Eviction lawsuits are the mechanism by which Texas courts determine who has the right to occupy and possess property. This determination does NOT require that the parties be in a landlord-tenant relationship.
Many property owners are surprised to learn that an eviction case is the proper (and legal) way to remove any occupant from property, whether or not there is a lease.
In the past, we have handled eviction cases where the party to be removed is:
-A former romantic partner (boyfriend or girlfriend);
-A family member (parent, adult child, sibling, niece/nephew etc.) or friend who has overstayed their welcome;
-Squatters with no lawful claim to possession;
-Former owners who have lost the property through foreclosure or a Substitute Trustee's sale; and
-Tenants who have held over beyond the end of a lease term.
A proper Defendant in an eviction lawsuit is any occupant (whether in naked possession or not) whose right to possession never existed or has ceased. How that occupant came to occupy the property is not the controlling factor. Instead, the present right of possession is the issue in an eviction case.
While the nature of the unwelcome occupant's current claim to possession does affect some of the procedure in an eviction case (the type and timing of notice to vacate, etc.) it is not jurisdictional. In fact, Texas courts have held very clearly that proof of a landlord-tenant relationship is an evidentiary issue in an eviction case, and not a jurisdictional one. See Tex. Prop. Code § 24.002; Academy Corp. v. Sunwest N.O.P., Inc., 853 S.W.2d 833, 834 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, writ denied).
