How to Get the Lights On After Eviction in Texas

You can get the lights on at your new place today, even with an eviction on your record, and in most cases without paying a deposit at all.

Texas deregulated its light market, which means you pick your own light company. That structure works in your favor right now. Plenty of light companies in Texas do not pull your credit and do not care about your rental history. The trick is knowing which ones.

What Happens When You Apply With an Eviction on Your Record

Most traditional postpaid light companies in Texas will run a credit check when you apply. An eviction, especially a recent one, can trigger a deposit requirement anywhere from $150 to $400. Some will flat-out deny you.

That is not a character judgment. It is how their underwriting model works. The market is set up to charge more from people with less. Knowing that makes it easier to route around.

You have two clean paths forward.

Path One: Prepaid Lights, No Credit Check, Lights On Same Day

Prepaid light companies in Texas do not check your credit. They do not ask about your rental history. They do not require a deposit.

Here is how pay-as-you-go lights work: you load money onto your account before you use the lights, the same way a prepaid phone works. When your balance gets low, you get a text or email alert. You add more money and keep the lights on.

What you need to apply:

• Your new address (must be in a deregulated Texas ZIP code)
• A government-issued ID
• Your Social Security number or ITIN
• A debit card or credit card to load your first balance

What it costs to start: Most prepaid light companies require a starting balance between $20 and $50. There is no deposit on top of that. That first payment is your lights balance, not a fee you lose.

How fast: Same-day lights are available in most Texas metros if you enroll before noon on a weekday. In some areas, same-day lights are available even on weekends. Your power comes on through Oncor, CenterPoint, or AEP depending on your area. The light company you sign up with sends the order to the utility and the switch happens the same day.

Where to start: Call or go online to one of the major prepaid light companies operating in Texas. Griddy is gone, but companies like Payless Power, Prepaid Electricity, and similar operators run prepaid service across most deregulated Texas ZIP codes. Confirm your address is in a deregulated zone first by entering your ZIP at powertochoose.org.

The honest tradeoff: Prepaid rates per kilowatt-hour can run slightly higher than the best locked-in postpaid rates. You are paying a small premium for the flexibility and the no-deposit access. For most people starting over after an eviction, that tradeoff is worth it. Once you are stable, you can reassess.

Path Two: No Deposit Postpaid Lights

Some postpaid light companies in Texas advertise no deposit lights for customers with limited or damaged credit. These plans work like a normal light bill: you get service for a month, then you pay after the fact.

The catch is that “no deposit” on a postpaid plan usually means the light company is taking on risk, and they may offset that with slightly higher rates or a smaller plan selection. Some use a soft credit pull. Others use a third-party scoring tool that weighs factors beyond your credit score.

This option makes more sense if you want the predictability of a monthly bill rather than managing a prepaid balance. It also tends to have slightly lower per-kilowatt rates than prepaid.

What to watch for: Read the contract length. Some no-deposit postpaid plans lock you into 12 months and charge an early termination fee if you leave. If your housing situation is still in flux, a month-to-month prepaid plan may give you more flexibility.

What You Need Ready Before You Call

Whichever path you take, have these four things ready before you pick up the phone or open the enrollment page:

1. Your new service address, including the apartment number
2. A photo ID, driver’s license or state ID
3. Your Social Security number or ITIN
4. A debit or credit card

If you are enrolling for same-day lights, call before noon local time on a weekday to be safe. Weekend same-day lights are possible but not guaranteed depending on your utility territory.

Your Next 30 Minutes

Go to powertochoose.org and type in your new ZIP code. Filter by “prepaid” to see which light companies serve your address with no-deposit, no-credit-check options. Pick one, click through to their site, and enroll. The whole process takes about 10 minutes online or by phone.

If you want same-day lights and it is already afternoon, call the light company directly instead of enrolling online. A live rep can sometimes push same-day orders through that the website cannot.

An eviction does not lock you out of the lights. It just means you need a different door. This is it.