Johnson County Texas Landlord-Tenant Law: Renting in Cleburne, Burleson, and the Southwest DFW Frontier
Johnson County occupies a distinctive position in the Texas rental landscape: it is simultaneously one of the most affordable counties in the entire Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex and a genuine DFW suburb that is experiencing the same growth pressures pushing population and development southwestward from Tarrant County. Cleburne, the county seat, made headlines in a late 2025 rental market analysis as having the lowest one-bedroom median rent of any city in the DFW MSA — a figure around $1,000/month that reflects the city’s distance from the metro core and its independent economic identity rooted in manufacturing, the railroad, and regional healthcare. Burleson, at the opposite end of the county’s price spectrum, sits at the I-35W edge of the metro and commands rents of $1,250–$1,330/month for one-bedrooms — well within the DFW suburban range. The result is a county that offers genuine investment opportunities at both ends of the market, provided a landlord understands which market they are actually operating in.
Four Courts, Four Precincts: Filing Correctly Across a Geographically Spread County
Johnson County operates four Justice of the Peace courts, one per precinct, spread across its 729 square miles of north central Texas terrain. Precinct 1 and Precinct 4 both operate from the Johnson County Courthouse at 2 North Main Street in Cleburne, reflecting the county seat’s centrality to the county’s judicial administration. Precinct 2 serves the Burleson area from a sub-courthouse at 247 Elk Drive, Suite 107, in Burleson — a practical necessity given that Burleson is the county’s most populous city and its geographic distance from the Cleburne courthouse. Precinct 3 serves the Alvarado area from a sub-courthouse at 206 North Baugh Street in Alvarado.
Precinct 3 carries an important operational note that distinguishes it from the other Johnson County courts: it is open Monday through Thursday only and is closed every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All payments and paperwork must be submitted by 4:00 PM. Landlords who need to file an eviction for a property in the Alvarado precinct should plan their filing timeline accordingly — a filing window that might be four days per week at other courts is only three days per week here. Confirm current hours directly with the court before filing.
As with all Texas counties, filing an eviction in the wrong precinct requires mandatory dismissal. Use the Johnson County precinct map at johnsoncountytx.org to confirm the correct precinct for your specific property address before every filing. Johnson County also requires attorneys to e-file with its Justice Courts — if you are retaining counsel for an eviction, confirm e-filing requirements with your attorney before submission.
The Burleson / Tarrant County Line: A Critical Filing Hazard
The single most operationally important geographic fact about Johnson County for landlords is that Burleson straddles the county line between Johnson County and Tarrant County. The northern portions of the City of Burleson — including significant residential development north of Alsbury Boulevard — are in Tarrant County, not Johnson County. The southern portions are in Johnson County. A landlord who owns property in Burleson and assumes it is automatically in Johnson County may be filing in the completely wrong county, not just the wrong precinct. A wrong-county filing in an eviction proceeding is not correctable by precinct transfer — the case must be dismissed and refiled from scratch in the correct county’s court.
Before filing any eviction for a Burleson property, confirm the county first. This can be done through the Johnson County precinct map tool, through the Tarrant County property search at tad.org, or by reviewing the property’s tax statement, which will identify the county. Once you have confirmed the county, then confirm the precinct within that county. Burleson properties in Tarrant County are served by Tarrant County JP courts and constables, which operate under entirely different procedures from Johnson County’s courts.
Cleburne: The Most Affordable DFW MSA City
Cleburne’s position as the most affordable rental city in the DFW Metropolitan Statistical Area is a function of its distance from the metro core, its independent economic identity, and its historical development pattern as a manufacturing and railroad town rather than a suburban bedroom community. The city was built around the Fort Worth & Denver Railway’s operations and spent most of the twentieth century as a diversified industrial and agricultural service center with its own internal economy. That heritage persists: Cleburne today has a manufacturing sector (including major facilities in metal fabrication, food processing, and rail-related manufacturing), a regional healthcare presence centered on AdventHealth Cleburne, and Tarleton State University’s presence in Stephenville just 45 miles west providing some educational spillover demand.
