How long do you have to bring a construction defect claim on a new home in Texas?

Ten years from substantial completion of the home, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.009 — unless your builder gave you a written warranty meeting the state's minimum terms, in which case it is six. Before filing anything, Property Code Section 27.004 requires 60 days' written notice and a chance to repair.

That is the whole answer. The rest of this page is the detail, because every part of it has a date attached and the dates are the part people miss.

What does the clock actually run from?

Not from closing. Not from the day you noticed the problem. Section 16.009(a) sets the period as "not later than 10 years after the substantial completion of the improvement." Substantial completion is a construction milestone, not a real estate one, so on a home you bought new it will usually sit near completion of the build rather than near your purchase. On a home you bought second-hand, the clock may already have been running for years before you owned it.

Section 16.009(b) lists what the section covers: injury, damage or loss to real or personal property, personal injury, wrongful death, contribution and indemnity.

Why would a written warranty shorten the deadline instead of lengthening it?

Because the Legislature made that the deal. Section 16.009(a-2), added by House Bill 2024 in the 2023 regular session, keeps the ten-year default for residential work, then adds: "If the person being sued is a contractor who has provided a written warranty for the residence that complies with Subsection (a-3), the claimant must bring the suit not later than six years after the substantial completion of the improvement."

So a builder who issues a qualifying written warranty gets four fewer years of exposure. The homeowner gets a written warranty they can actually hold the builder to during the early years, when most defects surface, instead of an unwritten promise and a longer runway.

Whether that is a good trade depends entirely on the defect. Structural movement that takes eight years to show up is a different problem under a six-year deadline than under a ten-year one.

What minimum terms does a warranty need to trigger the six-year deadline?

Section 16.009(a-3) names three, and they are minimums, not caps:

What the warranty must cover	Minimum period under 16.009(a-3)
Workmanship and materials	1 year
Plumbing, electrical, heating and air-conditioning delivery systems	2 years
Major structural components	6 years

If a builder's warranty is shorter than any one of those, it does not comply, and the deadline to sue stays at ten years. If it is longer, Section 16.009(e)(1) says the section "does not bar an action ... on a written warranty, guaranty, or other contract that expressly provides for a longer effective period."

This is the practical reading, and it is worth saying plainly: a builder's warranty document is not just a service promise. It is the thing that decides how long you have to go to court.

Which homes does the six-year rule apply to?

Section 16.009(a-4)(2) defines "residence" for this purpose as "the real property and improvements for a detached one-family or two-family dwelling or a townhouse not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress or an accessory structure not more than three stories above grade plane in height." "Contractor" takes its meaning from Property Code Section 27.001.

Timing matters too. As engrossed, HB 2024 applied to a cause of action arising out of design, construction or repair "that commences on or after the effective date of this Act," and expressly did not apply where that work commenced on or after the effective date "under a contract entered into before that date." Work begun under an older contract is governed by the law as it stood before. The amendment history published for Section 16.009 shows HB 2024 effective 9 June 2023.

What do you have to do before you can file anything?

This is the step most homeowners find out about late. Section 27.004 of the Property Code sets a pre-suit sequence, and skipping it can get the case abated.

Step	Deadline in Section 27.004
Written notice to the contractor, certified mail, return receipt requested, specifying the defects in reasonable detail	Before the 60th day preceding the date the action is initiated
Contractor's opportunity to inspect, on written request — up to three inspections	During the 35-day period after the contractor receives the notice
Contractor may make a written offer of settlement	Not later than the 60th day after receiving the notice
Offer is deemed rejected if not accepted	25th day after the claimant receives it
Claimant tells the contractor in writing, in reasonable detail, why an offer is unreasonable	On or before the 25th day after receiving the offer
Contractor may make a supplemental written offer	Not later than the 10th day after receiving that notice
Repairs under an accepted offer	Not later than the 60th day after the contractor receives written acceptance

The notice has to carry evidence, not just a complaint: Section 27.004(a) calls for evidence of the nature and cause of the defect and of the repairs needed, "including any expert reports, photographs, and video or audio recordings," where those are discoverable.

