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Do I still have the right to file a lien claim in Texas if I did not list the GC a monthly notice?

TexasMonthly Notice

I sent a few monthly notices without the GC information for my jobs in Texas. Since I did not get paid I decided to move forward with filing a lien claim. This week I was contacted by an attorney the lien claims need to be removed because the gc was not listed on the monthly notice. My question is, do have lien rights if I did not mail a notice the gc?

1 reply

Apr 4, 2019

Good question. Let's look at (1) whether a general contractor must receive a monthly notice, then (2) whether a general contractor must be named on a monthly notice. In Texas, the monthly notice requirements for non-residential are established by § 53-056 of the Texas Property Code, and notice requirements for residential projects arise under § 53.252 of the code. Based on these sections, the notice required in order to preserve lien rights will vary a bit depending on project role. For nonresidential projects, those hired directly by the general contractor must send a 3rd month notice to both the owner and general contractor, and those hired by someone other than the general contraction must send a 2nd month notice to the general contractor, as well as a 3rd month notice to both the general contractor and the owner. As for what's on those notices, the Texas Property Code doesn't set particularly specific requirements for what must appear on Texas monthly notices. Generally, notice must state what amounts are owed and upaid, and they must also state that the owner may be personally liable and the owner's property may be subject to lien unless payment is withheld from the general contractor, or the claim is paid or settled. However, neither section specifically requires that the general contractor's name appear on the notice. Of course, including as much identifying information as possible is generally a good idea - that way, an owner or contractor in receipt of the notice can get a clear picture of where the payment failure took place (particularly, this can be helpful when the party sending notice was hired by someone other than the general contractor). This also supports the purpose of monthly notices - to prevent the ultimate filing of a lien claim. It sounds backwards, but when monthly notices include enough information to identify the root of payment issues, owners and their contractors can better suss out the cause of the problem and get the project (and payment) back on track before a lien filing takes place. For more information on Texas monthly notices and lien claims, this resource should be valuable: Texas Lien & Notice FAQs.

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