A contractor’s liability for construction defects is limited, and a habitability claim requires proof that the defect was latent and made the home unsuitable for its intended use.
Sec. 27.003. LIABILITY. (a) In an action subject to this chapter arising from a construction defect: (1) a contractor is liable only to the extent a defective condition proximately causes: (A) actual physical damage to the residence; (B) an actual failure or lack of capability of a building component to perform its intended function or purpose; or (C) a verifiable danger to the safety of the occupants of the residence; (2) a contractor is not liable for damages caused by: (A) negligence of a person other than the contractor or an agent, employee, or subcontractor of the contractor; (B) failure of a person other than the contractor or an agent, employee, or subcontractor of the contractor to: (i) mitigate the damages; (ii) maintain the residence; or (iii) timely notify a contractor of a construction defect; (C) normal wear, tear, or deterioration; (D) normal cracking or shrinkage cracking due to drying or settlement of construction components within the tolerance of building standards; or (E) the contractor's reliance on written information relating to the residence, appurtenance, or real property on which the residence and appurtenance are affixed that was obtained from official government records, if the written information was false, modified, or inaccurate and the contractor did not know and could not reasonably have known of the falsity, modification, or inaccuracy of the information; and (3) if an assignee of the claimant or a person subrogated to the rights of a claimant fails to provide the contractor with the written notice and opportunity to inspect and offer to repair required by Section 27.004 before performing repairs, the contractor is not liable for the cost of any repairs or any percentage of damages caused by repairs made to a construction defect at the request of an assignee of the claimant or a person subrogated to the rights of a claimant by a person other than the contractor or an agent, employee, or subcontractor of the contractor. (b) Except as provided by this chapter, this chapter does not limit or bar any other defense or defensive matter or other defensive cause of action applicable to an action to recover damages or other relief arising from a construction defect. (c) To maintain a claim of breach of a warranty of habitability, a claimant must establish that a construction defect: (1) was latent at the time the residence was completed or title was conveyed to the original purchaser; and (2) has rendered the residence unsuitable for its intended use as a home. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1072, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 797, Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 189, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 458, Sec. 2.03, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 291 (S.B. 1768), Sec. 3, eff. May 29, 2023. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 441 (H.B. 2022), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2023.