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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the removal of a tenant's personal property after a writ |
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of possession has been issued in an eviction suit. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 24.0061, Property Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(d) The writ of possession shall order the officer executing |
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the writ to: |
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(1) post a written warning of at least 8-1/2 by 11 |
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inches on the exterior of the front door of the rental unit |
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notifying the tenant that the writ has been issued and that the writ |
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will be executed on or after a specific date and time stated in the |
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warning not sooner than 24 hours after the warning is posted; and |
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(2) when the writ is executed: |
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(A) deliver possession of the premises to the |
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landlord; |
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(B) instruct the tenant and all persons claiming |
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under the tenant to leave the premises immediately, and, if the |
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persons fail to comply, physically remove them; |
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(C) instruct the tenant to remove or to allow the |
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landlord, the landlord's representatives, or other persons acting |
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under the officer's supervision to remove all personal property |
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from the rental unit other than personal property claimed to be |
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owned by the landlord; and |
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(D) place, or have an authorized person place, |
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the removed personal property outside the rental unit at a nearby |
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location, but not blocking a public sidewalk, passageway, or street |
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and not while it is raining, sleeting, or snowing, except as |
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provided by Subsection (d-1). |
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(d-1) A municipality may provide, without charge to the |
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owner of personal property removed from a rental unit under |
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Subsection (d), a portable, closed container into which the removed |
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personal property shall be placed by the officer executing the writ |
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or by the authorized person. The municipality may remove the |
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container from the location near the rental unit and dispose of the |
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contents by any lawful means if the owner of the removed personal |
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property does not recover the property from the container within a |
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reasonable time after the time the property is placed in the |
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container. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |