An owner leases a Brownsville flex warehouse to a supplier whose parent operates in Matamoros. Rent arrives late one month, partially the next, then not at all. A relative suggests changing the locks. A friend says to keep the forklifts. Another says to wait and sue for the whole lease. Each idea is partly right under Texas law, and each can go wrong if done out of order or without reading the lease.
This article is an owner brief on what happens when a commercial or industrial tenant defaults for owners and investors holding leased industrial, flex, warehouse, yard, or small commercial property in Brownsville and Cameron County. It is not legal advice and it is not a collection plan. How to draft and negotiate the lease in the first place lives in our landlord leasing guide. Deposits in a purchase live in buying a leased building. Move-out environmental condition lives in industrial lease environmental baseline. This page owns the sequence after a default: the lease's notice and cure terms, the commercial lockout rules, the building landlord's lien, eviction in justice court, abandoned property, mitigation, guaranties, and the deposit.
Alfredo Cristo Realty Group works from Brownsville with more than 45 years of advisory and stewardship experience, Texas real-estate licensing, and a background in Mexico corporate and real-estate law. The objective matches our promise: Experience that protects your investment. Education first. Specialist handoff when the question leaves the real-estate lane.
Can a commercial landlord in Texas change the locks when the tenant does not pay rent? Texas Property Code Section 93.002 allows a landlord to change the door locks of a commercial tenant who is delinquent in paying at least part of the rent. The landlord must place a written notice on the tenant's front door stating where the new key may be obtained, and the new key must be provided during the tenant's regular business hours if the tenant pays the delinquent rent. The same section says a lease supersedes it to the extent of any conflict, so the lease must be read first.
Does a Texas landlord have to try to re-lease a commercial space after the tenant abandons it? Texas Property Code Section 91.006 says a landlord has a duty to mitigate damages if a tenant abandons the leased premises in violation of the lease, and that a lease provision purporting to waive that duty is void. In Austin Hill Country Realty, Inc. v. Palisades Plaza, Inc. (1997), the Supreme Court of Texas described the duty as using objectively reasonable efforts to fill the premises with a suitable replacement tenant, and placed the burden of proof on the tenant.
This article is educational only. It is not legal, tax, credit, or investment advice. Retain Texas real-estate or litigation counsel (and Mexican counsel where a tenant, guarantor, or asset is in Mexico), a CPA, and your insurance broker for those decisions. Nothing below estimates rents, damages, recoveries, court timelines in any particular case, or the outcome of any dispute. Statutory statements are attributed to the Texas Property Code, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and Business and Commerce Code sections they come from, and procedural statements to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the court and county sources listed under Sources.
Why this matters for Brownsville owners now
Three things make this a good time to review how you would handle a default:
- Texas eviction law changed on January 1, 2026. Senate Bill 38 (89th Legislature) amended Chapter 24 of the Property Code for eviction suits filed on or after that date, and the Supreme Court of Texas rewrote Rule 510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure as a standalone eviction rule. Notice, filing, trial-setting, and appeal steps now follow the new text.
- Many local tenants are tied to operations in Mexico. Suppliers and manufacturers often sign through a U.S. entity with a parent or guarantor across the border, as our twin plant brief describes. Collecting from a guarantor in Mexico is a different question from recovering the building.
- Year-end brings lease events. Expirations, holdovers, and expense reconciliations often fall around the calendar year, and a disputed reconciliation can become a partial payment.
The order of steps matters, and the lease, the statute, and the court rules each control part of it.
Start with the lease, not the locksmith
Default, notice, and cure
Most commercial leases define default, notice, cure, and remedies. Before acting, read:
- The default clause: monetary defaults (rent, reimbursements, late charges) and non-monetary defaults (insurance, use, maintenance, environmental covenants)
- The notice clause: the addresses and methods for notices, including any copy to a parent company, a lender, or counsel in Mexico
- The cure periods: whether a notice and a waiting period are required before the landlord may terminate, re-enter, or sue
- The remedies clause: termination of the lease, termination of possession without ending the lease, re-entry and re-letting, acceleration, and recovery of costs and attorney's fees
- Lockout, lien, and waiver language: some leases expand or limit what the statute allows
A notice sent to the wrong address, or a remedy chosen before a cure period ends, can give the tenant a defense.
