Frequently, the prevailing Landlord in an eviction suit is awarded a money Judgment in addition to possession of the premises. Justice Courts routinely award a prevailing Landlord liquidated cash sums for past-due rent, court costs, and (where applicable), attorneys' fees. See Tex. Prop. Code § 24.006. But are these money Judgments worth the paper they're written on?
It is a reasonable assumption that a Tenant who has just been evicted for failing to pay rent usually isn't sitting on a pile of cash or other assets that can be used to satisfy a money Judgment. For this reason, Landlords usually "give up" and ignore the cash portion of eviction Judgments. After all, it makes little sense to pursue collection of a Judgment from somebody you couldn't even collect rent from. But will this always be the case?????
My experience and observation over the course of conducting countless evictions has been that Tenants facing eviction have an "exit strategy" well before their court date. It's no secret that moving is expensive. There are security deposits, application fees, utility deposits, and the costs of moving, itself (movers/U-Haul rental, etc.). Often this is where the money that would have been a Landlord's rent is allocated once eviction becomes inevitable.
The good news is that eviction Judgments become final -- and, thus, subject to collection -- quickly. Unlike Judgments from "higher" courts, which usually aren't final for 30 days after they're signed, Justice Court Judgments in eviction cases become final after 5 days (unless appealed). A diligent Landlord will attempt to collect upon an eviction Judgment promptly after it becomes final.
There are cheap and easy steps by which to pursue collection. Here are just a few suggestions:
- Abstract the Judgment with the County Clerk. An Abstract is the first step in the collection process, and is a mechanism by which to record the Judgment in the Official Public Records of the County -- right where deeds, liens and other real property records are recorded. The filing fees for Abstracts are nominal, and you might be surprised when the Abstract shows-up in the Tenant's unrelated efforts to obtain credit (such as when attempting to buy a house or obtain a job).
- Report the Judgment to a credit reporting agency. Dealing with the "Big 3" is tough, but many communities have local credit reporting agencies. In San Antonio, SARMA maintains a database of eviction Judgments. Filing the Judgment with them could result in your former Tenant being denied in his efforts to locate a new residence.
- Hire an attorney to perform limited collection activity, such as writing a demand letter, issuing post-judgment discovery, and possibly performing an asset-check or deposition in aid of collection.
You might be surprised at how a former Tenant reacts (and steps-up) when he learns that he can't just walk-away from your eviction suit.
