REAL ESTATE LAW
The Texas Legislature made many changes to Texas real property law during the 2005 session. There are too many changes to address them all, but I have included a summary of the most important changes. To review any of these statutes, follow this link: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/
1. Contracts for Deed. H.B. 1823 made significant changes to residential contracts for deed, mainly in response to the abuses ongoing in South Texas in the “colonias” along the border. Sellers who fail to provide certain information annually in January regarding interest paid, remaining balances, insurance and tax matters, etc., as required by Property Code§5.070 have two tiers of “liquidated damages” payable to buyers: (1.) If the seller makes only one such contract annually, the damages are $100, plus attorneys fees; (2.) if the seller enters more than one contract annually, he or she must pay $250 per day with the cap being the value of the real estate being sold, plus attorney’s fees. The purchaser under a contract for deed may compel the seller to convert the financing to a deed/deed of trust financing arrangement. (NOTE: the forms called for in the statute are “those published by the Texas Real Estate Commission”, but the TREC publishes no such forms!) Sellers are proscribed from creating a lien against the property the subject of the contract, except for extremely limited circumstances. The buyer can elect rescission and reimbursement of all money paid to the seller if the seller has not legally platted and subdivided the property. Leases with options to purchase are deemed to be contracts for deed. Violations of laws regarding contracts for deed are violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
2. Add “Any or” to your Deeds and Deeds of Trust, or Pay Up! S.B. 461 adds the words “ANY OR” to the notice of confidentiality rights required on deeds and deeds of trust. If the notice is omitted, the clerk must file it, but should charge you twice the regular filing fee!
3. Landlord/Tenant Law. H.B. 62 strengthens the power of a landlord to evict a tenant after an appeal of a forcible detainer situation if the tenant fails to pay rents during the appeal. Also in forcible detainer actions, S.B. 439 requires that citations in such suits must bear the warning, “Failure to appear for trial may result in a default judgment being entered against you.”
H.B. 1399 requires landlords to provide residential tenants with written notice of policies regarding the towing of cars on the premises prior to any towing.
S.B. 1186 give military service personnel and their spouses the absolute right to opt out of a lease if they are called for active duty, or if already in active duty, being transferred. The bill also permits victims of family violence the right to disavow leases under certain limited circumstances. The bill also requires that notices of these rights must be included in “ALL CAPS” in the lease agreements.
4. H.B. 629 alters the time for subcontractors and/or material men to claim on retained funds to the first of these events to occur: the 30th day after the work is completed, the contract is terminated, or the primary contractor abandons the job. It also provides for specific notices to be given by the owner to claimants.