Building a New Home on a West U Lot: Permits, Contractor Registration and Texas Lien Rules

West University Place has adopted the 2021 International Family of Codes for its permits. A new house on a West U lot is checked against those codes. More complex plans are also reviewed for zoning, building setback requirements and pervious calculations, and the city's zoning ordinance supplies those local limits.

Ask your architect or designer which code edition the drawings follow before they are submitted. Plans that need corrections go back for resubmission, and a rejected plan set restarts the city's review clock. The local limits sit on top of the codes. At least 45 percent of a building site must stay open area and at least 35 percent pervious. Framed area for all buildings is capped at 80 percent of the site. A principal building stops at two and a half storeys and 35 feet, or 25 feet inside the rear yard.

Not for work that requires a permit. West University Place states that work requiring permits cannot start until the Community Development Department issues the permit. Demolishing an old house and building a new one both need permits under the city's rules. The calendar for a build therefore runs from permit issuance, not from the day you close on the lot.

Tree protection is part of the permitted plan rather than a step taken later. The city's plan review process states that tree fencing must be placed according to site plan. The fence locations are drawn before anyone works on site. Once a permit for development or predevelopment activity is in effect, every large tree on the site is protected. A large tree is one with a circumference of 19 inches or more. If your lot contract has a deadline tied to construction, measure it against the date the permit issues.

Not every trade. West University Place sets its contractor registration fee at $100, with the exception of electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors. Those three trades sit outside that fee. Before work begins, confirm with the city's Community Development office what applies to each electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractor on your job.

Registration and the permit are separate steps. A registered builder still waits for the Community Development Department to issue the permit before permitted work begins. Ask your builder for a list of every company expected on the lot. Then ask the city which of them must register, and get each answer before that company starts.

For a lien to be fixed on a homestead, the Texas Real Estate Research Center says the claimant and the owner must have a written contract. That contract must be signed by the owner and by the owner's spouse if the owner is married. Read the signature block on the builder's contract against that rule before anyone signs.

Subchapter K of Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code adds timing to the rule. The written contract must be executed before material is furnished or labor is performed. It must also be filed with the county clerk of the county where the homestead is located. West University Place sits in Harris County, so that is the county clerk for a West U homestead. Whether a lot already counts as your homestead, and what that means for the contract, is a question for your attorney.

Before work starts. The Texas Real Estate Research Center says a residential contractor must provide a list of all subcontractors and suppliers to be used before commencing work, under Texas Property Code § 53.256. Ask for that list in writing before the first crew arrives on your West U lot, and keep it with your copy of the contract.

Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code sets the details. The list names each subcontractor and supplier with an address and telephone number. When one is added or deleted, the contractor provides an updated list not later than the 15th day after the change. An owner may waive the right to the list, but only in writing, and the waiver may sit inside the construction contract. Read the contract for that waiver before you sign. Each payment request also comes with a disbursement statement naming each direct subcontractor the contractor intends to pay from those funds.

Make sure a release is recorded. The Texas Real Estate Research Center says that if the debt is paid or settled after a lien affidavit is filed, the owner should make sure a release is recorded. It cites Texas Property Code sections 53.152 and 53.157. Keep a copy of the recorded release with the papers for your West U house.

On a homestead, an affidavit for lien carries a notice at the top of the page. In at least 10-point boldface, it states that it is not a lien and is only an affidavit claiming a lien. Payment practice matters too. Property may become subject to a lien for an unpaid subcontractor or supplier claim where the owner fails to reserve 10 percent of the contract price. The alternative measure is 10 percent of the value of the work the contractor performed. That reservation runs during construction and for 30 days after the contractor's work is complete. An attorney who has read the file is the person to say whether a particular claim holds.