Harris County Notice of Contractual Retainage Form (Texas)

All Harris County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Notice of Contractual Retainage Form

Harris County Notice of Contractual Retainage Form

Fill in the blank Notice of Contractual Retainage form formatted to comply with all Texas recording and content requirements.
Included Harris County compliant document last validated/updated 7/25/2024

Notice of Contractual Retainage Guide

Harris County Notice of Contractual Retainage Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Harris County compliant document last validated/updated 10/24/2024

Completed Example of the Notice of Contractual Retainage Document

Harris County Completed Example of the Notice of Contractual Retainage Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Harris County compliant document last validated/updated 10/31/2024

When using these Notice of Contractual Retainage forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Harris County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

Main Office

201 Caroline, Suite 320 / PO Box 1525, Houston, Texas 77002 / 77251-1525

Hours: 8:00 - 4:30 M-F

Phone: (713) 755-6439

Local jurisdictions located in Harris County include:

  • Alief
  • Barker
  • Baytown
  • Bellaire
  • Channelview
  • Crosby
  • Cypress
  • Deer Park
  • Galena Park
  • Highlands
  • Hockley
  • Houston
  • Huffman
  • Hufsmith
  • Humble
  • Katy
  • Kingwood
  • La Porte
  • North Houston
  • Pasadena
  • Seabrook
  • South Houston
  • Spring
  • Tomball
  • Waller
  • Webster

How long does it take to get my forms?

Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.

How do I get my forms, are they emailed?

Immediately after you submit payment, the Harris County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.

What does "validated/updated" mean?

This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:

  • Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
  • Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Harris County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Harris County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Harris County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can the Notice of Contractual Retainage forms be re-used?

Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Harris County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Harris County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Texas or Harris County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.

What type of files are the forms?

All of our Harris County Notice of Contractual Retainage forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I need any special software to use these forms?

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I have to enter all of my property information online?

No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.

Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?

Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.

Are there any recurring fees involved?

No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

As a contractor, it's important to send out early notice forms shortly after beginning work on a construction job. By putting all interested parties on notice, claimants can help protect their lien rights. One important early notice form is called a Notice of Contractual Retainage, as defined at Sec. 53.057 of the Texas Property Code.

Retainage means an amount representing part of a contract payment that is not required to be paid to the claimant within the month following the month in which labor is performed, material is furnished, or specially fabricated material is delivered. TEX. PROP. CODE 53.001(11). Simply put, it is a portion of the agreed upon contract price that is deliberately withheld until the work reaches substantial completion to assure that contractor or subcontractor will satisfy its obligations and complete a construction project. If the job is not up to par, the retainage amount is used to make any changes or fixes.

Give this notice to all other interested parties to make them aware that the person who hired you is withholding a retainage amount from you under your contract. Therefore, once provided with the notice, the other parties above you can withhold a matching retainage amount. If you are an original contractor on the job, the notice is not required since the owner already has such notice of any retainage agreement.

Use this form if you do not have a direct contract with the owner or the original contractor. Thus, you need to provide this notice to these parties to make them aware of the existing retainage agreement. The claimant must give the owner or reputed owner the notice of contractual retainage no later than the earlier of: (a) the 30th day after the date the claimant's agreement providing for retainage is completed, terminated, or abandoned; or (b) the 30th day after the date the original contract is terminated or abandoned. TEX. PROP. CODE 53.057(b).

The Notice of Contractual Retainage does not need to be notarized or recorded. Instead, deliver it to relevant parties via certified or registered US mail, with return receipt requested.

Each case is unique, and the Texas lien law is complicated. Contact an attorney for complex situations, with specific questions about sending a notice of contractual retainage, or any other issue about mechanic's liens.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Harris County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your Harris County Notice of Contractual Retainage form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

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November 21st, 2024

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November 21st, 2024

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June 4th, 2021

Contents were well done. Could not remove and replace the "Deeds/" footer, rendering the form unusable for filing with a court and county deed records. This should be corrected.

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