In court-decided eviction outcomes for Four Corners, TX, tenants prevail in roughly 10.0% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
25d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Four Corners, TX until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 25 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$1.1-3.8k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Four Corners, TX costs landlords $1,132 to $3,789 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,519
46% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Four Corners, TX is $1,519 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 46% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
26.1%
of households
26.1% of occupied housing units in Four Corners, TX are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
8.8%
6.6% unemp.
8.8% of Four Corners, TX residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 6.6%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
Dem margin +1.6% (2024)
6.0
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
6.0
State political climate
Texas legislature & governorship
1.5
Economic stress
8.8% poverty · 6.6% unemp.
6.2
Supply constraint
$1,519 average · 26.1% renters
7.2
Rent Control risk
45.5% of income on rent
9.2
Eviction process difficulty
25 days filing → judgment
1.8
Tenant organizing strength
26.1% renters
5.8
Housing court bias
County bench composition
7.0
Geographic context
Risk heat across Four Corners and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Four Corners compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Fort Bend County
Very High
#1of 27 cities
#1 of 27 cities in Fort Bend County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Texas
Very High
#53of 1,841 cities
#53 of 1,841 cities in Texas for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
3.8
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 3.8/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a slow, steady climb.
50-yr trend+1.6 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steady ratchet · no large swings
25d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,519/mo. A contested eviction takes 25 days and costs $1,132-$3,789 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
26.1%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 11,692 residents, 26.1% rent. 46% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 8.8% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
6
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 6 and 6 (Dem margin +1.6% (2024)). State climate at 1.5, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
1.5
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 1.5/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 1.8, housing court bias 7, rent-control risk 9.2. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-3.2 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
6.2
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 6.2. Supply constraint: 7.2. The numbers behind those: 8.8% poverty, 6.6% unemployment, 46% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Four Corners sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Four Corners · 25d · ~$2.5k all-in ($98/day) · score 3.8National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0-4 4-7 7-10
Landlording in Four Corners, Texas, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3.8/10 (LOW tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Four Corners is a city of 11,692 residents where 26.1% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 45.5% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,519/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Four Corners eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 1.8/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Four Corners closes 25 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Four Corners's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 7/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Four Corners runs $1,132 to $3,789 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1-2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 25 days of typical timeline and $1,519/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 5.8/10 in Four Corners, and the city sits at the top of the rent control risk spectrum (9.2/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Texas, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Four Corners: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a LOW tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Texas's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $3,789 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Four Corners
Trap · 9.2/10
Comparative benchmarking matters in markets like this. Four Corners's 5.9/10 is near the Texas state average. Rent-control-risk sub-score: 9.2/10. See the nearby cities grid below for direct A-vs-B comparison.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
What if my tenant pays after I've filed for eviction but before the court date?
In Texas, if the tenant pays all past due rent, late fees, and court costs before the court hearing, you generally have to accept it and dismiss the eviction case. Your lease should clearly define what constitutes full payment to avoid disputes.
Q2
Can I turn off utilities if my tenant isn't paying rent?
Absolutely not. That's illegal in Texas and can lead to serious penalties, including damages and attorney fees for the tenant. You must follow the legal eviction process. Self-help evictions are a major mistake.
Q3
How long does an eviction appeal take in Four Corners?
If a tenant appeals a Justice Court eviction judgment to the County Court, it can add several weeks or even months to the process. They typically have 5 days to appeal. They may also be required to pay a supersedeas bond or monthly rent into the court registry while the appeal is pending. This is one of the reasons why the overall timeline can vary.
Q4
Do I need a lawyer for an eviction in Four Corners?
While you can represent yourself in Justice Court, with a 5.9/10 eviction risk score and a 7.0 housing-court bias, it's highly recommended to consult or hire an attorney, especially if the tenant is contesting the eviction or you're unsure about any step of the process. An attorney can save you time and money in the long run by preventing costly mistakes.
Q5
What if the tenant leaves property behind after an eviction?
After a lawful lockout, you must store the tenant's property for at least 30 days. You must also notify the tenant by mail where their property is stored. If they don't claim it, you can dispose of it or sell it, using the proceeds to cover storage costs. Check Tex. Prop. Code § 24.0061 for specifics on handling abandoned property.
A 3.8/10 places Four Corners in the 98th percentile of Texas cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has climbed steadily since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Neighborhoods in Four Corners (1 with eviction-risk data)
Click a neighborhood to see its pop-weighted score, constituent census tracts, and demographics. Sorted by population.