What the lease can change, and what it cannot
Texas law lets the parties adjust some of the statutory rules and not others:
- Lockouts and utilities: Section 93.002(h) says a lease supersedes Section 93.002 to the extent of any conflict
- Notice to vacate: Section 24.005(a) requires at least three days' written notice unless a written lease sets a shorter or longer period
- Month-to-month tenancies: Section 91.001 sets notice rules for ending monthly tenancies, which under 91.001(e) yield to a different period agreed in a signed instrument or to a breach recognized by law
- Mitigation: Section 91.006(b) says a lease provision that purports to waive the landlord's duty to mitigate is void
Start a written default file the day a payment is late, and ask counsel how accepting a partial payment affects the notice you plan to send.
Changing the locks: what Section 93.002 allows
Chapter 93 of the Property Code applies to commercial tenancies, which Section 93.001 defines as rental property not covered by the residential chapter. Section 93.002 sets the self-help rules for commercial landlords:
- Utilities (subsection (a)): a landlord may not interrupt or cause the interruption of utility service paid for directly to the utility company by a tenant, unless the interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency
- Doors, locks, and fixtures (subsection (b)): a landlord may not remove doors, windows, locks, or landlord-furnished fixtures or appliances, except for a prompt, bona fide repair or replacement
- Exclusion from the premises (subsection (c)): a landlord may not intentionally prevent a tenant from entering except by judicial process, unless the exclusion results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency; from removing the contents of premises abandoned by the tenant; or from changing the door locks of a tenant who is delinquent in paying at least part of the rent
- The posted notice (subsection (f)): a landlord who changes the locks of a delinquent tenant must place a written notice on the tenant's front door stating the name and the address or telephone number of the individual or company from which the new key may be obtained. The new key must be provided only during the tenant's regular business hours and only if the tenant pays the delinquent rent
- Consequences of a violation (subsection (g)): the tenant may recover possession or terminate the lease, and recover its actual damages, one month's rent or $500 (whichever is greater), reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs, less delinquent rent or other sums it owes the landlord
The tenant's writ of reentry
Section 93.003 gives a tenant locked out in violation of Section 93.002 a fast remedy: a sworn complaint in the justice court of the precinct, and possibly an ex parte writ of reentry giving temporary possession. The landlord is entitled to a hearing, held not earlier than the first day or later than the seventh day after the landlord requests it. Disobeying the writ can be contempt. A landlord may recover damages, one month's rent or $500 (whichever is greater), fees, and costs from a tenant who files in bad faith.
A lockout is leverage, not possession
Changing the locks for unpaid rent does not end the lease or give a judgment for possession; it pressures payment. If the tenant pays the delinquent rent, the key must be provided. If the tenant neither pays nor leaves, recovering possession still runs through the lease's termination steps and, if needed, an eviction. In an industrial building it can also stop shipments and trap customers' goods, so decide with counsel and document the delinquency.
The building landlord's lien and distress warrants
Subchapter B of Chapter 54 of the Property Code gives landlords of nonresidential buildings a statutory lien:
- What it covers (Section 54.021): a person who leases all or part of a building for nonresidential use has a preference lien on the property of the tenant or subtenant in the building, for rent that is due and rent that is to become due during the current 12-month period following the start of the rental agreement or an anniversary of that date
- Older rent needs a filed statement (Section 54.022): the lien is unenforceable for rent more than six months past due unless the landlord files a verified, itemized lien statement with the county clerk
- Exempt property (Section 54.023): the subchapter does not affect a statute exempting property from forced sale
- How long it lasts (Section 54.024): while the tenant occupies the building and until one month after the day the tenant abandons it
- Distress warrant (Section 54.025): the person to whom rent is payable may apply to the justice of the peace in the precinct where the building is located for a distress warrant if the tenant owes rent, is about to abandon the building, or is about to remove its property from the building
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 610 and 611 set the procedure: an application stating the amount sued for is rent and sworn not to vex or harass; no warrant before final judgment except on the justice's written order after a hearing (which may be ex parte) setting the maximum value to be seized; and a bond payable to the tenant before a pre-judgment warrant issues.
Practical limits in an industrial building
The lien sounds broad. In practice, owners and counsel usually ask:
- Whose property is it? Section 54.021 reaches property of the tenant or subtenant; inventory may belong to the tenant's customers, and equipment may be leased
- Is someone else ahead? Equipment and inventory are often financed, and a lender may claim a security interest; the lease may also contain a contractual lien or a subordination to that lender
- Is it under customs control? Goods in a foreign-trade zone raise separate questions; see our Foreign-Trade Zone brief and ask customs counsel
The distress warrant is the court process the statute describes, and it requires a bond and a hearing.
