Statute of Repose and Limitations for Construction Claims in Texas

Limitations or repose: which one applies?

Both, and the earlier bar wins. A statute of limitations starts when a cause of action accrues, which for a construction defect is usually when the defective work was done or delivered, and Texas sometimes delays accrual under the discovery rule for injuries that were inherently undiscoverable. A statute of repose starts on a fixed event, substantial completion, and runs regardless of when the owner knew or could have known about the problem. Repose is designed to give builders and designers a point after which the project is closed, and courts apply it as written.

So an owner who discovers a defect in year nine may still be inside repose but outside limitations if the defect should have been found earlier; an owner who discovers a hidden defect in year eleven may have a live limitations argument and still be barred by repose.

The limitations periods

• Breach of contract and breach of warranty: generally four years, under the residual period in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.051, measured from the breach.
• Negligence causing property damage: generally two years under § 16.003.
• Residential Construction Liability Act claims follow the limitations period of the underlying claim, with the statutory notice period tolling in some circumstances.

The contract may shorten these periods or set its own accrual date, and warranty periods in the contract are separate from both.

The repose periods under § 16.009 and § 16.008

The periods cover suits for property damage, personal injury, wrongful death, contribution and indemnity (§§ 16.008(b), 16.009(b)). They do not shorten a longer written warranty or contract term, and they do not protect a person in actual possession or control of the property when the harm occurs (§ 16.009(e)).

The six-year residential period since 2023

House Bill 2024, effective June 9, 2023, added the shorter period. It applies when the defendant is a contractor, as the Residential Construction Liability Act defines that term, and the claim arises from a new residence, an alteration, repair or addition to an existing residence, or an appurtenance, where the contractor provided a written warranty with at least these terms (§ 16.009(a-3)):

• one year for workmanship and materials;
• two years for plumbing, electrical, heating and air-conditioning delivery systems; and
• six years for major structural components.

A residence for this purpose is a detached one- or two-family dwelling, a townhouse, or an accessory structure, generally up to three stories (§ 16.009(a-4)). A contractor who gave no warranty, or a warranty that falls short of the minimums, keeps the ten-year period.

When does the clock start?

At substantial completion of the improvement, or for equipment, the beginning of its operation. Substantial completion is not defined in the repose statute; contracts usually define it as the date the owner can use the work for its intended purpose, often marked by a certificate of substantial completion or a certificate of occupancy. Where the contract is silent, the date becomes a fact question, and the parties argue over punch lists, partial occupancy and later repairs. Warranty and repair work after substantial completion does not restart the clock on the original work, though a separate repair may have its own repose period.

Example

Suppose a Denton apartment complex received its certificate of substantial completion on August 1, 2016. In early 2026 the owner's engineer finds that the balconies were framed without the specified flashing. The ten-year repose period ends August 1, 2026. A suit against the general contractor filed in July 2026 is inside repose, and the owner then has to win the limitations argument, probably by showing the defect was inherently undiscoverable. If the owner instead sends a written claim to the contractor in July 2026, repose is extended two years to July 2028, giving time to investigate. A suit first filed in September 2026, with no claim letter, is barred regardless of discovery.

How can the period be extended?

Only in the ways the statute allows:

• Written claim. Presenting a written claim for damages, contribution or indemnity to the contractor or design professional during the repose period extends it for two years from the date the claim is presented, or one year under the eight-year and six-year periods (§§ 16.008(c), 16.009(c)). A short, dated letter describing the defect and demanding compensation does the job; it is the single most useful step when a ten-year date is near.
• Injury in the last year. If the damage, injury or death occurs during the tenth year (or the last year of a shorter period), suit may be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues (§ 16.009(d)).
• Exceptions. Repose does not bar a claim based on willful misconduct or fraudulent concealment in connection with the work, or an action on a written warranty, guaranty or contract that expressly provides a longer effective period (§ 16.009(e)).

Agreements between the parties cannot extend repose in the way they can extend limitations with a tolling agreement, because repose is a substantive cutoff rather than a procedural one; whether a particular agreement is treated as a contract claim with its own longer period is a question for counsel.

How repose plays out in a defect case

For owners, the lesson is to calendar substantial completion on every project and to send a written claim before year ten even if the investigation is incomplete. For contractors and designers, repose is an affirmative defense: it must be pleaded, and it is often raised by summary judgment with the certificate of substantial completion attached. Multi-party cases can split: the general contractor may be inside the ten-year period because of an extension letter while a subcontractor who never received one is out. Construction defect claims in Texas covers who is liable and what the claims look like, and how long you have to sue for breach of contract covers the four-year period in detail.

Claims against architects and engineers also require a certificate of merit at filing, which takes time to obtain; an owner near the repose date should start that process early. The certificate of merit rule explains it. Tina Wysk handles construction defect and design claims for owners, contractors and design firms in construction litigation in Dallas.