Burnet County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Burnet County, Texas eviction laws posts a county-wide average eviction-risk score of 2.1/10, placing it in the Low risk tier across its 10 incorporated cities. With 85 Texas counties carrying higher risk and 168 that are less risky, Burnet County sits in the middle third of the state, meaning landlords here operate in genuinely favorable conditions compared to the majority of Texas markets, though it is not the most insulated county in the state either. The average rent of $1,305 and a rent burden of 31.5% suggest a tenant base that is financially stretched but not overwhelmed, and a 9.2% poverty rate keeps default pressure relatively contained.

The intra-county range runs from 1.4 to 2.5, a spread that matters for investors comparing specific submarkets. At a total population of roughly 26,610, the county is small enough that individual city dynamics drive outcomes more than county-level trends. Roughly 33% of residents rent, so while the tenant pool is real, ownership skews heavily toward homeowners, which can limit vacancy turnover and rent-growth upside but also dampens the tenant-turnover risk that raises eviction frequency in denser urban markets.

The cities inside Burnet County

Marble Falls carries the highest score in the county at 2.5/10, and with a population of 7,752 it is also the county's largest city, making it the single most consequential submarket for landlords to underwrite carefully. Cottonwood Shores follows at 2.3/10, and Granite Shoals, Bertram, and Meadowlakes all land at 2.2/10. None of these figures represent alarming risk in absolute terms, but they do sit above the county average, so investors concentrating in Marble Falls should not assume the county-wide 2.1 headline applies at the property level.

At the lower end, Double Horn scores 1.4/10, the lowest in the county, and the city of Burnet scores 1.5/10 against a population of 6,732, making it both large and low-risk by local standards. Tow comes in at 1.6/10 and Briggs at 1.8/10. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: the gap between Double Horn at 1.4 and Marble Falls at 2.5 is more than a full point on the same 10-point scale, and that difference can translate directly to differences in tenant quality, vacancy frequency, and eventual eviction exposure.

State-level laws that apply here

Texas state law under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 requires only a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment of rent (including habitually delinquent tenants), lease violations, and holdover situations, which is among the shortest statutory notice windows in the country. Squatters and unauthorized occupants can be removed with 0-day notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011, as amended by SB-38. These short notice periods give Texas landlords an early advantage in the eviction timeline. Understanding the full Texas eviction process is still essential, because once a notice period expires and a suit is filed, an uncontested case runs 21 to 30 days and a contested case can run 45 to 90 days.

On the cost side, court filing fees range from $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney fees, if retained, run $500 to $3,500, making total eviction costs span a wide range depending on how the case proceeds. Texas eviction costs are therefore manageable at the low end but can climb meaningfully in contested scenarios. Texas imposes no just-cause requirement for non-renewal, no rent control, and state law explicitly preempts any local rent control ordinance under TX Local Gov Code § 214.902, ensuring landlords countywide face a uniform, owner-friendly statutory environment. For tenant screening obligations and fair housing compliance, the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division is the relevant state agency. Landlords should also review Texas tenant protections and anti-retaliation rules under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331, and habitability requirements under § 92.052, before drafting leases.

With a 9.2% poverty rate and 33% of residents renting, Burnet County's financial profile keeps systemic eviction pressure low, and the city grid above breaks that picture down to the specific cities, scores, and populations that actually drive landlord outcomes across the county's 10 markets.