Eviction in justice court after January 1, 2026
In Texas, an eviction suit to recover possession from a tenant who holds over after its right of possession ends is a forcible detainer under Section 24.002. Section 24.004 gives the justice court in the precinct where the property is located jurisdiction in eviction suits, and Section 24.0041 requires the suit to be brought in that precinct. Senate Bill 38 applies to suits whose petition is filed on or after January 1, 2026.
Notice to vacate, or notice to pay rent or vacate
Section 24.005(a) requires at least three days' written notice to vacate before the landlord files a forcible detainer suit against a tenant who defaults or holds over, unless the lease sets a shorter or longer period. As amended in 2025, it adds a distinction for nonpayment cases:
- If the tenant's right of possession is terminated solely for nonpayment and the tenant was not late or delinquent before the month in which the notice is given, the notice must be a notice to pay rent or vacate
- If the tenant was late or delinquent before that month, the landlord may use either a notice to pay rent or vacate or a notice to vacate
- A holdover suit at the end of a term must also comply with Section 91.001
Section 24.005(f-3) lists the delivery methods: mail (including first class, registered, or certified mail, or a delivery service), delivery inside the premises in a conspicuous place, hand delivery to a tenant 16 or older, or email or other electronic delivery if agreed in writing; under (f-4) those rules do not apply if the tenant actually receives the notice. Section 24.0042 counts weekends and holidays, but a period ending on one runs to the next business day.
The lease may require its own default notice and cure period before the statutory notice; ask counsel whether they run one after another or together.
Petition, service, and trial setting
- Sworn petition (Section 24.00505 and Rule 510.6): Rule 510.6 lists the contents, including the premises, the grounds, when and how the pre-suit notice was given and which kind, the rent due, and, in a nonpayment-only case, whether the tenant was late before the month of the notice
- Service (Section 24.0051(f)): the sheriff or constable must make a diligent effort to serve the citation and petition by the fifth business day after filing; if that does not happen, the landlord may use another law enforcement officer with the training the statute describes
- Trial date (Section 24.0051(g)): the court must hold the trial not earlier than the 10th day or later than the 21st day after the petition is filed, not earlier than the fourth day after service, and may not postpone it more than seven days unless the parties agree in writing
- Remote appearance (Section 24.005105): if the parties agree, the court may allow appearance by videoconference or teleconference
What the justice court decides
- Possession, not title (Section 24.004(c) and Rule 510.6(f)): the justice court decides the right to actual possession. It may not decide title, and counterclaims and joinder of third parties are not permitted in eviction suits; those claims belong in a separate suit
- Rent claims have a ceiling (Rule 510.6(e)): unpaid rent may be joined only if it is not more than $20,000, excluding statutory interest and court costs but including attorney's fees. Larger claims, damages for the rest of the term, and guarantor claims generally need a separate suit
- The eviction does not bar other claims (Section 24.008): an eviction suit does not bar a suit for trespass, damages, waste, rent, or mesne profits
- Attorney's fees (Section 24.006): a landlord may recover reasonable fees if the written lease provides for them, or if it sent the statutory demand by registered or certified mail at least 10 days before filing, stating that fees may be recovered if the tenant does not vacate before the 11th day after receipt
- Summary disposition (Section 24.005106 and Rule 510.10): the new motion is tied to petitions alleging a forcible entry and detainer; ask counsel whether it fits a tenant holdover, which is usually a forcible detainer
Who may appear for the owner
Section 24.011 says parties in a justice court eviction suit may represent themselves or use authorized agents who need not be attorneys. Rule 510.3 says an entity may be represented by a non-attorney employee, owner, officer, or partner, by a property manager or other authorized agent, or by an attorney. Lien questions and guaranties often make counsel worth it.
