum notice.

What Changed Under SB 38 in 2026?

SB 38 is a 2025 Texas law that rewrote big parts of the eviction process. It applies to every eviction case filed on or after January 1, 2026, so if you are sending a notice today, these rules apply to you. Three changes hit the notice step directly.

First-time late residents get a chance to pay. If you are evicting only for unpaid rent, and the resident was never late or behind with you before the month you send the notice, the notice has to be a notice to pay rent or vacate. That means it gives them a choice: pay what they owe or move out. A plain "get out" notice no longer works for that resident. If they have been late with you before, you can send either kind.

Delivery rules got simpler, and email is now allowed with a written agreement. The old rules about posting on the outside of the door and then mailing a copy were repealed. The new list of approved delivery methods is covered in the serving section below.

Federal notice periods no longer hold up your filing. Some properties, such as those with federally backed loans or housing assistance, also have to follow a longer federal notice period. Under SB 38, if you meet the Texas notice rules you can file without waiting on the federal period, but the court order that lets the constable remove the resident cannot be served until that federal period has passed. Which federal rules apply to your property is a question for your attorney.

SB 38 also changed how eviction cases move through court once they are filed. This article covers the notice step only. None of this is legal advice, and you should have a Texas attorney review your notice forms against the 2026 rules before you rely on them.

How Many Days' Notice Do You Have to Give?

Texas Property Code Section 24.005 sets a 3-day minimum unless your written lease sets a shorter or longer period. SB 38 did not change the number of days. Many Texas leases shorten the period for unpaid rent, so read your lease before you pick a move-out date, because the lease controls once it addresses the issue.

Do not file the eviction until the full notice period has passed. SB 38 added a counting rule for the time periods in the eviction statute: you do not count the day the notice is delivered, you do count weekends and holidays, and if the last day lands on a weekend or holiday, the period runs to the next day that is not one. If your lease sets its own notice period, ask a Texas attorney whether the same counting rule applies. A notice period that comes up one day short can sink the whole case later.

What Has to Be in the Notice?

First, pick the right type. For a resident who is being evicted only for unpaid rent and has never been late with you before, it has to be a notice to pay rent or vacate. For everyone else, a notice to vacate still works. Updated forms from the Texas apartment and REALTOR associations reflect the 2026 rules, and they are a safer starting point than an old template.

Either way, the notice has to be clear. "Please pay or we may have to take further action" is not a notice to vacate. It has to actually tell the resident to move out by a specific date, or, for a pay or vacate notice, to pay or move out. Good practice includes the property address, the resident's name, the reason (unpaid rent, lease violation, or lease expiration), the amount owed if it is about rent, the exact date by which they must act, and the date and method of delivery. More detail protects you if the case ends up in front of a judge.

How Do You Properly Serve a Notice to Vacate?

Under SB 38, the notice has to be delivered using at least one of these methods:

• Mail, including first class, registered, or certified mail, or a delivery service.
• Delivery to the inside of the home, left in a place where it will be easily seen.
• Hand delivery to any resident of the home who is 16 or older.
• Email or another electronic method, but only if you and the resident agreed to it in writing, which usually means a clause in the lease.

The law also says the method does not matter if the resident actually received the notice. Do not lean on that. Proving someone received something is much harder than proving you used an approved method.

Document how and when you delivered it every time: a mail receipt or tracking number, a photo of the notice inside the home, a saved copy of the email, or a note of who you handed it to and when. If the case goes to court, your word alone is weaker than a paper trail.

What Mistakes Get a Notice Thrown Out?

The most common problems: giving too little notice for what the lease requires, vague language that doesn't clearly demand the resident act, delivering it to the wrong person or address, and not being able to prove delivery happened at all. Two newer ones since SB 38: sending a plain notice to vacate to a first-time late resident who should have gotten a pay or vacate notice, and emailing a notice without a written agreement that allows it. Another frequent mistake is filing the eviction on the same day the notice period ends, instead of waiting until the full period has actually run.

A notice to vacate is also not the same thing as a late rent reminder or a lease violation warning. Those can come first, informally, but the written notice is the formal, legally required step, and it needs to stand on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Can you evict a tenant without a notice to vacate in Texas?

No. Texas law requires written notice before you can file an eviction case, and since SB 38 took effect on January 1, 2026, a first-time late resident has to get a notice to pay rent or vacate instead. Skipping the notice is one of the fastest ways to get a case dismissed. Talk to a Texas attorney before filing without one.

What is a notice to pay rent or vacate in Texas?

It is a notice that gives the resident a choice: pay the rent they owe or move out. Under SB 38, it is required when the eviction is only for unpaid rent and the resident was never late with you before the month the notice goes out. If they have been late before, you can use either form.

Can you send a notice to vacate by email or text in Texas?

Only if you and the resident agreed in writing to electronic notice, which usually means a clause in the lease. SB 38 added email and other electronic delivery as an option for cases filed on or after January 1, 2026. Without that written agreement, use mail, a delivery service, hand delivery, or delivery inside the home.

Can a landlord shorten the 3-day notice period in Texas?

Yes, if the written lease sets a shorter period. The Property Code says 3 days unless the parties agreed in writing to a shorter or longer period, and SB 38 did not change that. Without lease language on it, the 3-day minimum applies. An attorney can confirm what your specific lease allows.

What happens if the resident ignores the notice to vacate?

Once the full notice period runs out and the resident has not moved out or paid, the next step is filing an eviction case in the justice court for the precinct where the property sits. SB 38 also sped up the court side, so have your paperwork and proof of delivery ready before you file.