🔴Relating to the unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease, advertisement for sale, rental, or lease, or conveyance of real property, including the removal of certain unauthorized occupants of a dwelling; creating criminal offenses; increasing a criminal penalty; authorizing a fee.

🔴 SB 1333: Faster home removals and new penalties for property fraud

What it says it does:
Targets deed fraud and fake leases, and gives owners a quicker way to regain homes from unauthorized occupants.

What it actually changes:
An owner or agent can file a sworn complaint with the sheriff or constable. If basic ownership checks pass, and the person is not a tenant or immediate family, officers serve immediate notice and return possession. Officers can remain while locks are changed and belongings are placed at the property line, and they can bill a fee and hourly time. Officers and owners have immunity for property damage during removal. New crimes cover false deeds and fraudulent sale or lease, penalties increase for damage tied to trespass, and prosecutors may charge under this section and another law for the same conduct.

Who is pushing for it:
Support noted in files from National Rental Home Council, Texas Realtors, Texas Apartment Association, Texas Association of Builders, Texas Land Title Association, Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, multiple police groups, and cities including Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Fort Worth. Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texas Public Policy Foundation also appear in support in the files.

Who benefits:
Property owners and large rental operators gain faster turnarounds and fewer court delays. Builders and title professionals get clearer tools against fraudulent documents. Sheriff and constable offices can bill for presence during removals.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Informal occupants, caregivers, or roommates without paperwork may be removed first and must sue later to contest it. If property is damaged during removal, immunity limits recovery against officers or owners. People in gray situations face higher risk when decisions are made in the field rather than in court.

Why this matters long term:
The bill shifts front end control of possession disputes from courts to officers, normalizing a police first model with fee incentives. It expands charging leverage in fraud cases and sets a precedent for speed now, review later, which can help in clear fraud but can miss edge cases.

What to watch next:
Local protocols for verification, body camera use, and item handling. Fee schedules and any public reporting of removals, hours billed, outcomes, and complaints. Patterns in wrongful removal suits or charge stacking. Whether future bills expand this model to other property contexts.

Bottom line:
SB 1333 tackles real fraud and speeds up returns for rightful owners, but it concentrates early power with officers, limits liability during removals, and pushes mistakes into after the fact lawsuits. The fast lane works best when guardrails are tight and transparent.

Questions to ask lawmakers:

1. What tradeoffs did you consider between fast removals and early judicial review, and what would count as a warning sign that the balance is off?
2. How did you think about verification standards on the doorstep, and what evidence would tell you innocent people are being caught up?
3. What outcomes will you track on fees, wrongful removals, and charge stacking, and how will the public see those results?


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