For investors, Cleburne offers something genuinely scarce in the DFW metro context: affordable acquisition prices, stable blue-collar tenant demand, and a market that is not fully in competition with the suburban apartment complexes that define the Burleson, Mansfield, and Crowley markets. A well-maintained single-family rental home or small multifamily property in Cleburne can generate cash flow that the mid-tier DFW suburbs no longer offer because acquisition prices in those markets have run far ahead of rents. The tradeoff is lower appreciation potential and a tenant pool that is more economically sensitive during downturns than the professional commuter markets further north.
The typical Cleburne tenant is a working adult or working family employed in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, or skilled trades. Income verification is generally straightforward, and the market does not have the high-turnover, high-drama characteristics of student markets or the income volatility of heavily contract-dependent industrial markets. Tenants in Cleburne tend to be established residents of the community with school-aged children, community ties, and a practical interest in stability. A landlord who maintains the property and responds to maintenance requests promptly will generally see longer tenancies and fewer eviction proceedings than in higher-turnover markets.
Burleson: The DFW Commuter Market
The Johnson County portion of Burleson presents a very different market from Cleburne. Burleson has grown explosively over the past two decades as development pushed south from Fort Worth along the I-35W corridor, and the tenant demographic reflects that growth: young families, working professionals, and skilled-trade workers who commute north to Fort Worth or to employment centers along the Alliance and Southside corridors. One-bedroom apartment rents in Burleson run $1,250–$1,330, and single-family rental homes command premium prices among families seeking specific school districts.
Burleson ISD serves most of the Burleson area and has a strong community reputation that drives single-family rental demand from families seeking to establish themselves in the school district before committing to homeownership. Three-bedroom single-family rental homes with fenced yards in good condition are the premium product in the Burleson Johnson County submarket, particularly in established neighborhoods with mature trees and proximity to Burleson’s retail and dining corridors on Alsbury Boulevard and Renfro Street.
The Southern Growth Corridor: Joshua, Venus, and Godley
The communities of Joshua, Venus, and Godley in central and southern Johnson County represent the county’s current growth frontier. Joshua in particular has grown significantly as residential development spreads south from Burleson and Cleburne along the US-174 and I-35W corridors. New subdivisions in the Joshua area are attracting young families who work in Fort Worth or Cleburne and are seeking newer construction at affordable prices. Venus, further south, is experiencing similar new-construction activity along the US-67 corridor.
For landlords, the opportunity in this growth corridor is real but the competition from new construction is relevant. Builders in Joshua and Venus have been active, and new apartment communities and single-family-for-rent developments are entering the market. Older rental stock needs to compete on price, condition, or proximity to employment centers. The tenant demographic in these communities is similar to the broader Johnson County suburban market — working families, young couples, and entry-level professionals — and tends toward stable, multi-year tenancies.
Security Deposits Across Johnson County’s Dual Market
At Burleson’s rent levels of $1,250–$1,330 for a one-bedroom, security deposits typically run one month’s rent — approximately $1,250–$1,350. At Cleburne’s lower rent levels of around $1,000, deposits typically run $900–$1,100. Texas law requires return with itemized accounting within 30 days of surrender regardless of submarket. The bad-faith penalty of $100 plus three times the wrongfully withheld amount creates real financial exposure at either price level. Document unit conditions with dated photos at move-in and move-out, perform inspections promptly on the day of surrender, and mail accounting by certified mail within the 30-day window. Johnson County courts process evictions efficiently; landlords who arrive with clean documentation and properly served notices typically move through the process without significant delay.
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 Johnson County Justice of the Peace Court before filing. Evictions filed in the wrong precinct — or the wrong county, particularly in Burleson — will be dismissed. Verify your county and precinct at johnsoncountytx.org before filing. Attorneys must e-file with Johnson County Justice Courts. Consult a licensed Texas attorney for specific guidance. Last updated: March 2026.
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