How to File in Harris County Small Claims Court Against a Contractor or Landlord in 2026
September is the worst month to get burned by a contractor or landlord, and the best month to finally learn how Harris County's Justice of the Peace courts work before you need them.
September is the worst month to get burned by a contractor or landlord, and the best month to finally learn how Harris County’s Justice of the Peace courts work before you need them.
If a contractor took your money and walked off the job, or a landlord is sitting on your security deposit and stonewalling, Harris County’s Justice of the Peace courts exist precisely for this. No attorney required. No civil procedure knowledge required. What you do need: the right precinct for your address, what you’ll pay to file, how to get the other side properly served, and what to bring to the hearing.
This guide covers all of that, mapped to actual Houston ZIP codes and the 2026 fee schedules that no national explainer bothers to publish.
Why September, Why JP Court, and What You Can Actually Win
September accelerates two specific dispute types in Harris County at the same time.
Post-hurricane contractor work — emergency roof patches, flood remediation, fencing repairs — generates a predictable surge in disputes when the work turns out shoddy or the contractor disappears. The 2024 and 2025 storm seasons left enough unresolved claims that the courts are still processing them; new ones roll in every fall.
The post-summer lease cycle drives security deposit disputes simultaneously. Leases that ended July 31 or August 31 trigger the landlord’s 30-day return clock under Texas Property Code §92.107. September is exactly when that clock expires and residents discover they’re not getting their money back. The Q3 estimated tax deadline on September 15 adds another pressure point: cash-squeezed small landlords don’t rush to write deposit refund checks.
Texas JP court gives plaintiffs real power. Under Texas Government Code §28.003, Justice of the Peace courts have jurisdiction over civil claims up to $20,000, excluding interest, statutory damages, and court costs — enough to cover the overwhelming majority of contractor and landlord disputes in Houston.
Here’s what makes the security deposit fight genuinely worth having. Under Texas Property Code §92.109, a landlord who wrongfully withholds a security deposit in bad faith owes three times the withheld amount, plus the deposit itself, plus $100, plus the tenant’s reasonable attorney’s fees. In plain numbers: a landlord who kept a $3,000 deposit without cause and acted in bad faith can be on the hook for $12,100 before attorney’s fees. A $5,000 withheld deposit can yield $15,100 or more. The landlord’s failure to send an itemized deduction list within 30 days of move-out is strong evidence of bad faith — and a surprising number of landlords simply don’t send one, apparently banking on tenants not knowing what that omission costs them. For more on what tenants can do when landlords stonewall, see our legal & finance coverage of Houston renter and small-business disputes.
For contractor fraud, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act allows a consumer to recover three times economic damages if the contractor’s conduct was knowing or intentional. Doing electrical, HVAC, or plumbing work without pulling a City of Houston permit is an independent DTPA violation on its own. Know your multiplier before you file. It determines whether the fight is worth the filing fee.
Find Your Precinct First
Harris County has eight Justice of the Peace precincts, each with multiple places (numbered courts within the precinct). The precinct boundaries are geographic. File in the wrong one and you face dismissal.
The venue rule most filers miss: you have a choice. Texas law lets you file either where the defendant lives or does business, or where the work was performed or the rental property sits. If a contractor based in Spring did bad roofing work on your house in Meyerland, you can file in Precinct 5. Most people don’t know this, and it matters when the defendant is inconveniently located.
Precinct 1 covers central Houston — Downtown, Midtown, Montrose, Third Ward, the East End, parts of the Heights. ZIP codes include 77002, 77003, 77004, 77006, 77009, and 77011. This is the county’s highest-volume JP court. If your lease dispute involves a Midtown apartment or your contractor worked on a property inside the Loop, Precinct 1 is almost certainly your venue, and the wait times reflect the volume.
Precinct 2 covers northeast Houston: Galena Park, Jacinto City, Channelview, Deer Park area. ZIP codes include 77013, 77015, 77029, 77044, and 77049. Note that some eastern ZIP codes — particularly around 77049 — sit in documented overlap zones with Precinct 8 and require verification before you file.
Precinct 3 covers northwest Harris County: Jersey Village, Cypress, the Katy portion of Harris County. ZIP codes include 77040, 77041, 77065, 77070, 77084, and 77433.
Precinct 4 covers the north: Spring, Kingwood, Atascocita, Humble, Woodlands-adjacent areas. ZIP codes include 77338, 77339, 77346, 77373, 77379, 77380, and 77386. Post-storm contractor disputes from 2024 and 2025 are heavily concentrated here, where most of the residential construction and insurance-adjacent roofing work occurred.
Precinct 5 covers the west: Bellaire, West Houston, Meyerland, Westchase, portions of Memorial. ZIP codes include 77025, 77035, 77036, 77042, 77063, 77074, 77077, 77081, and 77096.
Precinct 6 covers South Houston, Pasadena, La Porte, Deer Park, and the Harris County portion of Pearland. ZIP codes include 77017, 77034, 77058, 77061, 77075, and 77089.
