Two bills passed during Texas’ 89th legislative session, Senate Bills 38 and 1333, overhaul how the state tackles squatting and eviction disputes. These issues are a top priority for the state’s Republican officials: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows.
Landlords and property rights advocates are hailing the legislation as long-overdue measures to combat fraud and unauthorized occupancy. In contrast, tenant advocates warn that the bills may worsen housing insecurity for thousands of Texans already on the edge.
SB 38: An eviction overhaul
SB 38, authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) and initially dubbed an anti-squatting” bill,” overhauls Texas eviction law to make it easier and faster for property owners to remove people unlawfully occupying their property. It clarifies procedures, speeds up eviction timelines, tightens appeals and adds provisions for quicker writs of possession.
It passed the House by an 85-44 vote, following extensive amendments that softened its most sweeping provisions.
“Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked the Local Government Committee to secure Texas from squatters, and we did!” said Bettencourt. “Property owners are facing financial devastation and dangerous confrontations, from a $6,000 dental bill after a squatter dropped a refrigerator on a woman, to over $130,000 in legal fees just to evict unlawful occupants. That ends now, as this is a focused anti-squatters bill.”
https://senate.texas.gov/press.php?id=7-20250528a
SB 38 alarmed housing advocates. Brennan Griffin, senior deputy director at the Texas Appleseed, said the bill originally “would have been really bad for all tenants and would not target the problem of squatting at all.” Instead, the bill would make the eviction process easier for landlords, at the expense of renters’ due process.
Another concerning feature was the bill’s proposals to allow summary evictions in as few as five days without a court hearing or trial and no realistic way to appeal. This provision was later amended to “forcible entry and detainer,” sometimes referred to as “squatters” or “trespassers.” Defendants, however, have just three days to file a sworn response. If there is no valid dispute, the court must issue a judgment within 10 days.
Griffin credited a bipartisan coalition for pushing back.
“We have managed to restrict some of the worst aspects of SB 38. But there were some other parts of the bill that still make the eviction process worse than it was already for tenants.”
Brennan Griffin, senior deputy director at the Texas Appleseed
Appeals are also tougher: tenants must swear to a valid defense and pay rent promptly, or landlords get writs without hearings. County courts must hear appeals within 21 days.
SB 38 relaxes how landlords can deliver eviction notices and changes who can serve eviction writs. Now, any non-law enforcement third parties or off-duty cops without identification may carry them out, which Griffin warned could create “dangerous situations” and are “deeply concerning.
Ben Martin, research director at Texas Housers, said it still weakens renter protections by making appeals harder and by opening possible conflicts with federal housing timelines.
“This was a bill targeted at renters,” Martin said, worrying SB 1333 could embolden unscrupulous landlords to threaten tenants into “self-evicting” under the guise of criminal charges. “It sets up potential conflicts between state law and federal law. What the bill [SB 38] says is that a landlord can move through the eviction process under state law as long as they don’t physically remove the person and their belongings from the property before that federal deadline. The state law now tries to skirt around that in ways that are potentially unconstitutional.”
House Republicans passed SB 38 on Friday, another bill undermining tenants' rights while disguising itself as a squatter bill.
— Lulu Flores (@VoteLuluFlores) May 26, 2025
This unconstitutional legislation harms Texas renters and will allow landlords to move forward with evictions otherwise barred by federal law. #txlege pic.twitter.com/7c3sbXGqy4
The Texas Apartment Association, which advocated for the bill stated it will prevent delay in the eviction process.
“The bill seeks to protect both property owners and residents by creating a more efficient path to address clear cases of illegal squatting while maintaining existing renter protections,” TAA’s Executive Vice President, Chris Newton, told the Defender.
SB 1333: New criminal teeth against trespassers
By contrast, SB 1333 squarely targets criminal trespass and property scams. It also reclassifies certain squatting-related offenses as felonies, making it a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly use false or fraudulent deeds or lease documents to occupy property and a first-degree felony to knowingly list, advertise, sell, rent, or lease residential property without legal title or authority.
Supporters of the bill say this was a necessary step after a string of high-profile squatting cases left homeowners tangled in months-long court battles.
“Currently in Texas, squatters can only be removed by court order so the scumbags who do this often are able to live rent-free for months in someone’s house,” said Craig Smyser, a broker associate at Fiv Realty. “There are qualifiers on this [bill], but it’s basically designed to remove someone who is truly squatting in a house.”
John Bonura, a policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, also testified in favor of the bill.
“The current legal remedies to deal with a person trespassing on private property with the purpose of making it their residence are currently costly, time-consuming and largely inadequate,” Bonura said. “Texas, a state that prides itself on protecting private property, is failing its citizens.”
Some supporters like James Benson, a property expert with Five Star Cash Offer, called the two bills a wake-up call for landlords and policymakers alike.
“The speed and decisiveness of the legislation reflect just how severe the squatter crisis has become,” Benson said. “The implementation will require due diligence. Landlords must ensure they document every interaction, follow lawful notice procedures and involve authorities appropriately. These reforms could help stabilize housing investments in Texas and potentially encourage other states to follow suit.”
He predicted that the Texas approach could soon be replicated by states like Pennsylvania, South Carolina and New Jersey, which are considering similar laws.