What happens if you turn down the builder's offer?

Section 27.004(e) caps what a claimant can recover if they reject a reasonable offer, or do not allow a reasonable opportunity to inspect or repair under an accepted offer: no more than the fair market value of the contractor's last offer, plus only the reasonable and necessary costs and attorney's fees incurred before the rejection.

It runs the other way too. Under Section 27.004(f), if the contractor fails to make a reasonable offer, those limits do not apply. Under Section 27.004(q), if the contractor refuses to start repairs under an offer that was accepted, the limits do not apply either.

Can anything extend the deadline?

A few things, all in the statute.

Section 16.009(c) extends the period where a written claim for damages, contribution or indemnity is presented during it — by two years for a general Subsection (a) claim, and by one year for a residential Subsection (a-2) claim. Section 16.009(d) allows suit within two years of accrual where the damage, injury or death happens in the last year of the period. Section 16.009(e)(3) says the section does not bar an action based on "wilful misconduct or fraudulent concealment in connection with the performance of the construction or repair." And Section 27.004(h) lets a homeowner and a contractor agree in writing to extend any time period in that chapter.

Is there a state agency that will handle this for you?

The Texas State Law Library's consumer guide on construction defects names no agency that regulates homebuilders or resolves these disputes. It states that government agencies do not assist with filing lawsuits, and points consumers to complaint channels including the Texas Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and the Better Business Bureau. The same guide notes that where a suit involves more than $7,500, both sides have 90 days to ask the court for mediation, citing Section 27.0041, and that under Section 27.006 the homeowner must prove the defect existed on completion of the construction, alteration or repair and that the damages were caused by it.

In other words: the remedy in Texas is contractual and judicial. There is no board to call.

What should a buyer do with this before closing?

Three things, and none of them require a lawyer to start.

Ask for the builder's written warranty document in full, before the contract is signed rather than at the walkthrough. Read the three periods in it against the table above and note which of them is the one that matters for the defect you would most fear in that house. And find out when construction on that home commenced, because that date decides which version of Section 16.009 governs it.

Then, if something does go wrong, get a construction attorney before you send anything. The 60-day notice is a legal filing with a clock attached, not a complaint letter, and the statute attaches consequences to how it is written and when it is sent.

A note on what this page is

This is process, not advice. Dreams 2 Doorsteps is a real estate brokerage practice, not a law firm, and nothing here interprets your contract or your warranty or tells you what to do about a defect in your home. It explains what the statutes say so you know which documents to ask for and which questions to put to a lawyer. Every figure above comes from one of the four sources below.

Sources read for this article

Each was read in full for this article, and the host is named because the official Texas Constitution and Statutes site would not return the chapter text when this was written.

• Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.009, "Persons Furnishing Construction or Repair of Improvements," subsections (a), (a-2), (a-3), (a-4), (b), (c), (d) and (e), with amendment history showing Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 442 (H.B. 2024), effective 9 June 2023. Read at texas.public.law, text verified there 26 May 2025.
• Texas House Bill 2024, 88th Legislature Regular Session (2023), engrossed text, including the added subsections and the applicability provisions in SECTION 2. Read at capitol.texas.gov. The enrolled version was not available when this was written, so the applicability wording above is cited as engrossed.
• Texas Property Code Section 27.004, "Notice and Opportunity to Cure Construction Defect," stated current through 1 January 2026. Read at codes.findlaw.com.
• Texas State Law Library, Consumer Protection guide, "Construction Defects," last updated 7 July 2026, at guides.sll.texas.gov.

Statutes are amended. Anything on this page should be checked against the current official text before it is relied on.

Kenny Agbim is a REALTOR® with eXp Realty LLC in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas licence 820897.