to proceed with eviction or settle

[Bharath Raj]

My property manager locked out a tenant and started eviction proceedings, since the tenant was behind on rent repeatedly. The tenant had ~4 years left on the lease. Tenant moved out all her belongings, and is requesting that we stop eviction proceedings. She is also requesting that we waive her balance. I am okay with not having the eviction record follow her. The balance she owes is not too big. Any thoughts?

[Greg H.]

Your PM locked out the tenant ?  What exactly did they do ?  While a landlord can change the locks on a tenant in Texas, the have to make a key readily available to the tenant. 

I would agree to drop it for the these reasons:

-the tenant has already surrendered possession 

-If they show up in court you might not like the result if an illegal lockout occurred 

-The likelyhood of collection of a judgment in Texas is very slim

I would offer to settle in writing for the  forfeiture of the deposit