And they are looking at taking possession in about a month.

This Holding Deposit will be applied to the non-refundable and security deposit when Applicant takes possession of the above-described unit.

When we evict someone we are actually evicting not just a tenant but anyone who is in POSSESSION of the house.I’m sure most of you have seen the movie Pacific Heights.

There were arrests for meth possession at that house and so it had to be tested  after the eviction and showed as positive.

Doing durgs is illegal,  possessing drugs is illegal, so I guess she broke the law right there. 

Possession of unit will not be granted before proof of transfer of utilities, proof of renter’s insurance liability policy, and any addendum documents (ex., pet records) are received, even if after listed lease start date

If you are in Williamson thet are much less likelyAn eviction in Texas in the vast majority of cases will takes less than 30 days including the Writ of Possession(If necessary).

I would charge them rent for the entire month of February if they were not out.In the future, consider a lease clause like this:TENANT HOLDOVER: If you or any occupants that were allowed access by you remain in possession of the Premises after the termination of this lease, you agree to pay a holdover fee at the daily rental rate (current monthly rent divided by 30) plus $10 for each day the rental unit is not legally surrendered.

Don't let him do anything to imply he has possession.

This excerpt is from the South Carolina landlord tenant act:“If the tenant does not sign and deliver a written rental agreement which has been signed and delivered to the tenant by the landlord, acceptance of possession and payment of rent without reservation gives the rental agreement the same effect as if it had been signed and delivered by the tenant”Unless I am mistaken, if this case was in South Carolina, her paying the new rent after you’ve delivered a signed lease would effectively bind her into the new lease, even if she didn’t return the lease signed.