For example, Harris County has 8 Precincts. Which one’s the best one for you? Let’s talk about what is required for an eviction filing. So, your Precinct is the Precinct not where you reside, it’s the Precinct where the rental property is located.
Make sure you file your eviction based on the Precinct where the rental property is located. If you want to file an eviction appeal, you need to file it in the proper Precinct, but you may not know where that Precinct is, or where your property is located in terms of the Precinct boundaries.
So, one really easy thing that we use all the time is a County website. For Harris County, there is a County website where I go all the time to make this determination. If you put in the street number, the street name and a zip code, then – bada-bing bada-boom – it gives you all the County information associated with that property address.
Click here to determine your Harris County Precinct.
So, you have identified the Precinct because you know the property address and you’ve punched that in, and you figured it out.
Well, people are not real computer savvy, and when I say, “Fill in the data using the link,” they have no idea what I’m talking about. So, for them it might be easier to go a bit old-school. And for those of you who don’t know what a link is or how to click it, call your local Justice of the Peace and ask for the Civil Department.
You can ask them by giving them the address. You can say, “I want to pick somebody, and I’m pretty sure they’re located in your Precinct. I just want to confirm it.”
Then you rattle off the address to them, and they’ll either say, “Yep! You’re right, this is the proper Precinct,” or “Oh, no, this is actually in Precinct {whatever},” which is helpful for you because they’ve just told you the proper Precinct where it should be filed.
If you don’t know how to look up your Precinct, you can also call us at 832-305-7694.
So, what happens if you do file in the wrong Precinct? A judgement cannot issue from that filing.
So, your case is going to be dismissed, and you will have wasted time and money. And in order not to delay any further, it’s a simple phone call. It’s an even simpler link. So, determine the proper Precinct by getting on the phone, or by clicking the link, and that’s going to help you a lot.
In bigger counties you have options. So, specifically in Harris County there are 16 Justice Courts, but there are only 8 Precincts. And the way it works in Harris County as of the year of 2020 is – those 8 Precincts are each broken into two places.
For example, Precinct 1 has place 1 and place 2. And those are two different judges.
If your Precinct has two different Courts, you can choose the one that best suits you. Let’s just say, you’ve had a lot of bad luck in Precinct 1 place 2. And you want to check out Precinct 1 place 1. It’s totally legal and totally allowed.
So, the rule is you have to file in the proper Precinct, but it doesn’t matter which of the two places you choose. Either of the Justice Courts will hear your case as long as it is properly located within that Precinct.
Confirm it, and if you’ve got the option to choose between one Court or the other, go ahead. Sometimes it’s a matter of geographical convenience. Sometimes it’s a matter of choosing the Judge that maybe rules more easily in your favor. So, if that’s an option that you have, you are free to take it. If not – sorry.
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