Writ of Possession

Writ of Possession: in Texas, an order issued by the court once the court has granted possession to the landlord.

The justice court cannot issue a writ of possession before the sixth day after it has issued a judgment for possession to the landlord.

In the event the judgment for possession is issued by the justice court by default (in other words, the tenant does not appear for the trial) the justice court must send a copy of that judgment of possession issued by default to the property address by first-class mail within 48 hours after the entry of the judgment of possession.

The writ of possession orders the Constable (or sheriff in some counties) to post a written warning that the writ of possession was issued by the justice court on the exterior of the front door of the rental unit. The warning must state that the writ is going to be executed at a particular date and time, but that date and time cannot be sooner than 24 hours after the warning is posted on the door.

The writ of possession in Texas orders the Constable/Sheriff to do the following:

1. Deliver possession of the premises to the landlord;
2.Instruct the tenant and all persons claiming under the tenant to leave the premises immediately, and, if the persons fail to comply, physically remove them;
3.Instruct the tenant to remove or to allow the landlord, the landlord’s representatives, or other persons acting under the officer’s supervision to remove all personal property from the rental unit other than personal property claimed to be owned by the landlord; and
4.Place, or have an authorized person place, the removed personal property outside the rental unit at a nearby location, but not blocking a public sidewalk, passageway, or street and not while it is raining, sleeting, or snowing.

Normally, the landlord is responsible for providing the labor necessary to remove the tenant’s personal property and place it outside. It is important that the landlord communicate with the Constable/Sheriff regarding the window of time that the Constable/Sheriff will make available to accomplish this task. If the property is large and if the time allowed a small, additional provisions need to be made to remove all the personal property. We have been involved in writs of possession where the landlord brought 10 day laborers to remove the property because the property was large and the Constable/Sheriff only allowed two hours for the task to be accomplished.