Judgment, writ of possession, and appeal
- Writ timing (Section 24.0061(b) and (b-1)): a writ of possession may not issue before the sixth day after the judgment for possession unless a possession bond has been filed and approved; issuing the writ is a ministerial act, and the sheriff or constable must serve it by the fifth business day after it issues
- Executing the writ (Section 24.0061(d)): the officer posts a warning at least 24 hours before execution and then delivers possession
- Appeal to county court (Section 24.005107 and Rule 510.19): a party may appeal by filing a bond, cash deposit, or statement of inability to afford court costs within five days after the judgment is signed; an appealing tenant must affirm under penalty of perjury a good-faith meritorious defense. The county court must hold trial within 21 days after it receives the papers
- Further appeal (Section 24.007): a final county court judgment in an eviction suit may not be appealed on possession unless the premises are used for residential purposes only
Several Chapter 24 rules on paying rent into the court registry during an appeal are for residential cases; ask how a commercial appeal bond is handled.
Cameron County courts
The Cameron County justice of the peace page lists several precinct courts, including Precinct 2 courts in Brownsville, and posts eviction forms by precinct. Some posted packets predate the January 1, 2026 changes, so confirm with the clerk and counsel that your forms reflect the current statute and Rule 510.
Abandonment and the property left behind
Tenants in trouble sometimes leave quietly. Section 93.002(d) says a tenant is presumed to have abandoned the premises if goods, equipment, or other property, in an amount substantial enough to indicate a probable intent to abandon, is being or has been removed and the removal is not within the normal course of the tenant's business. Under Section 93.002(e), a landlord may remove and store property that remains on abandoned premises and may dispose of it if the tenant does not claim it within 60 days after it is stored, after sending the tenant a certified-mail notice to its last known address saying so.
Before touching anything, settle with counsel whether the tenant is really gone or only shut down, who else claims what was left (equipment lessors, lenders, customers), whether the lease adds its own disposal terms, and what environmental items remain; see our environmental baseline brief. Ask your insurance broker how a vacancy affects coverage. The building landlord's lien under Section 54.024 lasts until one month after the tenant abandons the building.
Mitigation: what happens to the rest of the rent
When a tenant abandons mid-term, owners often want to hold the tenant to every remaining month. Texas law limits that:
- Section 91.006 says the landlord has a duty to mitigate damages if a tenant abandons the premises in violation of the lease, and a lease provision purporting to waive that duty is void
- Austin Hill Country Realty, Inc. v. Palisades Plaza, Inc., 948 S.W.2d 293 (Tex. 1997) held that the duty requires objectively reasonable efforts to fill the premises with a suitable replacement tenant. The duty is not absolute: a failure to mitigate reduces recovery only to the extent damages reasonably could have been avoided, and the tenant bears the burden of proving the failure and the amount
What owners control is the record of their efforts: the broker listing and marketing, inquiries, showings, proposals, and why any prospect was declined. Keep condition, code, and power facts ready for prospects; see re-tenanting an older warehouse. Ask counsel how re-letting interacts with the remedies clause and any claim for future rent. We do not estimate how long space takes to re-lease or at what rent.
Guaranties and tenants with ties to Mexico
When a tenant entity has few assets in Texas, the guaranty may matter more than the lease. Points to review:
- In writing and signed: Business and Commerce Code Section 26.01 says a promise by one person to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another is not enforceable unless it, or a memorandum of it, is in writing and signed by the person to be charged
- Scope: rent only or all obligations, any cap or time limit, and whether it survives renewals, amendments, and assignments
- Guarantor notices: Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 43 treats a guarantor as a surety. Section 43.002 allows a surety, by written notice after a right of action accrues, to require the obligee to sue without delay, and discharges the surety if the obligee does not sue within the time that section describes. Ask counsel whether the guaranty waives that right and how it affects your timeline
- Assets across the border: collecting from a guarantor or tenant whose assets are in Mexico generally involves Mexican law and courts; ask Mexican counsel before relying on a Mexican guaranty, and see our binational capital brief
An eviction case does not resolve a claim against a guarantor; Rule 510.6(f) does not allow joinder of third parties.
The security deposit after a default
A default does not erase the deposit rules. Section 93.005 requires a refund no later than the 60th day after the tenant surrenders and gives a forwarding address. Section 93.006 allows deductions for damages and charges the tenant owes under the lease or from a breach, with a written itemized list unless the tenant owes rent at surrender and the amount is undisputed. Section 93.011 sets penalties for bad-faith retention, and Section 93.010 bars a tenant from withholding the last month's rent on the theory that the deposit covers it. Our leased-building buyer brief covers deposits in more detail.
