The Texas subcontractor list, plainly

This explains the Texas Property Code in plain terms. It is not legal advice. For a specific job or dispute, talk to a Texas construction attorney.

Before work starts on a Texas residential job, the original contractor gives the owner a written list of the subs and suppliers they plan to use.

When that changes, you send an updated list within 15 days. The owner can waive it, but only in writing, with the wording the law sets.

Some remodelers have never sent one. Others send it at the end, when a lender asks. Here is what the list is, when it's due, and why it's worth sending even though skipping it won't sink your lien.

Who has to send it

The original contractor. That's the one who signed the contract with the owner. If you're the remodeler the homeowner hired, it's you. If you're a sub working for that remodeler, it isn't.

It applies to residential construction contracts (Texas Property Code section 53.256). That's a contract to build or repair the owner's residence: a house, duplex, triplex or fourplex, or a condo or co-op unit, that an owner lives in or plans to. The exact definitions are in section 53.001.

Commercial jobs work differently. This article is about homes.

What goes on it

The list names each subcontractor and supplier you intend to use on the job, with their name, address and phone number.

That means suppliers too, not just the trades you hire. The tile shop delivering the job's tile, the lumberyard, the plumber you sub the rough-in to. If you plan to use them on this job, they go on the list.

If you don't plan to use any subs or suppliers, the list can say so.

When it's due

Before construction starts. The statute says "before the commencement of construction." The owner's disclosure says the same: before construction commences, the owner gets the list.

Within 15 days of any change. Add a sub or supplier, or drop one, and the owner gets an updated list within 15 days. Each new list replaces the last.

The practical rule: send the first list when you schedule the start date, not the morning of demo. Then send an update the same week you add anyone.

The notice the list has to carry

Every list carries a notice, in capital letters, telling the owner the list may not be final. It goes on to say the contractor has to send updates as new subs or suppliers come on, unless the owner signs a waiver.

The notice opens with: "THIS LIST OF SUBCONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS MAY NOT BE A FINAL LISTING."

The statute wants it conspicuous, in at least 10-point bold. Use its wording, word for word. Don't rewrite it to sound friendlier.

Can the owner waive the list?

Yes. The owner can give up the right to the list and to updates. But the law is strict about how.

• In writing, with the statutory wording. The waiver says the owner isn't required to waive, that they agree to give up the original and updated lists, that the waiver can't be canceled later, and that they consented voluntarily.
• It's their choice. You can't make it a condition of the job. The waiver's first line says the owner is not required to sign it.
• It can't be taken back. In the statute's words, the waiver "may not be canceled at a later date."

The waiver can be a clause in the contract. If it isn't, the owner signs a separate waiver statement. Either way, it has to be conspicuous, in at least 10-point bold (53.256(d)).

A waiver saves you paperwork. It doesn't save you the bills-paid affidavit at the end. More on that below.

What happens if you skip it

Skipping the list does not void your lien. In the statute's words, it "does not invalidate a lien under this chapter, a contract lien, or a deed of trust."

So why send it? Three reasons.

Lenders ask for it. If a bank or renovation loan is paying, the subs list is often part of what they want before they fund a draw.

It's what the owner was told to expect. Texas makes you give the owner a disclosure before they sign (53.255).

That disclosure tells them to get a list of subs and suppliers before construction starts. An owner who read it and never got one starts the job wondering what else you skipped.

It keeps the end of the job honest. At final payment you sign an affidavit saying who's been paid. A list kept current all job long is how you know who belongs on it.

How it fits with the other Texas papers

The subs list is one of a set. Each one leans on the last.

• Before the owner signs: the disclosure statement (53.255). It tells the owner the list is coming.
• Before work starts: the subs list (53.256).
• Each time you ask for money: a disbursement statement naming the subs or suppliers you'll pay from that payment (53.258), and a lien waiver.
• At final payment: the bills-paid affidavit (53.259). Anyone still owed is listed by name.

If the names on your disbursement statements and your affidavit don't match the names on your list, that's the first thing a lender or a lawyer will notice.

The whole set, in job order, is in Texas residential construction paperwork.

An example

Ridgeline Tile & Bath signs a hall bath remodel. Before the start date, they send the owner a list: their plumber for the valve swap, the tile supplier, and the glass shop for the shower door.

In week two, the drywall turns out to be wet behind the tub. Ridgeline brings in a drywall sub. Within 15 days, the owner gets an updated list with the drywall sub added. When the final invoice goes out, the bills-paid affidavit checks against that same list.

Sources

• Texas Property Code, chapter 53, sections 53.001, 53.255, 53.256, 53.258 and 53.259: statutes.capitol.texas.gov

This explains the Texas Property Code in plain terms. It is not legal advice. For a specific job or dispute, talk to a Texas construction attorney. Residential jobs only; commercial rules differ.