Texas Lease Termination: One Month's Notice on Month-to-Month (§ 91.001)

Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001(a) provides that "a monthly tenancy or a tenancy from month to month may be terminated by the tenant or the landlord giving notice of termination to the other." Under § 91.001(b), if the rent-paying period is at least one month, the tenancy ends on the later of the day stated in the notice or "one month after the day on which the notice is given." For shorter periods, § 91.001(c) measures notice by the rent-paying period, and under § 91.001(d), if termination falls mid-period, the tenant owes rent only up to that date. Section 91.001(e) lets the parties agree in writing to a different period, so the lease controls when it specifies one; a fixed-term lease expires on its end date.

No specific statutory penalty for giving notice. Notice shorter than § 91.001 requires, and not authorized by the lease, is ineffective until a proper period runs; a tenant who holds over after a valid termination becomes subject to eviction under Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 24.