Texas Prompt Payment Act: The Clocks, the Interest, the Catch

Yes — if the clause clearly and unambiguously makes owner payment a condition precedent to yours, Texas courts enforce it, construing ambiguity against the drafter (Gulf Construction Co. v. Self, 1984). But Business & Commerce Code chapter 56 limits it: the clause can't be enforced where the payor's own contractual failure caused the nonpayment, where the relationship is a sham, or where enforcement would be unconscionable — and those protections cannot be waived (§56.004). The practical defense is catching the clause before you sign.

On private work under Property Code chapter 28, the owner pays within 35 days of an invoice and each tier below pays within 7 days of receiving payment, with 1.5% per month interest on late amounts and a right to suspend work after notice (§28.009). Public work follows Government Code chapter 2251 instead. Watch the contract itself, though — an enforceable pay-if-paid condition means the cascade may never start if the owner doesn't pay.

Where the project's original contract was signed on or after 1 January 2022: notice to the owner and original contractor by the 15th day of the third month (second month for residential) following each month you furnished unpaid work (§53.056), and the lien affidavit by the 15th day of the fourth month (third, residential) after the month the original contractor's work was completed, terminated, or abandoned (§53.052). Each unnoticed month falls out of the lien — treat the 15th as a standing monthly deadline on every unpaid job.

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No. ContractorCounter Review is an AI-powered first-pass review that flags risky, one-sided, and ambiguous clauses so you know exactly what to question. It is not a law firm and its output is not legal advice — for contracts worth serious money, take the marked-up review to a construction lawyer and spend their billable hours on judgment instead of reading.