Tom Green County Texas Landlord-Tenant Law: Renting in San Angelo and the Concho Valley
Tom Green County and its county seat San Angelo occupy a distinctive place in the Texas rental landscape. The city is a regional capital in the truest sense: it is the commercial, medical, educational, and cultural hub of a 13-county area of west-central Texas that includes some of the most sparsely populated terrain in the state. San Angelo sits at the convergence of the North, Middle, and South Concho rivers on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau, a geographic position that has made it a natural gathering point for ranchers, traders, military forces, and eventually the diverse economic mix that characterizes the city today. The county covers 1,522 square miles — larger than the state of Rhode Island — and holds a population of approximately 120,000, with the vast majority concentrated in San Angelo itself.
For landlords, Tom Green County presents an opportunity defined by affordability and stability rather than growth trajectory. Average one-bedroom rents in San Angelo run approximately $942–$958/month — significantly below both the Texas statewide average and the national average, and among the lowest of any city of San Angelo’s size in the state. This is not a market driven by metro spillover or tech migration; it is a self-contained regional economy whose rental demand is anchored by the four pillars of Goodfellow Air Force Base, Shannon Medical Center, Angelo State University, and a diversified manufacturing and agricultural sector that includes the city’s internationally recognized role as the world’s largest wool and mohair processing center. Each of these pillars generates a stable, predictable tenant base with distinct characteristics that a well-informed landlord can target and serve effectively.
Four Courts Across 1,522 Square Miles
Tom Green County operates four Justice of the Peace courts, one per precinct, distributed to serve the county’s vast geographic area. Precinct 1 operates from 122 W. Harris, Room 8, in downtown San Angelo and handles the central city core evictions. Precinct 2 is located at 5006 Knickerbocker Road in the southeastern portion of San Angelo near the Goodfellow Air Force Base corridor, with hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Precinct 3, currently presided over by Judge Stacye Speck who took office in 2023, serves another geographic quadrant of San Angelo and can be reached at (325) 657-9922. Precinct 4, at (325) 659-6424, serves the rural and eastern portions of the county including the communities of Grape Creek and points east.
The mandatory Texas rule applies as always: file an eviction in the wrong precinct and the case must be dismissed. For San Angelo landlords, whose properties likely fall in Precincts 1, 2, or 3 depending on which part of the city the property is located, confirm your precinct using the county’s precinct map at tomgreencountytx.gov before every filing. Note that Precinct 2’s hours close at 3:00 PM, earlier than many Texas JP courts — plan any afternoon filings or follow-up visits accordingly. Confirm all current procedures with the courts given the major Texas eviction law changes that took effect January 1, 2026.
Goodfellow Air Force Base: The Military Tenant Ecosystem
Goodfellow Air Force Base, located on the southeastern edge of San Angelo, is the county’s single largest employer and one of the most economically significant military installations in Texas. The base hosts the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance training school — one of the primary facilities in the Air Force where intelligence analysts, cryptologic linguists, and signals intelligence specialists receive their technical training. This mission means that Goodfellow’s rotating student and permanent party population tends to be younger, highly educated, and security-cleared — characteristics that translate into a reliable, professionally oriented tenant base in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The military rental market around Goodfellow requires landlords to understand and respect the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA provides active-duty servicemembers the right to terminate a residential lease early upon receiving permanent change of station (PCS) orders or deployment orders for 90+ days. The termination process requires 30 days’ written notice and a copy of orders, after which the lease terminates 30 days after the next rent due date. This right cannot be waived by lease language — any lease clause purporting to eliminate SCRA protections is unenforceable. Landlords who attempt to hold military tenants to lease terms in violation of SCRA face federal liability that can include actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
On the positive side, military tenants generally represent a lower-risk tenant profile in important ways. Military pay is direct-deposited on a predictable schedule and is not subject to the employment volatility that affects private-sector tenants during economic downturns. Military housing allowances (BAH) are calibrated to local market rents, providing financial support specifically designated for housing costs. Military culture emphasizes orderliness and maintenance. Security clearances require clean financial backgrounds. And while PCS-triggered early terminations are a real vacancy risk, they are also predictable in their process — a landlord who plans for them will experience them as a managed operational reality rather than a crisis.
