Short answer: get a copy of the lien affidavit from your county clerk, then check it against the Texas deadlines and homestead rules below. A lien can come off your title in four main ways. The claimant can sign a release (it must give one within 10 days of a written request once it's paid). It can expire if no foreclosure suit is filed in time. You can bond around it. Or a court can remove it on a summary motion under Texas Property Code §53.160.[1][2] Many lien affidavits on homes have a defect you can check yourself. Removing a lien does not by itself erase any money you legitimately owe.[3]
Step 1: get the documents
- The lien affidavit. It is filed with the county clerk where your home is, and indexed under the claimant's, the builder's and your name (§53.052(e)). Search the clerk's real property records under your name.[1]
- The copy mailed to you. The claimant must send you a copy within 5 days after filing (§53.055). Keep the envelope and note the date it arrived.[1]
- Every notice of claim you received, with envelopes, and the date each one arrived (§53.056).[1]
- Your contract, and whether it was filed with the county clerk; the subcontractor list; disbursement statements; lien waivers; bills-paid affidavits; and your payment records, including what you held back as retainage.
Step 2: check the lien against the law
For a residential job, these are the main things to check. Each one lines up with a ground for the summary motion in §53.160(b).[1][2]
| Check | What the law requires | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Was the notice of claim on time? | A sub or supplier on a residential job must send the owner and the builder a notice of claim by the 15th day of the second month after the month it provided the labor or materials. Retainage-only claims follow a separate notice rule (§53.057). | §§53.056, 53.160(b)(1) |
| Was the affidavit filed on time? | On a residential project, a sub or supplier must file by the 15th day of the third month after the month it last provided labor or materials. A builder (original contractor) must file by the 15th day of the third month after the month its work was completed, terminated or abandoned. | §§53.052(a)–(c), 53.160(b)(2) |
| Does the affidavit contain what it must? | A sworn amount; owner's name and address; the kind of work and, for a sub, each month of work being billed; who hired the claimant; the builder; a legal description of the property; the claimant's address; and, for a sub, the date and method of each notice it sent you. | §§53.054, 53.160(b)(2) |
| Did you get a copy within 5 days of filing? | The filer must send a copy to the owner (and, for a sub, to the builder) no later than the fifth day after filing. | §§53.055, 53.160(b)(3) |
| Is it your homestead? | To fix a lien on a homestead, there must be a written contract executed before work started, signed by both spouses if married, and filed with the county clerk. The affidavit must carry at the top, in at least 10-point bold: "NOTICE: THIS IS NOT A LIEN. THIS IS ONLY AN AFFIDAVIT CLAIMING A LIEN." The notice of claim sent to you must include a statutory statement about withholding and the 10% retainage.[4] | §§53.254, 53.160(b)(6) |
| Did the claimant sign a waiver? | A valid, enforceable waiver or release of the claim is a ground to remove it. Check conditional waivers against proof the payment cleared. | §§53.281–53.284, 53.160(b)(7) |
| Retainage claim after you paid everything? | If retainage deadlines have passed, and you reserved the 10% under §53.101 and paid it and everything else owed to the builder before the claimant perfected its claim and before you received its notice, that is a ground to remove it. | §§53.101, 53.160(b)(4) |
| Is it more than a year old? | Suit to foreclose must be filed by the first anniversary of the last day the claimant could have filed the affidavit, unless you signed a recorded extension (up to 2 years after filing). | §53.158 |
The homestead statement in §53.254(g) spells out the owner's side. If you reserved the 10% and withheld enough after any written notice of claim, and paid that amount to the claimant, "any lien claim filed on your property by a subcontractor or supplier, other than a person who contracted directly with you, will not be a valid lien on your property."[4]
Step 3: the ways a lien comes off your title
| Route | How it works | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Release from the claimant | Once the debt is paid in collected funds, the claimant must give a recordable release within 10 days of a written request from you, the builder or whoever paid. Record it with the county clerk. | §§53.152, 53.157(1) |
| It expires | If no foreclosure suit is filed in your county within the §53.158 period, the affidavit can be discharged of record. A suit brought only to discharge an expired lien doesn't revive the claimant's rights. | §§53.157(2), 53.158 |
| Bond around it | Chapter 53 lets a lien be discharged by filing a bond and notice that comply with Subchapter H. The claim then runs against the bond, not your house. | §§53.157(4), 53.171–53.175 |
| Summary motion | In a suit to foreclose, or a suit you bring to declare the lien invalid, you file a verified motion stating the legal and factual basis, using only the §53.160(b) grounds. The claimant gets at least 30 days' notice of the hearing, and the hearing can't come before the 30th day after it answers or appears. The claimant must prove it sent the notice of claim and affidavit as required; you prove any other ground. | §53.160 |
| Court judgment | Record a final judgment or decree providing for the discharge. | §53.157(3) |
If the court grants the summary motion, it sets a bond amount, an estimate of your likely costs and attorney's fees, capped at the lien amount. The removal is stayed if the claimant posts that bond or a deposit within 30 days. If it doesn't, you can record a certified copy of the order with a clerk's certificate that no bond was filed. If the claimant later wins at trial, it can revive the lien by recording the final judgment (§53.162).[3][1]
Fees and a fraudulent lien
In a proceeding to foreclose or to declare a lien invalid, the court "shall award costs and reasonable attorney's fees as are equitable and just," but on a residential construction contract it isn't required to make the owner pay them (§53.156).[1] If a filer knowingly records a fraudulent lien intending to cause harm, Civil Practice and Remedies Code §12.002 makes it liable for the greater of $10,000 or actual damages, plus costs, attorney's fees and exemplary damages. A chapter 53 lien claimant is liable under that section only if it acts with intent to defraud.[5] A lien that is late or defective is not automatically fraudulent.
