Pamela Willis’s case illustrates the gap between Texas’ new expedited squatter-removal law and the practical requirements an owner must meet before law enforcement can act. Willis, 80, says people she does not know have occupied her southwest Houston home for about two years. She is bedridden, says she cannot afford the cost of pursuing the matter and lacks someone who can take the required paperwork to authorities, according to KHOU.
The reported circumstances also include three Houston police calls for service at the property in 2026, two of them related to trespassing, as well as an ongoing dispute involving a property-management company over alleged damage attributed to the occupants. The management company’s attorneys declined to comment to KHOU. Those facts describe the dispute, but they do not by themselves establish whether the occupants meet the statutory definition of an unlawful occupant or whether the case qualifies for immediate removal.
What Chapter 24B was designed to do
Senate Bill 1333, signed in 2025 and effective Sept. 1 of that year, created Chapter 24B of the Texas Property Code. Its stated purpose was to give property owners an initial, speedy law-enforcement option instead of making a potentially lengthy civil proceeding the only route to recover a home, according to the Texas Senate Research Center and the Office of the Governor.
The expedited path is narrower than a general power to remove anyone an owner considers unwelcome. The legislative analysis says it excludes cases involving pending litigation between the owner and occupant, current or former tenants, immediate family members and people who entered with permission. The owner must also direct the person to leave and submit a sworn complaint for a sheriff or constable to verify before an immediate notice to vacate can be served…