If you searched for how to write a Texas notice to vacate, you probably want a template and a straight answer on what changed under SB 38. I will give you both. I practice law in Fort Worth and I run my own family's rental doors, so I have written this notice as the landlord and read it as an exhibit in a justice court file. The notice is a one page document, but it is the exhibit the whole eviction hangs on.
Scope note: this is about nonpayment of rent, the case where the notice requirement still bites. I wrote a broader summary on the SB 38 compliance guide. This post is the walkthrough of the notice itself.
What SB 38 actually says about the notice
I read the enrolled text of SB 38 on LegiScan before writing this. Two changes matter for the notice. First, Section 24.005(a) now speaks specifically to a tenant whose right of possession is terminated for nonpayment of rent: the landlord must give at least three days' written notice before filing a forcible detainer suit. The bill language says the notice can be "a notice to pay rent or vacate or a notice to vacate." Either form satisfies the statute. Second, the bill adds a new subsection (f-3) on how the notice gets delivered, which I cover below.
The same enrolled text also says a landlord who files on grounds other than nonpayment is not required to give presuit notice under that chapter. That is a big change in how you think about lease violations, but it is a different post, and you should read the statute before relying on my summary of one sentence of it.
Pay or vacate versus vacate: which one to use
A pay or vacate notice tells the tenant to pay the past due amount or move out by a stated date. A plain notice to vacate demands possession and nothing else. The statute accepts both for nonpayment. I use the pay or vacate version in almost every case, for a practical reason: it is the one a judge reads as fair on its face. If the tenant pays in full before the deadline, the problem is over and you collected your rent. If they do not, you walk into court with a document that offered them the exit.
One caution on the lease side. A lease can set a different notice period, and subsection (e) now lets the notice period run at the same time as any cure period the lease or law gives the tenant. Read your lease before you pick the deadline. If the lease says five days, three is wrong. Also, if the property is a federally covered property, the CARES Act 30 day notice requirement is a separate question. The bill adds subsection (c-1) to deal with how that federal period interacts with the Texas suit, and I am not going to summarize it from a secondary source. Ask a lawyer if your building has a federally backed mortgage.
The template walkthrough
Here is the structure I use. Fill in the brackets and keep every line.
| Part | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR VACATE | The judge should know what this is in two seconds. |
| Parties and address | Every adult tenant named on the lease, the full street address and unit number | Name mismatches are the easiest way to lose a hearing. |
| Amount owed | Rent only, by month, for example: October 2026 rent, $1,450.00 | Do not pad it with late fees you cannot defend. A wrong number invites a fight over the notice. |
| Deadline | A date and time certain, for example: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026 | "Within three days" is an argument. A date is a fact. |
| Demand | Pay the amount in full by that deadline or vacate the premises and surrender possession | This is the demand for possession the suit relies on. |
| Delivery line | Method used, date and time delivered, name of the person who delivered it | This is your proof of sending, built into the page. |
| Signature | Landlord or authorized agent, with printed name and phone number | Shows who is making the demand. |
Keep it to one page. I have seen landlords attach three paragraphs of lease quotation and a threat about credit reporting. None of that helps. The judge wants the amount, the deadline, the demand, and proof it reached the tenant.
Email delivery and the new subsection (f-3)
This is the part that changes how small operators work. The old subsection (f) lists delivery by hand to the tenant or a person in the home who is 16 or older, by affixing it inside the main entry door, or by regular, registered, or certified mail. The new (f-3) reads, in the enrolled text: a notice required by this section must be delivered "in any manner the parties agree to in writing; or if no agreement is made in writing, in any other manner in which the tenant has communicated in writing with the landlord; or if the tenant has not communicated in writing with the landlord, in a manner reasonably expected to provide actual notice."
Read that as a ladder. Step one is your lease. If your lease says notices may be sent by email to the address the tenant lists, then email is an agreed method. Step two applies when the lease says nothing: if the tenant has been emailing or texting you about the apartment, that channel is fair game. Step three is the fallback, and "reasonably expected to provide actual notice" is a standard a judge applies after the fact.
Two cautions from the courtroom side. One, "generic communication language" in a lease is a weak agreement. I would rather see a clause that says legal notices, including notices to vacate, may be delivered by email to the tenant's address on the lease. Two, I would not rely on email alone. A written agreement is your best argument, but a tenant who says they never saw the message is a harder case than a tenant who says they never saw the notice taped to their door with a dated photo. My own practice is to send by two methods on the same day, email plus posting or certified mail, and record both.
Proof of sending: build the exhibit before you need it
The statute tells you how a notice may be delivered. It does not hand you a form for proving you did it. That part is practice, not statute, and it is where I see cases get messy. This is the file I keep:
- A PDF of the signed notice exactly as delivered.
- For posting: a dated photo of the notice on the inside of the door, plus a second photo from far enough back to show the unit number.
- For email: the sent message with headers, the address it went to, and a copy of the lease clause that makes that address the agreed one.
- For certified mail: the receipt and tracking page, saved as a PDF the day of mailing.
- A one line note saying who delivered it, when, and how.
Why bother? Under SB 38 the justice court hears only the question of possession. The notice and the rent ledger are most of the evidence. If the paperwork is in order, the case is short.
Counting the days
The three day period runs from the day the notice is delivered. I treat the delivery day as day zero and I do not file until the fourth day. Say you deliver on Monday, October 5. Tuesday is day one, Wednesday is day two, Thursday is day three. I file Friday morning, not Thursday afternoon. The extra day costs you nothing and removes the argument. A premature petition gets dismissed, and then you restart the clock and lose a week or more of rent on a unit you want back.
Mistakes I see most often
- Naming only one of two tenants on the lease.
- Putting late fees, utilities, and repair charges in the "rent owed" line without being able to tie each to the lease.
- Using a deadline that is shorter than what the lease allows.
- Delivering by a method the lease did not authorize, then having no photo or receipt.
- Accepting a partial payment after the notice without thinking through what it does to the case. Talk to your attorney before you take one.
How KeyTurn handles this on our own doors
In KeyTurn the rent ledger is timestamped, every payment and charge traces to its source, and notices and delivery photos attach to the tenant file. When I sit down to draft a notice, the amount owed is already in one place and so is the paper trail I will need at the hearing. What KeyTurn does not do is decide your deadline or your delivery method. That depends on your lease and your property, and it is a judgment call.
See how a real portfolio keeps its records hearing ready
Lockwood Property Management moved its ledger, deposits, and owner statements onto KeyTurn. The case study covers what its records looked like before and what changed.
Read the Lockwood case studyIf you manage in Texas and want me to look at how your notice and delivery process is set up, the beta request form is on the KeyTurn home page. Tell me how you deliver notices today and I will tell you where I would tighten it.
Related reading
- Texas SB 38 compliance guide for DFW landlords (2026)
- Texas security deposit checklist: itemization, wear and tear, and the forwarding address trap
- Texas property management software: what small operators actually need
Sources
- Texas SB 38, enrolled text (89th Legislature), amendments to Property Code section 24.005, retrieved October 5, 2026
- Texas Property Code section 24.005, notice to vacate, retrieved October 5, 2026 (this copy may predate the SB 38 amendments)
- Dallas Landlord Lawyer, SB 38 eviction reform summary, retrieved October 5, 2026
- EvictFlow, SB 38 explainer, retrieved October 5, 2026
Nothing here is legal advice for your situation and reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Statutes and their interpretation change, and every section number and date above should be confirmed against the current text before you rely on it.