Texas Lawbook has published an article by Marc Gravely that highlights ways the state of Texas is making it more difficult for business owners and investors to recover the full cost of repair for construction defects.
The article, “Texas is Chipping Away at Property Owners’ Rights: Inside the Troubling Trend,” details what Gravely described as the Texas Legislature’s attempts in recent years “to strangle the efforts of Texas business, governmental entities and individuals to safeguard and defend their property rights when construction is involved.”

One example: In 2019, House Bill 1999 added Chapter 2272 to the Texas Government Code, which places restrictions on the rights of governments to seek redress for construction defects. Of that measure, Gravely wrote, “It not only requires potential plaintiffs to expend substantial resources before being able to bring a claim, it also gives potential defendants a grace period and the opportunity to attempt to repair work they should have done correctly in the first place before permitting the property owner the benefit of court action.”

The article goes on to discuss the state’s statutes of repose for construction-related cases, which is the period within which a suit must be brought. Just this session, the Legislature passed House Bill 2024, which reduces the state’s statutes of repose for residential construction claims from eight years to six.

Gravely also noted House Bill 2022, which gives contractors, who are responsible for the defective construction in the first place, “significant protections, including the option for multiple inspections and the privilege to control the process of repair (either by themselves or others) before the property owner can avail themselves of the Texas civil justice system.”

To read the full article, click here.