Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Unless we have been sending notices on the 15th of each month as required in TX, then we do not have lien rights?

Unless we have been sending notices on the 15th of each month as required in TX, then we do not have lien rights?

Basing this off of the invoice dates and last day worked. Should those notices have been initiated in Sept? I know we could send an intent to lien. However, if the customer is knowledgeable in this area, he may simply challenge our stance. If that is the case, the demand letter would then be the next step.

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Mar 5, 2018

First, that's a great observation re: the Notice of Intent to Lien. In states where a Notice of Intent to Lien is a voluntary document, such as Texas, sending such a notice often spurs payment - even if a lien might not be an available option. Of course, as you noted, a savvy recipient might see through that notice. At that point, as you'd mentioned, escalating the dispute may be in order. Regarding when notice is required - Texas' notice requirements are a mess. Texas requires potential claimants to deliver a “monthly notice” by a certain time after each and every month in which they performed work for which they are not paid. This deadlines is always on the 15th day of the month, but which month varies by notice. It can be either 2 months or 3 months after the month in which the unpaid labor and/or materials were furnished depending on tier and project type. For subcontractors directly contracting with the prime contractor, 2nd month notices (sent to both the Owner and the prime) are only required for residential projects. On all other projects, only 3rd month notices are required - and they must be sent to both the prime and the owner as well. For subs not in direct contract with the prime, both 2nd month (sent only to the prime contractor) and 3rd month (sent to both the prime and the owner) notices will be required. We've got a lot of subject matter on these notices on the zlien site - feel free to check out this post on the topic, or this FAQ.

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