Precinct 7 covers Southwest Houston, the Harris County portion of Missouri City, Alief, and the Harris County portion of Stafford. ZIP codes include 77031, 77045, 77053, 77071, 77072, 77082, 77083, and 77099.
Precinct 8 covers the far east: Baytown, Highlands, Crosby, Galena Park, and the Harris County portion of La Marque. ZIP codes include 77015, 77049, 77520, 77521, and 77523.
Precinct boundaries shift with redistricting, and the overlap between Precincts 2 and 8 in the eastern ZIP codes is a documented point of confusion. Don’t guess. Use the Harris County precinct finder at harriscountytx.gov or call the clerk’s office directly before you file. Getting it wrong costs you the filing fee and weeks.
One resource worth knowing before you go anywhere near a courthouse: the Harris County Law Library at 1019 Congress Ave., 10th floor. It’s free, open to the public, and staffed by people who have seen every variant of contractor and landlord dispute that flows through Houston’s JP courts. They won’t give you legal advice, but they’ll tell you whether your forms are right and whether you’re standing in front of the right courthouse. Most Houston residents have never used it. They’re missing out.
The 2026 Filing Fees
JP court filing fees in Harris County vary by precinct. Verify the exact amount with your precinct clerk before you go — these figures reflect the 2026 schedule as filed, and precincts occasionally update mid-year.
For claims up to $10,000, filing fees run $46 to $54 depending on precinct. For claims between $10,001 and $20,000, expect $54 to $75.
Those fees cover the filing itself. Service of process is separate, and it’s worth doing right. Constable service runs $75 to $85 per defendant. It’s the most reliable method, full stop. The constable creates a return of service the court can rely on; certified mail creates room for disputes about whether delivery actually happened.
Certified mail costs $15 to $20, but it fails if the defendant refuses delivery or isn’t home to sign. A contractor who knows a lawsuit is coming will often just not answer the door — and then you’ve lost time and still need constable service. On a claim under $10,000 with a single defendant served by constable, your realistic out-of-pocket before the hearing is $125 to $140. If you prevail, you can ask the court to include those costs in your judgment.
How to File
The JP court petition form is available through Texas Law Help at texaslawhelp.org. It asks for the plaintiff’s and defendant’s full legal names and addresses, the amount claimed, and a brief statement of why you’re owed money. Straightforward — but the naming step is where more pro se cases break down than any procedural error.
If the contractor operates as an LLC — “Lone Star Roofing LLC,” for example — you must name the registered entity, not the owner personally. Suing “John Smith” when the contract was with “Lone Star Roofing LLC” creates a judgment against the wrong party. Look up the correct legal entity name at the Texas Secretary of State’s business search at sos.state.tx.us before you write anything on the petition.
Pay the filing fee at the clerk’s window. Electronic filing through eFileTexas.gov is available in some precincts as of 2026, but not all. Call ahead before attempting remote filing. A failed e-filing attempt doesn’t preserve your filing date.
Serving the Defendant
A case cannot proceed until the defendant has been legally served. This is where self-represented plaintiffs most often stall or sink their own cases, and it’s almost always because they chose certified mail on a defendant who had every reason to avoid it.
After you file, the clerk issues a citation. Submit that citation to the precinct constable’s office with your service fee. The constable attempts personal delivery and returns proof of service to the court. That’s the process. Use it.
When serving an LLC or corporation, you can’t hand the papers to whoever answers the door at the business address. You must serve the entity’s registered agent — the person or company designated with the Texas Secretary of State to receive legal service on behalf of the business. Find the registered agent at sos.state.tx.us. If the listed agent has resigned without a replacement, or the company’s registration is lapsed, you can serve the Texas Secretary of State directly under Texas Business Organizations Code §5.251, which then forwards service to the company. Slower, but legally valid.
One more thing: a properly served defendant who doesn’t show up is not automatically off the hook. The judge will still require basic evidence — your contract, payment records, photos — before entering a default judgment. Bring your full evidence package regardless.
How Long Until Your Hearing
From filing to hearing, wait times vary. Precinct 1, the county’s busiest JP court, runs six to twelve weeks — longer after major storm events. Precinct 8 in Baytown has historically moved faster, four to eight weeks, though volume has risen with recent storm seasons. Precinct 5 in West Houston generally falls in the six-to-ten-week range.
Call your precinct clerk to ask about current waits before counting on any of those numbers. Staffing, judicial vacancies, and case volume all shift the timeline, and a bad hurricane season can back things up for months.
What to Bring to the Hearing
JP court judges move quickly. Everything you say should be backed by something you can hand across. Come organized.
Contractor disputes
The signed contract or written estimate is your starting point. If you never signed anything — common with small contractors — your text message chain constitutes a binding agreement under Texas law. Print the full thread, with dates and phone numbers visible.
Bring proof of payment: bank statements, Zelle screenshots, cashier’s check stubs, credit card statements. If you paid cash, note any receipts or witnesses.
