Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 34 posts · 2 votes
Does anyone know if accepting money from a tenant that owes 3 months of back rent voids the eviction process? he zelle me pocket change weekly . So I dont know if that will affect the eviction process. I hardly care now about getting that back rent, I just want to be thru with him.
Three months behind and still getting weekly Zelle pennies sounds exhausting, and I get wanting to just be done. I'm no attorney, so before you take another payment I'd call a local landlord attorney or your justice court clerk and ask how partial payments affect your notice, since the rules there can be picky and it's an easy thing to mess up.
Partial payments are exactly where evictions get tossed on a technicality, so I'd pause on accepting any more Zelle money until you've confirmed how it affects your case. Check your lease first, since a lot of Texas leases have a clause saying accepting partial rent doesn't waive your right to evict, and that language matters. Then call the justice of the peace court clerk where you'd file or a local landlord attorney before the next payment lands. Whatever you've already taken, keep a dated record of each Zelle amount, because the judge will want to see exactly what was paid against what's owed.
Not legal advice, and a Tarrant County landlord attorney is your best call here. In Texas, taking partial payments after you've given notice to vacate can muddy the eviction, because it can look like you've waived the default unless your lease says partial payments don't. If your goal is just to end the tenancy, I'd stop accepting payments once you file, keep everything in writing, and ask the JP court clerk about timing. Hope it gets resolved quickly.