Under Texas Property Code § 28.262(a), the general contractor must pay subcontractors within 7 days after receiving payment from the owner on private jobs; if the owner doesn’t pay within 35 days of the invoice, the sub can suspend work after 7 days’ notice and recover penalty interest and attorney fees. Your subcontract should mirror these statutory deadlines so that late payments automatically trigger the statutory interest and remedies without negotiation.

Texas retainage is governed by contract; on private jobs the parties commonly use 10% retention. Texas Property Code Chapter 53 mechanics lien law requires 10% retainage to be withheld in an escrow account and properly noticed for sub protection. Your agreement should specify the exact retainage percentage, the release schedule (typically at substantial completion and final completion), and payment of statutory interest on withheld retainage.

While Texas has not enacted a blanket statutory ban on pay-if-paid clauses, courts and statutes in most states treat "pay-when-paid" as a reasonable timing provision rather than an absolute condition. Check Texas Property Code Chapter 28 (Texas Lien Law) and Prompt Pay at Texas Business & Commerce Code § 28.261 et seq. (Chapter 28 Prompt Pay, now in Property Code) and Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 87 (anti-indemnity) for specific restrictions, and make sure your subcontract states that payment from the owner is not an absolute condition precedent to your right to be paid.

Texas Property Code Chapter 28 provides statutory conditional and unconditional lien waiver forms (§§ 28.283-28.285). Under § 28.351(c), an unconditional waiver is void if payment was not actually received, and under § 28.353, a waiver that does not substantially conform to the statutory form is invalid. Never sign an unconditional waiver until payment has actually cleared your bank account, and make sure your waiver identifies the specific billing period and amounts to avoid losing lien rights on future work.

Texas under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 87.003 voids provisions in construction contracts for building or construction work that require a subcontractor to indemnify another party for that party’s sole negligence or willful misconduct. § 87.004 voids certain agreements indemnifying an agricultural aircraft operator. Always read the indemnification clause carefully — even in states with anti-indemnity statutes, "broad form" indemnity for joint negligence is typically still enforceable.

Texas requires filing a lien affidavit with the county clerk within the 15th day of the third calendar month after the last month work or materials were furnished, followed by foreclosure within 1 year of filing. Texas requires a second-month Notice to owner or contractor under Property Code § 53.057 within the second month of first furnishing labor or materials to preserve lien rights (for subs not in direct contract with the GC). Send statutory notices by certified mail or another trackable method, keep copies of everything, and calendar the deadlines immediately upon each project’s completion.