Timestamped photos of incomplete or defective work matter enormously. Your phone’s camera embeds the date in the metadata. Shoot wide for context, close for the specific defect.
Print every written communication — texts, emails, voicemail transcripts. If the contractor promised to return and finish, that promise is evidence.
Get three independent repair estimates from licensed contractors on company letterhead. These establish your actual damages. A judge wants to see a real number, not a figure you arrived at on your own.
Pull permit records from the City of Houston Permit Office or Harris County Engineering Department. Unpermitted HVAC, electrical, or plumbing work is a standalone DTPA violation. If your contractor skipped the permit, bring documentation. For more context on what Houston contractors are and aren’t required to hold, see “Does Houston Require a General Contractor License and What Should You Check Instead”.
Check the contractor’s TDLR license status at tdlr.texas.gov. HVAC, electrical, and plumbing work requires state licensing. An unlicensed contractor doing licensed work is another DTPA flag, and the lookup takes ninety seconds.
Security deposit cases
Move-in and move-out photos with timestamps. The move-out photos are the most important thing you can have. If you photographed the unit the day you left, you have visual evidence of its condition.
Bring the entire lease.
Your written move-out notice with proof of delivery. Certified mail receipts are ideal. Email with a full header works. If you gave notice verbally only, the landlord’s attorney will say so.
Forwarding address documentation. Under Texas Property Code §92.107, the landlord’s 30-day return clock doesn’t start until you provide a forwarding address in writing. Bring proof you did — a text, email, or written notice. If you didn’t provide one, your claim still exists, but the timeline shifts and the landlord will raise this.
The landlord’s itemized deduction letter — or documentation it never arrived. A landlord who failed to send an itemized deductions list within 30 days has forfeited the right to withhold any portion of the deposit and faces the bad-faith multiplier. If you never received one, bring whatever you have showing that. If you did receive one, bring it so you can challenge specific line items.
Every communication about the deposit. Every text asking where your money is.
Can the Other Side Send a Non-Lawyer
Under Texas Government Code §28.012, an individual defendant must appear in person or send a licensed Texas attorney. A corporation or LLC may be represented by a genuine employee — not an outside consultant, hired advocate, or property management vendor acting on a third party’s behalf.
Large apartment management companies routinely send property managers or in-house staff to JP court. If you suspect the person across the room isn’t actually an employee of the defendant entity, you can raise it with the judge before testimony begins. Ask for verification of employment status. If the representative can’t establish they’re a genuine employee of the defendant, the judge can refuse to let them participate. It’s uncomfortable to do, but it’s a legitimate procedural question and judges take it seriously.
If the defendant shows up with a licensed attorney, don’t panic. JP judges are often more patient with pro se plaintiffs on procedure. And if you’re on a DTPA claim and you win, you’re entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees. A defendant who lawyers up and loses a DTPA case doesn’t just pay your damages — they pay your legal costs too. That calculus makes attorneys cautious about pushing hard on cases where the plaintiff’s claim is solid. I’ve seen contractors drop their opposition once they understood that math.
After the Judgment: How to Actually Collect
Winning a JP court judgment is not the same thing as receiving a check. Many guides stop at the verdict.
If the defendant pays voluntarily, you’re done. Many do — particularly landlords and small contractors who want to avoid further exposure.
If they don’t, you have real options. Return to the same JP court and request a writ of execution, which authorizes the precinct constable to seize the defendant’s non-exempt property: business equipment, vehicles, inventory. The constable sells it to satisfy the judgment. Bank account garnishment is also available. The constable charges a fee, which can be added to the judgment amount.
A JP court judgment can also be abstracted — formally recorded — in Harris County District Court. This creates a judicial lien against any real property the defendant owns in Harris County. If the contractor or landlord ever tries to sell or refinance, that lien has to be cleared first. For a contractor who owns their shop or a landlord with multiple properties, this is real pressure. It’s the enforcement mechanism that surprises people most, and it’s available to anyone who wins.
Post-judgment interest accrues on unpaid judgments under Texas law until the judgment is satisfied. Waiting costs the defendant more.
One critical check before any of this: verify the defendant’s current corporate status at sos.state.tx.us before you file. A judgment against a dissolved LLC with no remaining assets is legally valid and practically worthless. If the contractor terminated their entity and moved assets elsewhere, you’ll be chasing paper. If the company is active and operating, collection is realistic. If it’s been voluntarily dissolved, visit the Harris County Law Library before committing to filing fees. It’s a short trip and it may save you wasted money.
Before You File
The Harris County Law Library at 1019 Congress Ave., 10th floor, is free, open to the public, and stocked with the forms, practice guides, and references that pro se filers need. If you’re uncertain about your precinct, your damages calculation, your evidence package, or any of the procedural steps above, go there first. It’s the single most useful stop on this entire checklist, and it costs nothing.
The JP court system in Harris County is built to be accessible without an attorney. The procedure is real. The damages are real. A contractor who took your money and vanished, or a landlord banking on you not knowing your rights, isn’t betting on the law. They’re betting you won’t show up.
