Texas Tenant Advisor

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The Texas Tenant Advisor is intended to provide general information regarding Texas residential tenancies only.

Unique facts can render some statements inapplicable to a given situation.

We attempt to provide current information; nonetheless, you are urged to consult an attorney for legal advice and assistance.

This web site is a public service of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service.

Justice Court Petition for Security Deposit

This form petition is ready to be used to file suit in justice court (Justice of the Peace, or "JP" court). You will need to download it, print it and fill it out (instructions on filing it out are below). The form petition is ready to be downloaded in the following formats:

JP Petition (PDF)*

JP Petition (Microsoft Word)

* PDF stands for Portable Document Format in case you cared. It is more dependable to download documents using this format, so use this method especially if the others do not work. Most computers have a PDF reader already installed. If yours does not, or it is not working, download and install the latest free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Once the form is printed you will need to fill in these blanks in the form:

1 The first blank at the top of the form is the Case Number. When you file the case, the court clerk will assign a number to the case and write that number at the top. You do not need to fill that blank in prior to filing the case.

2 On the right side at the top is the court information. Put the County you are filing suit in the blank and put which Precinct and Place of the justice court you are filing the suit in (e.g., Precinct 1, Place 2, Dallas County, Texas).

Each county often has more than one JP court, so the county is divided into two or more precincts. The easiest way to find out which precinct you are in, is to call one of them nearby and give them the address of the property you are leasing. The court clerk will then tell you which precinct the property is in. For precincts with large populations, more than one JP court is assigned to a precinct. In these precincts, each JP court is assigned a different "Place number." You are allowed to file the case in any "Place" in your precinct. So if there is more than one JP court in your precinct, pick the court that is easy to get to or the one that is friendliest to tenants.

3 Since you are bringing the suit first, you are the Plaintiff. Put your name in the blank for Plaintiff on the left side, and again in the Parties section of the form petition.

4 The landlord is the Defendant. This is probably not the manager of the property. It is best to sue the owner of the property. You have a right to know the name and address of the owner of the property. See Ownership for details on obtaining this information. Often a business entity owns the property (like a corporation, or a limited partnership). If the owner is a business entity, list the entity as the Defendant in the suit and put the name in the blank for Defendant at the top and in the Parties section of the form petition.

5 The address of the Defendant in the Parties section of the form petition needs to be filled in as well. This is the address that a constable will go to serve the Defendant with court papers. So, try to get the correct address and completely list it. The easier it is for the constable to serve the court papers, the faster your case will be heard. You are entitled to know the address of the owner of the property. As we stated above, it is best to sue the owner of the property.

6 Then sign your name at the bottom. Print your name, complete address and phone number below your signature.

Finally, read over the form and make sure it has been filled out completely. Then make two copies of the signed form and take them, with the original to the justice court for filing. The court will keep the original, keep one copy to serve on the Defendant and return one to you with a file stamp for your records. For more information on proceeding with the case, see Representing Yourself.