Let me hit you with a number that should stop you in your tracks.
Dallas County sees approximately 40,000 eviction filings per year, roughly 110 cases per day hitting the Justice of the Peace courts. And while Dallas has seen a slight moderation from recent peaks, Houston and Fort Worth continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels. The underlying affordability crisis driving these numbers hasn’t changed.
And here’s what most people miss: this isn’t just a renter problem. This is a market-wide signal that affects everyone, buyers looking for opportunities, sellers trying to time their exit, and investors calculating their next move.
If you’re not paying attention to what’s happening with evictions in DFW, you’re missing a massive piece of the puzzle. So let’s break it down.
What’s Actually Driving This Surge?
The headlines want to make this simple. “People can’t pay rent.” But that’s surface-level thinking. The real story is more complicated, and more important if you’re trying to make smart real estate decisions in North Texas.
The affordability math has broken.
Over half of Texas renters now spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. That’s the threshold where housing economists start using words like “cost-burdened.” But let’s be real, 30% was the old benchmark. Plenty of DFW renters are north of 40%, even 50%.
Meanwhile, home prices in DFW climbed another 4% this year. Slower than the insanity of 2021-2023? Sure. But the median price still tops $380,000 in markets like Frisco and McKinney. And wages? Flat. In some sectors, declining when you adjust for inflation.
The affordable inventory has vanished.
Here’s a stat that should alarm anyone paying attention: Dallas has lost 100,000 rental units priced below $1,000 per month since 2017. One hundred thousand units. Gone.
They weren’t demolished. They were “upgraded”, renovated, repositioned, and repriced for a higher-income tenant. That’s great if you own the building. Not so great if you were living in it.
This creates a cascading effect. Renters who get priced out of one neighborhood move to the next affordable option. That increases demand there, which increases prices there, which prices out the people who were already living there. And on it goes.
The safety nets disappeared.
Remember the federal rent relief programs during COVID? The emergency tenant protections? Gone. All of it. Expired or ended.
For about two years, there was a buffer. Tenants who fell behind had programs to catch them. Landlords had a path to get paid without filing evictions. That infrastructure doesn’t exist anymore.
Now it’s back to the old rules: miss rent, get a notice, go to court. And the courts are flooded.
One crisis is all it takes.
This is the part that doesn’t show up in the data but shows up in every conversation I have with families looking for housing.
A medical emergency. A car breakdown. A missed paycheck. One unexpected expense can start the spiral. You’re late on rent. Late fees stack up. Now you’re further behind. The landlord files. And suddenly you’ve got an eviction on your record that follows you for years.
Single mothers are getting hit hardest. That’s not opinion, that’s what the Child Poverty Action Lab data shows.
Why This Matters If You’re Buying
You might be thinking: “I’m trying to buy a house, not rent one. Why do I care about evictions?”
Because eviction trends tell you where the market pressure is building, and where opportunities are emerging.
Watch the investor activity.
When evictions spike, some landlords decide they’re done. They don’t want to deal with tenant turnover, property damage, legal fees. They want out.
That means inventory. Properties hitting the market that weren’t available six months ago. Sometimes priced to sell quickly because the owner is motivated.
If you’re a buyer, especially a first-time buyer competing against investors, this is worth watching. Motivated sellers create negotiating room that didn’t exist when everyone was holding.
Understand what you’re buying into.
If you’re looking at a property with existing tenants, you need to understand your obligations. Texas Property Code has specific requirements about notice periods, eviction procedures, and tenant rights.
Buy a property thinking you’ll just “move the tenants out” and you might find yourself in a legal process that takes months and costs thousands. Better to know that going in than to discover it after closing.
Think about neighborhood stability.
High eviction rates in a neighborhood affect everything, property values, school quality, local business health, crime rates. This isn’t about judging anyone. It’s about understanding the dynamics of where you’re buying.
I track this data for my clients because it matters for long-term value. A neighborhood with stable housing tends to appreciate differently than one with high turnover.
Why This Matters If You’re Selling
If you’re selling a property with tenants, the eviction landscape affects your strategy directly.
Disclosure requirements are real.
Texas doesn’t require you to disclose every piece of history about your property. But if there’s active litigation, unresolved disputes, or material facts that affect the sale, you need to be upfront.
An eviction in progress? That affects the buyer’s timeline and their plans for the property. Disclose it. Document it. Let your agent handle it properly.
Timing matters more than ever.
If you’re selling a rental property and want it delivered vacant, start that process early. The courts are backed up. What used to take three weeks might take six or eight.
I’ve seen deals fall apart because sellers assumed they could clear tenants quickly and couldn’t. The buyer walked. The seller had to relist. Everyone lost.
Cash for keys is a real strategy.