Before you pay to make it go away
- Ask for a release in writing under §53.152 if the claim was actually paid, and attach proof of payment.[1]
- Get a signed release before you pay anything to settle, and record it yourself.
- Don't pay the builder again on a draw a sub says it wasn't paid for. After a notice of claim you may withhold that amount (§53.081). If you keep paying the builder anyway, you can become liable for it (§53.084).[1] Our lien waiver checklist covers what to collect at each payment.
- If the builder stopped work, the deadlines here run alongside your claim against the builder. See builder stopped work or walked off.
FAQ
Can a pool subcontractor put a lien on my house if I paid the builder in full?
It can file an affidavit claiming one, and that clouds your title until it's resolved. Whether the lien is valid is a separate question. On a homestead, section 53.254 requires a written contract signed before work started (by both spouses if married) and filed with the county clerk, a bold notice at the top of the affidavit, and a specific statement in the notice of claim. If you kept the 10% retainage for 30 days after completion and withheld money after any notice of claim, the statutory statement says a sub's lien "will not be a valid lien on your property." Ask a Texas attorney how this applies to your facts.
How long does a mechanic's lien last in Texas?
Under section 53.158, the claimant must sue to foreclose by the first anniversary of the last day it could have filed the lien affidavit. A written, recorded agreement with the owner can extend that to two years after the affidavit was filed. If no suit is filed in time, section 53.157 lets the lien be discharged of record, and section 53.158(a-1) says a suit brought only to discharge it doesn't revive the claimant's foreclosure rights.
What is a summary motion to remove a lien?
Section 53.160 lets a party in a suit to foreclose a lien, or a suit to declare it invalid or unenforceable, file a verified motion asking the court to remove it early. The grounds are limited to a list in the statute, such as a late notice of claim, a late or defective affidavit, no copy sent to you, homestead contract or notice defects, or a signed waiver. The hearing can't be held earlier than 30 days after the claimant answers or appears.
Can I get attorney's fees back?
Section 53.156 says the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney's fees as are equitable and just in a proceeding to foreclose a lien or to declare one invalid. On a residential construction contract the court isn't required to make the owner pay them. Separately, Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 12.002 allows at least $10,000 or actual damages for a knowingly fraudulent lien, but a chapter 53 lien claimant is liable under it only if it acted with intent to defraud.
Does removing the lien mean I owe nothing?
No. Section 53.161(g) says removal "does not constitute a release of the liability of the owner, if any, to the claimant." If you received a notice of claim and kept paying the builder, or never reserved the 10% retainage, you may still owe the sub up to those amounts (sections 53.084 and 53.105).
Related: pool payment schedules & Texas lien law · how to vet a DFW pool builder · builder directory. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us. How we source claims: methodology.
Sources
- Texas Property Code ch. 53, Mechanic's, Contractor's, or Materialman's Lien (official text, Texas Legislature)
- Tex. Prop. Code sec. 53.160, Summary Motion to Remove Invalid or Unenforceable Lien (Public.Law mirror of the official statute)
- Tex. Prop. Code sec. 53.161, Bond Requirements After Order to Remove (Public.Law mirror)
- Tex. Prop. Code sec. 53.254, Contractual Requirements for Lien on Homestead (Public.Law mirror)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code sec. 12.002, Fraudulent lien: liability (Public.Law mirror of the official statute)
- State Bar of Texas: Lawyer Referral & Information Service