WHEN HIRED BY THE PROPERTY OWNER: At the very latest, the Mechanics Lien Affidavit must be filed with the County Clerk’s Office in the county where the Property is located by no later than the 15th day of the fourth calendar month from when the contract is terminated in writing, has been completed, finally settled, or abandoned. See Section 53.052 of the Texas Property Code to learn more.
Example
Assume that you completed your contract in January, then your Mechanics Lien Affidavit must be filed by no later than May 15. Alternatively, assume that the Property Owner terminated your contract in writing in January, then your Mechanics Lien Affidavit would still need to be filed by no later than May 15.
Exception for Constitutional Mechanics Lien
If you were hired by the Property Owner or the Property Owner’s Agent, then you may also have a right to file a constitutional Mechanics Mechanics Lien against the Property if your work affected the structure. The type of work typically not covered by a constitutional Mechanics Lien might include: (1) landscaping that does not affect the structure; (2) supplying or installing plant materials; (3) irrigation; (4) underground wells; (5) demolition; and/or (6) fencing. Unlike a statutory Mechanics Lien, a constitutional Mechanics Lien can be potentially filed within up to four years after providing labor or materials to the Property or before the Property is sold to a purchaser who is not aware of the debt. A constitutional Mechanics Lien is easily asserted by a simple paragraph in the statutory Mechanics Lien Affidavit or by way of its own independent Mechanics Lien Affidavit. Even if you are uncertain as to whether you qualify for a constitutional Mechanics Lien, you should consider including the constitutional Mechanics Lien language in the Mechanics Lien Affidavit. The Mechanics Lien Affidavits contained in The Lien Professor’s Mechanics Lien Kits already include all of the necessary language to perfect a constitutional Mechanics Lien.
WHEN NOT HIRED BY THE PROPERTY OWNER: For Subcontractors/Material Suppliers, the deadline to file a Lien depends upon: (1) whether the unpaid amount is a “progress payment” or withheld “contractual retainage”; and (2) whether you want the Mechanics Lien to attach to the statutory retainage withheld by the Property Owner from the General Contractor (of which you do). Do you have a question about these rules? 
If you were hired by the General Contractor, a Subcontractor, or a Material Supplier, then at the very latest, your deadline to file a Lien Affidavit for unpaid progress payments (or anything other than withheld contractual retainage), is by no later than the 15th day of the fourth month from when you last provide labor or materials to the Project, excluding warranty work. See Section 53.052 of the Texas Property Code to learn more.
Example
Assume that you completed your work in January and that the contractor who hired you did not withhold contractual retainage. Under that scenario, your deadline to file a Lien Affidavit for the unpaid contract balance would be by no later than the 15th day of May. However, to ensure that your Mechanics Lien attaches to the 10% statutory retainage being withheld by the Property Owner from the General Contractor, make sure you file the Mechanics Lien Affidavit by no later than 30 days from completion of the entire Project even if the 15th of the fourth month comes after this date. (See below.)
If your Claim is purely for unpaid withheld contractual retainage, then at the very latest, your deadline to file the Lien Affidavit is by no later than the 15th day of the fourth month from when all work called for under the contract between the Property Owner and the General Contractor has been completed, finally settled, terminated, or abandoned.
Example
Assume that you completed your work in January and the contractor who hired you did withhold contractual retainage from your progress payments (typically 5% to 10%). Further assume that the contract between the Property Owner and the General Contractor was not completed until March. If your claim is purely for the unpaid withheld retainage, then your deadline to file the Lien Affidavit would be by no later than July 15. However, to ensure that your Mechanics Lien attaches to the 10% statutory retainage being withheld by the Property Owner from the General Contractor, make sure you file the Lien Affidavit by no later than 30 days from completion of the entire Project, even if the 15th of the fourth month comes after this date. (See below.)
Notwithstanding the above deadlines, to ensure that your Mechanics Lien attaches to the 10% statutory retainage being withheld by the Property Owner from the General Contractor, you must file your Lien Affidavit within no later than 30 days from completion of the entire Project, regardless of the above-referenced deadlines.
Example
Assume that your deadline to file a Lien is the 15th day of March (regardless if it is for a progress payment or pure contractual retainage). Further assume the contract between the Property Owner and the General Contractor was completed on January 10. Under this scenario, although you would have until March 15th to file the Lien, you would want to ensure that the Mechanics Lien was filed by no later than February 10 (30 days from completion of the Project), so that the Mechanics Lien attaches to the withheld statutory retainage.
Warning
The deadline to file a Lien is not extended if the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Therefore, if your deadline falls on one of these days, you must file the Lien Affidavit on the preceding business day for it to be timely. Additionally, the Mechanics Lien Affidavit must actually be filed on or before the 15th, not simply placed in the mail or waiting at the Clerk’s office to be filed.
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