Texas eviction legal advice?

Question

I did not pay my landlord rent in july because he refused to fix a sewer leak, now in august he is filing an eviction suit for non payment of rent. My court date is on the thursday the 21st, my question is since it has been seven days since I have been served, can I still go and request a trial by jury? Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

I think you should go to a legal aid clinic where they help people with landlord-tenant issues.  I have valuable advice for you from personal experience:

1)  Do NOT go to court without an attorney, any attorney.  There are judges who will decide against you simply for not knowing courtroom protocol.

2)  Expect it to be very, very difficult to find a lawyer who practices this kind of law on the tenant side.  In Texas, the laws are tilted so far in favor of landlords that almost no lawyers serve tenants because it would be a losing proposition, plus, it's more lucrative on the other side.

3)  Ahead of your court date, spend a day in housing court in your county and watch the protocol in action.  

4)  You might want to go to court with the money for the rent and explain to the judge that you have withheld rent because the landlord refused to make a repair and it is the only recourse you have as a tenant to your knowledge.

5)  Find out if there is a department of buildings and structures department with the state government and see if you have recourse to report him for refusing to make the repair.

6)  If all else fails, I have an eviction on my record courtesy of the great state of Texas and let me tell you that nobody will rent to you there with an eviction on your record.  They flat WON'T; you want to take the consequences of this seriously.  Your better bet might be just to pay the guy, report the guy to the dept. of buildings, dept. of health, whatever, and find out if he'll withdraw the suit if you pay him in full.  Make sure you get a "yes" from him in writing, then pay him, then get the confirmation from the court that the case has been dismissed without prejudice, then give notice, pack up, and just before you move, report him (possibly to the Atty general's office).

In the short run, try to find a lawyer.

UPDATE;

Can I just say that any state in which I am in the wrong for withholding rent if the landlord refuses to make repairs is a state in which I will not live if I can help it.   That essentially suggests that all the contractual obligations are on the tenant's end and none on the landlord's end.

Answer 2

they don't typically do a jury trial for an eviction. (at least not here- and I have never heard of it in any state)

It wouldn't do any good anyway because you are in the wrong - you cannot withhold rent for things needing to be fixed.

Find another place to live and take this as a lesson learned.

Answer 3

If its been 7 days since your eviction notice, from your landlord,you should get one from small courts that handel that they will give you a time and date to come up with the money,and at that time, if you are unable to pay, then you will get evicted serve from the courts. and if you do pay then, you stay in your apt. and if you decide to move,you should be given 30 days. when you go to court there will be a server who will issue you a paper with a date and time, telling you when or how long in time to pay your rent.And you can not hold rent from the landlord,check the tentants rights, and landlord rights.also you can report the landlord for not fixting property.search the net.information is there. Good luck.

Answer 4

I would still request a trial by jury and if unsuccessful, you can still allow the judge to hear your side.  You can withhold rent money to make necessary repairs yourself that your landlord did not repair within a reasonable time since you first gave him notice.  You can also withhold rent for the unusable portion.  If the sewer leak was bad, not just a little water or a bad smell, but enough of an unsanitary leak that it made the apartment unfit, then you can withhold 100% of the rent prorated for the time that he knew about the condition until the day it is repaired.  You cannot withhold rent just because he has not made lived up to promises for minor repairs such as repainting or a dripping faucet.