Sometimes the fastest, cleanest path is to pay the tenant to leave voluntarily. It sounds backwards – why pay someone who isn’t paying you? But when you calculate the legal fees, the court timeline, the potential property damage, and the carrying costs while you wait… a few thousand dollars to have them out in a week starts looking smart.
It’s not about fairness. It’s about math and speed.
Why This Matters If You’re Investing
For investors, eviction trends are a leading indicator. They tell you where stress is building before it shows up in price corrections.
Understand your exposure.
If you own rental properties in DFW, you need to know your tenants’ situations. Not to be intrusive – but to get ahead of problems.
A tenant who’s struggling and communicates with you is manageable. A tenant who goes silent and then ghosts? That’s when you end up in the 40,000-eviction pile.
Proactive property management, regular communication, early intervention when payments slip, flexible arrangements when appropriate, keeps your units occupied and your cash flow stable.
Identify acquisition opportunities.
Distress creates opportunity. That’s not callous, that’s how markets work.
When eviction rates spike, some properties become available that wouldn’t otherwise hit the market. Estate sales, burned-out landlords, over-leveraged investors, they all create inventory for buyers who are positioned to move.
The key is being ready. Pre-approved financing. Clear criteria. Fast decision-making. When a motivated seller surfaces, you need to act before the competition does.
Factor in the real costs.
If you’re underwriting a rental acquisition, your eviction assumptions matter.
How often do you expect to file? What does that cost in legal fees and lost rent? How long does the unit sit vacant during turnover? What’s the make-ready cost after a contested eviction versus a normal move-out?
Get these numbers wrong and your returns look great on paper but bleed out in reality.
The Legal Process: What You Need to Know
Whether you’re a landlord, a tenant, or a buyer inheriting a situation, understanding how eviction actually works in Texas keeps you from making expensive mistakes.
The notice to vacate comes first.
For nonpayment, landlords must provide a minimum 3-day written notice to vacate. Some leases specify longer periods. The notice has to be delivered properly, posted on the door, sent via mail, or handed directly to the tenant.
Skip this step or do it wrong, and the whole case gets thrown out. I’ve seen landlords lose months because they didn’t follow the notice requirements exactly.
Then comes the court filing.
After the notice period expires, the landlord files an eviction case, technically called a “forcible detainer”, in the local Justice of the Peace court. There’s a filing fee. The tenant gets served.
The hearing happens faster than you’d think.
Usually 10 to 21 days after filing. Both sides show up, present their case, and the judge rules. It’s not like TV court – it’s fast, procedural, and very dependent on documentation.
If you’re the landlord, bring everything. Lease, payment records, communication logs, photos. If you’re the tenant, same thing. The party with better documentation usually wins.
Judgment doesn’t mean immediate removal.
If the landlord wins, the court issues a “writ of possession.” But the tenant typically gets another 5 to 7 days before the constable shows up to enforce it.
And tenants can appeal within 5 days of judgment. If they do, and they post the required bond and keep paying rent into the court, the process extends significantly.
Self-help evictions are illegal.
I can’t stress this enough. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, removing doors, dumping belongings – all illegal in Texas. Landlords who try this expose themselves to serious liability.
It doesn’t matter how frustrated you are or how clear-cut the situation seems. You have to go through the courts.
Resources That Actually Help
If you’re a tenant facing eviction, there are real resources in DFW. Not enough, but they exist.
Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center provides free legal help for tenants facing eviction. They can represent you in court or help you understand your options.
Lone Star Legal Aid offers eviction defense for qualifying tenants. Income limits apply, but if you qualify, this is real legal representation at no cost.
Dallas County Human Services runs a wrongful eviction prevention program for tenants who’ve experienced illegal lockouts or utility shutoffs.
Dallas Housing Authority has emergency rental assistance for qualifying residents. Limited funds, high demand – but worth applying.
If you’re a landlord or seller dealing with a complex tenant situation, consult a real estate attorney before you act. The cost of legal advice upfront is nothing compared to the cost of a botched eviction that drags on for months.
What I’m Watching
Here’s where my head is as I track this market:
The 40,000 annual eviction number is a lagging indicator. It tells us what already happened. The leading indicators, rental affordability ratios, wage growth, inventory levels in the sub-$1,500 rental market, suggest the pressure isn’t letting up.
That means continued elevated evictions through 2025. More distressed sellers. More opportunities for prepared buyers and investors. And more families struggling to find stable housing.
If you’re making real estate decisions in DFW right now, you need to factor this in. Not as a reason to panic, as a reason to be strategic.
The market rewards people who see what’s coming and position themselves accordingly. That’s what I’m here to help you do.
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Bobby Franklin – REALTOR®
Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team
Serving Ellis County & DFW
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