A mechanic's lien is the tool Texas law gives contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers to secure payment for work that improves real property. When the lien is properly perfected, it attaches to the property itself, and the owner may find that title cannot be conveyed or refinanced until the claim is resolved.
Texas has one of the more technical lien statutes in the country. Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code sets strict deadlines for notices and affidavits, and the deadlines differ for original contractors, subcontractors, residential projects, and commercial projects. A claimant who misses a notice by a single day may lose the lien entirely, and an owner who ignores a timely notice may end up paying twice for the same work.
Whether you are an owner who has received a lien affidavit, a contractor who has not been paid, or a lender funding a project, the questions are the same: was the lien perfected, what does it attach to, and how is it enforced or removed. Below is an outline of each.
For contractors and suppliers: perfecting the lien
An original contractor with a direct contract with the owner perfects a lien by recording a lien affidavit in the county where the property sits, generally by the fifteenth day of the fourth month after the month the contract was completed, terminated, or abandoned, with a shorter deadline of the third month for residential projects. Subcontractors and suppliers must first send written notice of the unpaid amount to the owner and the original contractor by the fifteenth day of the third month after each month in which labor or materials were furnished, and then record the affidavit. The affidavit must be sworn, must describe the property and the work, and must be served on the owner within five days of recording. Errors in any of these steps are the most common reason a lien fails.
For owners: responding to and removing a lien
An owner who receives a subcontractor's notice should withhold, or retain, funds from the original contractor in the amount claimed, because payment to the contractor after notice does not protect the owner against the subcontractor's lien. Texas also requires the owner to hold back ten percent of the contract price for thirty days after completion as statutory retainage, which creates a fund for lien claimants. If a lien has been recorded, the owner can demand that the claimant file suit within a set period, can file a summary motion to remove an invalid lien, or can post a bond to indemnify against the lien so that the property is released and the dispute moves to the bond. A lien claimant who records a lien that is fraudulent or grossly inflated faces statutory liability.
For lenders: protecting the loan
A construction lender's deed of trust generally has priority over mechanic's liens only if it was recorded before the work began, and a lien claimant may argue that visible work on the site started earlier than the lender believes. Lenders should review lien waivers, payment applications, and contractor agreements before each disbursement, use the statutory conditional and unconditional waiver forms, and consider joint checks or direct payment to subcontractors where the general contractor's payment record is uncertain. Even where the lender has no contract with the claimant, a recorded lien clouds title, delays closing, and can force a payoff at sale. Diligence at each draw is the lender's best protection.
Key Takeaways
A perfected mechanic's lien attaches to the property, and Texas deadlines for notices and affidavits are strict.
Subcontractors and suppliers must give timely notice to the owner before recording; owners who receive notice should retain funds.
Owners can remove an invalid lien by summary motion or release the property by posting a bond.
Lenders protect priority by recording before work begins and by collecting proper waivers at every draw.
