Certain coastal property sales must include a prescribed notice in the contract, or a separate written statement must be delivered before recording; missing the notice can trigger termination rights and a deceptive-act consequence.
Sec. 33.135. NOTICE TO PURCHASER OR GRANTEE OF COASTAL AREA PROPERTY. (a) A person who sells, transfers, or conveys an interest other than a groundwater or surface water right or a mineral, leasehold, or security interest in real property adjoining and abutting the tidally influenced waters of the state must include the following notice as a part of a written executory contract for the sale, transfer, or conveyance: "NOTICE REGARDING COASTAL AREA PROPERTY "(1) The real property described in and subject to this contract adjoins and shares a common boundary with the tidally influenced submerged lands of the state. The boundary is subject to change and can be determined accurately only by a survey on the ground made by a licensed state land surveyor in accordance with the original grant from the sovereign. The owner of the property described in this contract may gain or lose portions of the tract because of changes in the boundary. "(2) The seller, transferor, or grantor has no knowledge of any prior fill as it relates to the property described in and subject to this contract. "(3) State law prohibits the use, encumbrance, construction, or placing of any structure in, on, or over state-owned submerged lands below the applicable tide line, without proper permission. "(4) The purchaser or grantee is hereby advised to seek the advice of an attorney or other qualified person as to the legal nature and effect of the facts set forth in this notice on the property described in and subject to this contract. Information regarding the location of the applicable tide line as to the property described in and subject to this contract may be obtained from the surveying division of the General Land Office in Austin." (b) If property described under Subsection (a) of this section is sold, transferred, or conveyed without an executory contract for conveyance, a written statement containing the notice prescribed by that subsection must be delivered to the grantee for execution and acknowledgement of receipt before the conveyance is recorded. (c) Failure to include the statement in an executory contract for conveyance shall be grounds for the purchaser to terminate such contract, and upon termination any earnest money shall be returned to the party making the deposit. (d) Failure to provide this statement prior to closing, either in the executory contract for conveyance or in a separate written statement, shall constitute a deceptive act under Section 17.46, Business & Commerce Code. (e) This section or the action of any party subject to this section does not diminish or modify the beach access and use rights of the public as acquired by statute or under common law. Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 991, Sec. 11, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by: Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 162 (S.B. 2550), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025.