Documents folder for a tenant default
- The complete lease file: lease, amendments, guaranties, side letters, and any SNDA or estoppel certificates
- Tenant ledger, invoices, reconciliations, and a record of partial payments
- Every notice sent and received, with proof of delivery and dates
- Dated photographs and condition notes
- Any lien statement filed with the county clerk, and all court papers
- Inventory of property left behind and certified-mail notices
- Broker listing, marketing record, and prospect log for mitigation
Common mistakes owners make
- Acting before reading the lease's notice and cure terms
- Cutting off tenant-paid utilities, which Section 93.002(a) prohibits except for bona fide repairs, construction, or emergencies
- Changing the locks without the posted notice that Section 93.002(f) requires, or refusing the key after the delinquent rent is paid
- Treating a lockout as an eviction and re-letting the space without ending the tenant's right of possession
- Seizing equipment or inventory without court process, or without checking who owns it
- Using a pre-2026 notice or form for a suit filed after January 1, 2026
- Doing nothing to re-let after abandonment
Questions to bring to counsel
- What does the lease require before we act: notice, cure period, delivery method?
- Should we use a lockout, a notice to vacate, or a notice to pay rent or vacate, and in what order?
- What property in the building is the tenant's, and do we need a lien statement or distress warrant?
- Which precinct court has jurisdiction, and are we using current forms?
- Should rent and damages be claimed in the eviction case or a separate suit, and what must we document to show reasonable efforts to re-let?
- How do we pursue the guarantor, and does Mexican counsel need to be involved?
- How should the deposit be handled once the tenant surrenders or abandons?
How Alfredo Cristo Realty Group helps
We help Brownsville and Cameron County owners organize the property side of a tenant default—keeping the lease file, ledger, notices, and photographs in order, coordinating property inspections and securing the building, preparing the space for re-letting, and documenting marketing efforts as part of management / stewardship. We connect owners with Texas real-estate and litigation counsel, Mexican counsel, CPAs, and insurance brokers, and serve as a Brownsville accountable point through consultation / contact. We are not lawyers, we do not give legal advice, and we make no promises about recoveries, timelines, or the outcome of any eviction or collection.
Review current properties and market context without pressure toward a listing, or read about Alfredo's background. Related reading: landlord leasing guide, buying a leased building, industrial lease environmental baseline, re-tenanting an older warehouse, appraisal protests, and binational capital. More on the Insights hub. Spanish readers: Artículos.
The objective: help owners respond to a default in the right order, with the lease and the record in hand.
Sources
- Texas Property Code, Chapter 24 (Forcible Entry and Detainer), as amended effective January 1, 2026; Chapter 54, Subchapter B (Building Landlord's Lien), Sections 54.021 through 54.025; Chapter 91, Sections 91.001 and 91.006; and Chapter 93 (Commercial Tenancies), via the Texas Legislature's statutes site and a public mirror of the statute text (accessed November 3, 2026)
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 43 (Principal and Surety), Sections 43.001 and 43.002, and Texas Business and Commerce Code, Section 26.01 (accessed November 3, 2026)
- Texas Legislature Online, Senate Bill 38 (89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025), enrolled text and bill history (accessed November 3, 2026)
- Supreme Court of Texas, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (current official compilation), Rules 510.1, 510.3, 510.6, 510.10, 510.19, 610, and 611, and Misc. Docket Nos. 25-9096 and 25-9105 (orders amending Rule 510, effective January 1, 2026) (accessed November 3, 2026)
- Supreme Court of Texas, Austin Hill Country Realty, Inc. v. Palisades Plaza, Inc., 948 S.W.2d 293 (Tex. 1997), via a public case-law database (accessed November 3, 2026)
- Cameron County, Justice of the Peace page and posted precinct eviction forms (accessed November 3, 2026)
Educational disclaimer (repeated): This page is owner education only. It is not legal, tax, credit, or investment advice, and it does not predict the outcome of any default, lockout, lien, eviction, or collection. Do not rely on it for notices, filings, or decisions about a tenant's property. Work with Texas real-estate or litigation counsel, a CPA, and your insurance broker, and Mexican counsel where tenants, guarantors, or assets are in Mexico. Verify the current statutes, court rules, and forms before you act, because Texas eviction procedure changed on January 1, 2026 and the Supreme Court of Texas may further amend Rule 510.
This guide is also available in Spanish: /es/articulos/incumplimiento-inquilino-comercial-industrial-brownsville-desalojo-cerraduras-gravamen.