Menu
Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>What is the deadline for our Material Supplier to file Lien on one of our Non-Residential projects?

What is the deadline for our Material Supplier to file Lien on one of our Non-Residential projects?

TexasLien Deadlines

We have a Material Supplier that is stating their legal department claims they must file Lien on a Non-Residential project "within 30 days of the Substantial Completion Date". From my research this is not correct. Furthermore, we are a finish trade Subcontractor and rarely are we even complete with Punch and off a job within 30 days of the Substantial Completion Date. Then, there may be multiple Change Orders that keep us on that job even longer, which means we will still be purchasing materials allotted to the project. Sometimes, by the time we are provided a Substantial Completion Date from the GC, it could already be well past 30 days of the date specified. If this Supplier starts filing Liens based off this rule of thumb, we are going to have some extremely upset GCs and Owners. What exactly is the deadline for a Material Supplier to file a Lien? Note that this question pertains to a Material Supplier only, no Retainage is held on their invoices.

1 reply

Nov 21, 2019
Texas suppliers on non-residential jobs must file their lien claims by the 15th day of the 4th month after the month during which the lien claimant last furnished materials to the job, as set out by § 53-052(a) of the Texas Property Code. So, that lien deadline isn't actually based on overall project completion at all - rather, it's (loosely) based on the last furnishing date. If there's no retainage being withheld

Texas deadline for lien on retained funds

As you mention in your question, retainage can absolutely complicate a Texas mechanics lien deadline. That is, if it's actually being withheld (which doesn't seem to be the case here). A mechanics lien on retainage may have to be filed within 30 days of completion of the project - but it's worth noting that "substantial completion" is not the specific trigger created by statute. Rather, it's within 30 days of when "the work is completed," under § 53-103(A). So, even if the retainage lien deadline comes into play, that might not necessarily be triggered by what's considered "substantial completion" of some work is continuing on the job. For more in-depth talk about the Texas lien deadlines, here's a great resource: When is the deadline to file a Texas Mechanics Lien?
0 people found this helpful
Helpful