Angelo State University: The Academic Rental Market
Angelo State University, a member of the Texas Tech University System, enrolls approximately 10,000+ students and is a major driver of rental demand in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding its campus on Johnson Street. The College Hills neighborhood is San Angelo’s most student-oriented rental area, with the densest concentration of off-campus housing catering to ASU students who prefer the proximity of campus walking distance to the commute from more distant parts of the city. Average one-bedroom rents in the College Hills area run approximately $700 — among the most affordable in the city and well-suited to the student budget.
The ASU rental market operates on the standard Texas university town cycle: lease-signing peaks in spring for August occupancy, summer occupancy is lower, and turnover concentrates in May and August. Student tenants without independent income or whose income consists of financial aid disbursements, parental support, or part-time employment require written guarantor agreements. Guarantors should be screened for creditworthiness and income with the same rigor applied to principal tenants. Howard College, a community college that operates in San Angelo, adds a modest additional educational rental demand component, particularly from students in vocational and technical programs.
Healthcare and the Shannon Medical Center Corridor
Shannon Medical Center, the county’s largest hospital and a major regional healthcare facility serving the 13-county Concho Valley area, anchors the healthcare sector that is San Angelo’s most stable non-military employer base. Shannon’s physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals represent a counter-cyclical tenant pool whose income is not sensitive to the agricultural commodity cycles or military rotation patterns that characterize the rest of the market. Rental properties in good condition within reasonable distance of the Shannon campus and the surrounding medical office corridors attract healthcare workers who prioritize quality of housing and proximity to work over price sensitivity.
The combination of Goodfellow AFB military tenants, ASU student tenants, and Shannon-area healthcare tenants creates a market where a landlord who understands each segment can build a portfolio that is diversified across the county’s economic drivers. This is a meaningful structural advantage: when oil prices affect West Texas broadly, San Angelo’s non-energy economic base provides stability. When military rotation causes vacancies at Goodfellow-adjacent properties, the healthcare and university markets continue. The diversification is not accidental — it reflects San Angelo’s deliberate development as a multi-sector regional hub over more than a century of growth.
Fort Concho, the Concho River Walk, and San Angelo’s Character
San Angelo’s physical and cultural character is defined by its rivers and its frontier history. Fort Concho, the remarkably well-preserved Army frontier post from which San Angelo grew, is a National Historic Landmark that anchors the city’s historic district and attracts significant tourism. The Concho River Walk, a 10-mile riverfront trail and plaza system running through downtown, is one of the most underappreciated urban amenities in Texas and has catalyzed significant downtown residential and commercial investment in recent years. The city’s collection of three lakes — Twin Buttes Reservoir, O.C. Fisher Reservoir, and Lake Nasworthy — provides outdoor recreation access that supports a modest but genuine vacation and short-term rental market for fishing and watersports visitors.
Security deposits in Tom Green County typically run one month’s rent — approximately $940–$960 for a one-bedroom citywide, somewhat less in the most affordable student-area neighborhoods. Texas law requires return with itemized accounting within 30 days of surrender. The bad-faith penalty of $100 plus three times the withheld amount applies at the same level regardless of how modest the market rents are. Document unit conditions thoroughly at move-in and move-out, process deposits promptly, and send accounting by certified mail within the statutory window. San Angelo’s JP courts are experienced and efficient; landlords who arrive with clean notice delivery records and thorough documentation generally move through the eviction process without significant complications.
This page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Texas landlord-tenant law changed significantly on January 1, 2026. Confirm current procedures with the appropriate Tom Green County Justice of the Peace Court before filing. Military tenants at Goodfellow AFB may have SCRA early termination rights that cannot be waived by lease language. Evictions filed in the wrong precinct will be dismissed — verify your precinct at tomgreencountytx.gov before filing. Note that Precinct 2 closes at 3:00 PM. Consult a licensed Texas attorney for specific guidance. Last updated: March 2026.
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