How long is a new home covered in Texas?

Two different clocks run on a new Texas home, and almost every published answer to this question blurs them together. One is the builder's written warranty, which is a contract promise. The other is the statute of repose at Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.009, which is the outside deadline for bringing a construction claim at all — and since House Bill 2024, 88th Legislature, took effect on June 9, 2023, that outside deadline can be six years rather than ten. If you have heard "1-2-10" your whole adult life, the honest update is that for a great many new detached homes and townhouses in Texas it is now functionally a 1-2-6.

What is the difference between a warranty and a statute of repose?

A warranty is something your builder promises you in writing. It says what is covered, for how long, what standard is used to decide whether something is a defect, who performs the repair, and what you have to do to make a claim. It is a contract, and it is enforceable as one.

A statute of repose is not a promise from anyone. It is a hard cutoff written by the Legislature that runs from substantial completion of the improvement, and when it expires, the claim is gone. That is the part people miss: repose runs regardless of when the defect appears or when you discover it. A statute of limitations generally starts running when a claim accrues, which often means when you knew or should have known you were injured. A statute of repose can extinguish a claim before you ever had any reason to suspect one existed.

So a builder can hand you a warranty document with a ten-year structural term, and that ten-year promise can still sit outside the window in which the law will let you enforce it in court. Those are two different questions and they deserve two different answers.

What did House Bill 2024 change?

House Bill 2024 amended §16.009 to create a shortened repose period for residential construction. The general rule stayed at ten years. The new provision cuts it to six years when the builder provides specified written warranties, and it applies only to a defined set of housing types.

Two details in that table carry most of the weight.

First, the warranty periods in the statute are stated as minimums — the qualifying-warranty subsection says a written warranty must provide a "minimum period" of one, two, and six years. Our reading of that language, and we want to label it as a reading rather than as settled law, is that a builder giving a longer structural warranty still satisfies the six-year minimum, so a ten-year structural warranty would not by itself preserve a ten-year window to file suit. We have not found a Texas appellate decision construing this point either way, and a court could read it differently. We flag it because a marketing sheet that reads "10-year structural" invites the opposite conclusion, and a buyer who assumes the warranty term and the filing deadline are the same number is making an assumption nobody has told them they are making. If that distinction matters to a decision you are about to make, put it in front of a Texas construction attorney.

Second, the housing-type limit is narrow and specific. The shortened period reaches detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of not more than three stories with separate means of egress. A mid-rise condominium building is a different animal. Whether a particular attached product qualifies is a question about that building, not about the marketing name on the community.

Which homes are on which side of the line?

House Bill 2024 applies to construction or repair work commencing on or after its effective date, and work performed under a contract entered into before June 9, 2023 remains governed by the prior law. For a home bought new in 2026, that will almost never be a live question. For a resale of a home built around 2022 and 2023, it can be. If your home sits near that line, this is a question for a lawyer with your actual contract and completion records in front of them — the answer turns on documents, not on the year printed on the appraisal district record.

Section 16.009 also contains a provision that can extend the period: presenting a written claim for damages, contribution, or indemnity to the person who performed the construction, within the repose period, extends the deadline. The length of that extension is not the same on both tracks — it is two years where the ten-year period applies, and one year where the six-year residential period applies. That is another reason to put a defect complaint in writing and keep proof of when you sent it, which is also what the pre-suit process in Property Code Chapter 27 requires.

What does the builder's warranty actually cover?

Warranty documents differ by builder, and we are not going to characterize all of them. What we can tell you is what to read for, because the same four questions decide how much a warranty is worth in practice.

1. What performance standard applies? Most warranties do not say "it must be perfect." They say a floor may be out of level by no more than a stated tolerance, or a crack may be no wider than a stated measure. Find those tables. They are the entire definition of "defect" for your home.
2. Who backs it? Some warranties are the builder's own obligation. Others are administered or insured by a third-party warranty company. Ask which, and ask what happens if the builder leaves the market.
3. Is it transferable? If you sell in year four, does the remaining term follow the house to the next owner, and does anything have to be filed to make that happen?
4. How do you make a claim, and does it require arbitration? Many warranties set a required notice route and a required dispute path. Missing the route can matter as much as missing the deadline.

Get the warranty document before you sign the contract, not at the closing table. Your right to read it is not controversial and a builder that will not produce it early has told you something. The contract question sits alongside this one — see how a builder's contract differs from a TREC form.

Have your own attorney read your specific warranty.

We mean that plainly and we are not hedging when we say it. This page explains a statutory framework. It cannot tell you what your warranty says, whether your home falls inside the definition House Bill 2024 uses, when substantial completion occurred on your house, or how much time you have left. A Texas construction or real estate attorney can answer all four from your documents, usually in a single sitting, and that hour is inexpensive next to the house.

Why does this change matter more in North Texas than most places?

Because of volume and timing. Residential Strategies, Inc. reported 11,106 annual starts and 9,777 annual closings across Dallas-Fort Worth in its first-quarter 2026 survey. Homes closing now under warranties written after June 2023 are the first large cohort living entirely under the six-year rule, and the practical consequence does not surface until years four through eight, when foundation and framing questions typically start to be raised. Nobody has run into the wall yet. That is exactly why it is worth understanding before you do.

It also changes what a resale buyer should ask. If you are buying a five-year-old house rather than a new one, the remaining repose window on the original construction is a legitimate diligence item, and it is not something the seller's disclosure notice will spell out for you.

Related reading: what to do when something is actually wrong is covered at what happens if something is wrong with your new home. Texas also has no state homebuilder license, which is part of why the written warranty and the private remedy carry so much of the load — that history is covered on our builder-facing page about whether Texas licenses homebuilders. And for the ongoing cost side of a new home, see what you will actually pay in property tax in Frisco or Prosper.

How we sourced this

Written from Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.009 as amended by House Bill 2024, 88th Legislature, effective June 9, 2023, and from the bill's legislative analysis published by the Texas Legislature. Housing-start and closing figures are attributed to Residential Strategies, Inc., first quarter 2026, Dallas-Fort Worth. Verified August 2026 and current as of that date. Statutes change and courts interpret them; confirm the current text and case law before you rely on any of this. This page is general information only. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for a Texas attorney reviewing your specific contract, your specific written warranty, and your specific completion date. Do not make a decision about a legal claim or a deadline based on this page.

The Agency Dallas is independently owned and operated by Damon & Megan Williamson. Damon Williamson, Broker-Owner · Licensed Real Estate Agent, State of Texas. Dallas, Dallas County, Texas 75225. Equal Housing Opportunity. Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services and Consumer Protection Notice are available at trec.texas.gov. This is not intended as a solicitation of property currently listed for sale.