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How soon do i have to wait to lien a project after the first notice in Texas for a commercial job?

We have 2 projects with the same gc & owner. the gc has not paid nov, dec, jan & retainage on one project, & is b/c us for item that do not pertain to us. a notice on 2/2/19 for nov, and my boss wants me to lien the project. how do i proceed with dec, jan, retainage notices, without having to wait months out to lien the project. on the second project we only have retainage pending, notice was sent on 2/2/19 as well.

1 reply

Feb 4, 2019

Notice and lien requirements in Texas are complex and tricky. The specific notices and deadlines required can change depending on the claimant's tier on the project. Parties who do not contract with the property owner are required to send a notice for each month in which they furnished labor or materials, and for which they remain unpaid. Parties who contract with the GC directly are required to send the monthly notice by the 15th day of the third month following each month in which labor or material was furnished and unpaid, and parties who contract with a subcontractor must send monthly notice by the 15th of both the second and third month following each month in which unpaid labor/materials were furnished.

Note, however, that these deadlines represent the last possible date by which the notices could be property sent. Texas statutes hold that the notice(s) must be sent not later than the applicable deadline. There is nothing keeping a potential lien claimant from delivering notices much earlier, and proceeding with the lien.

It is sometimes beneficial to also send a notice of intent to lien, as well as the monthly notices, prior to filing the lien itself in an attempt to hurry along payment without needing to resort to the final lien step.

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