AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bill that would expedite evictions against suspected squatters passed in the Texas Senate Thursday.
SB 38, authored by Senator Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would require civil courts to act within 10-21 days after a property owner files to evict someone from their property.
“The current process is so broken that it punishes the rightful property owners while rewarding trespassers who know how to game the system,” said Bettencourt in a press release Thursday afternoon.
That release notes several “squatter horror” stories, some of which were brought to lawmakers during interim hearings on the issue.
“These stories are outrageous, but they’re real — and they’re happening statewide. It should be simple, squatters do not have the right to occupy property they do NOT own,” Bettencourt said. “We’re fixing the system and speeding up the process. Texans deserve the right to reclaim their property without delays, loopholes, or abuse.”
The bill now goes to the Texas House of Representatives for consideration. Rep. Angie Chen Button, R–Garland, authored SB 38’s companion, HB 32. That bill is still in the House Judiciary Committee as of Thursday.
‘Swift recourse’
The bill was one of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s priorities entering the 2025 legislative session. He celebrated its passage in a press release Thursday.
“Property owners testified that they were unable to find relief from law enforcement and the courts, in some cases for over a year, and at great cost. This is unimaginable and unacceptable in Texas,” said Patrick in the release. “Property owners must have swift recourse to reclaim property that is rightfully theirs.”
The bill certainly would speed up evictions by making all such cases use “expedited judicial process” — a procedure already used in Texas’ civil courts for cases that don’t exceed $100,000 in damages.
The bill would still require landlords to give residents at least three days’ notice, either asking for a resident to pay or to vacate, before filing a complaint. It also would allow litigant landlords to bring a complaint in a county civil court adjacent to the county where the property is located.
Once an eviction order is granted, any law enforcement officer could serve it and carry out the eviction.
The bill still allows tenants to appeal an eviction; however, they would have five days after the eviction order was granted by a judge.
“There’s legitimate protections for renters, for tenants following the law, and then there’s completely illegitimate squatters. That’s what we need to deal with here,” said Bettencourt in a May 2024 interview with KXAN. “There’s plenty of protection for legitimate renters, and we’re gonna keep that.”
That appeal would need to include a “bond, cash deposit, or statement of inability to afford payment of court costs.” It would also require the defendant to “affirm…under penalty of perjury…that [they have] a meritorious defense” and that the filing is not intended to delay the court.
