Evicting a Tenant During the Holidays in Texas

Short answer: Texas has no holiday eviction moratorium — you can serve a notice to vacate, file, and obtain a writ of possession in November and December. But since January 1, 2026, Texas Property Code §24.0042 (added by SB 38) says that when an eviction deadline ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday, it rolls to the next day that is none of those. Combine that with court closures and the rule that a constable can't put a tenant's belongings outside in rain, sleet or snow, and a holiday-season eviction in Dallas-Fort Worth can easily take a week or more longer than you planned.

Late fall is when many DFW landlords decide they can't carry a nonpaying tenant into the new year. The law lets you act — but the calendar between Veterans Day and New Year's Day is full of days that don't count as the last day of a deadline, and justice courts and constable offices across Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties are closed for several of them.

Here's how to plan a holiday-season eviction so you don't file a day early, miss a deadline, or wait on a writ that can't be executed.

The 2026 Holiday Calendar That Affects Texas Eviction Deadlines

These state and federal holidays fall in the 2026–27 holiday season. Any eviction deadline that would end on one of them — or on a weekend — moves to the next regular weekday:

• Wednesday, November 11, 2026 — Veterans Day
• Thursday, November 26, 2026 — Thanksgiving Day
• Friday, November 27, 2026 — Day after Thanksgiving (Texas state holiday)
• Thursday, December 24, 2026 — Christmas Eve (Texas state holiday)
• Friday, December 25, 2026 — Christmas Day
• Saturday, December 26, 2026 — Day after Christmas (Texas state holiday, also a weekend)
• Friday, January 1, 2027 — New Year's Day
• Monday, January 18, 2027 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Individual counties also set their own office closures, so check the holiday schedule of the justice court precinct where your property is located before you plan a filing date.

How SB 38 Counts Eviction Deadlines (Property Code §24.0042)

For eviction cases filed on or after January 1, 2026, Property Code §24.0042 sets one counting rule for eviction time periods, including the days in a notice to vacate:

• Don't count the day of the triggering event — for a notice to vacate, the day it is delivered.
• Count every day after that, including weekends and holidays.
• Count the last day — unless it falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday. Then the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a weekend or holiday.

In practice, a holiday in the middle of a notice period doesn't add time. A holiday (or weekend) on the last day does.

Example: a 3-day notice the week of Thanksgiving

Say your lease doesn't change the default three-day notice period and you deliver a notice to vacate on Monday, November 23, 2026. Day 1 is Tuesday the 24th, day 2 is Wednesday the 25th, and day 3 is Thanksgiving. Because the last day is a holiday, the period rolls forward — but Friday the 27th is also a state holiday, and Saturday and Sunday are weekend days. The notice period doesn't end until Monday, November 30, so the earliest you should file is Tuesday, December 1.

Example: a 3-day notice just before Christmas

Deliver a three-day notice on Tuesday, December 22, 2026, and day 3 lands on Christmas Day. December 26 is a state holiday and a Saturday, and December 27 is a Sunday, so the period ends Monday, December 28 and you can file on December 29.

Filing even one day early is one of the most common reasons a justice of the peace dismisses an eviction — and you then have to start over with a new notice. If the property is covered by the federal CARES Act, a 30-day notice is required for nonpayment instead; see our guide to the CARES Act 30-day notice.

Notice Delivery Still Has to Follow the 2026 Rules

Holiday travel doesn't change how a notice must be delivered. SB 38 also changed the delivery methods in Property Code §24.005 — for example, simply taping a notice to the outside of the front door no longer satisfies the statute. If the tenant is away for the holidays, use a delivery method the statute allows and keep proof of delivery. Our eviction notice service prepares and delivers notices that meet the current rules, and you can read more about notice to vacate requirements in Texas.

When the Court Is Closed

Justice courts in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, McKinney, Frisco and Denton close on the holidays above and sometimes on additional county-designated days. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 510.4, if the court is closed for all or part of the day, a deadline for filing something with the court — or for a tenant paying rent into the court registry — extends to the next business day. The same applies when North Texas ice storms close courthouses in January and February.

What this means for landlords:

• Hearings get scheduled around closures, so a case filed the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas may get a slightly later trial date than you expect.
• The five-day appeal window after a judgment still runs, and a judgment signed shortly before a holiday can produce an appeal deadline that moves past it. Don't schedule movers or a new tenant until the appeal period has clearly passed. Learn more about eviction appeals.

Writ of Possession Timing Over the Holidays

If you win and the tenant doesn't move out or perfect an appeal, you can request a writ of possession — generally no earlier than the sixth day after the judgment is signed (Property Code §24.0061(b)). In Dallas County the writ fee is $405 ($400 plus a $5 fee). Then:

• The 24-hour warning: the constable must post a written warning on the front door at least 24 hours before executing the writ, stating the date and time (§24.0061(d)(1)).
• Five business days: under the 2026 rules, if the constable doesn't execute the writ within five business days after it is issued, you may arrange for another authorized law enforcement officer to execute it. Holidays aren't business days, so that window stretches over Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks.
• Plan for staffing: constable precincts work around the same holidays as the courts. Call the precinct early to understand its scheduling.

See how our team handles the final step with the constable on our Dallas writ of possession page, or read writ of possession in Texas: the final step.

The Bad-Weather Rule: Rain, Sleet and Snow

Texas has no freezing-temperature ban on evictions, but it does have a precipitation rule. Under Property Code §24.0061(d)(2), when a writ is executed the tenant's personal property is placed outside the unit at a nearby location — not blocking a public sidewalk, passageway or street — and not while it is raining, sleeting or snowing. The exception is when the officer uses a bonded or insured warehouseman to store the property, in which case it can be removed during bad weather.

Many constables simply won't carry out a writ in rain or ice and will reschedule. With winter fronts common in North Texas from December through February, build a few days of cushion into your timeline. For what happens to belongings once the writ is executed, see what happens to a tenant's belongings after eviction.

What You Still Can't Do — Holiday or Not

Frustration with a tenant who won't leave before the holidays is understandable, but changing the locks, removing doors, or cutting utilities to force a tenant out is illegal self-help in Texas and can expose you to penalties and damages. Read why DFW landlords can't legally lock out a tenant.

A Holiday-Season Eviction Checklist for DFW Landlords

1. Check the lease for the notice period (the default is three days) and any CARES Act or federal-program coverage.

2. Pick a delivery date and count the notice period under §24.0042 — if the last day is a weekend or holiday, roll it forward.

3. Deliver the notice using a method the 2026 statute allows, and keep proof.

4. Confirm the court's holiday schedule and file only after the notice period has fully expired.

5. Calendar the five-day appeal window after judgment, then request the writ no earlier than the sixth day.

6. Coordinate with the constable and watch the forecast — rain, sleet or snow can push execution to another day.

Let NTX Eviction Handle Your Holiday-Season Eviction

Holiday timing is where DIY evictions most often go wrong. NTX Eviction prepares and delivers your notice, counts every deadline under the 2026 rules, handles eviction filing and the court process in justice courts across Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties, and coordinates the writ of possession with the constable — so a holiday doesn't cost you another month of lost rent.

Request a consultation or call 214-206-4229 to talk through your timeline with our team.

This article is for general informational purposes, not legal advice. NTX Eviction is not a law firm. Court holiday schedules vary by county and precinct; confirm dates with the court and consult a licensed Texas attorney about a specific case.