How Long Are You Liable After Selling a House in Texas?

In Texas, a home seller generally stays exposed to buyer claims for two to four years after closing, with the exact window depending on the type of claim. Breach of contract and fraud both carry four-year limitation periods; Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims run two years. The catch is the discovery rule: for fraud and concealment, the clock doesn’t start at closing, it starts when the buyer finds the problem. So how long you are liable after selling a house in Texas can stretch well past four years if you hid something serious.

The Four Main Deadlines at a Glance

Breach of contract: four years from the date of the breach.¹
Fraud or nondisclosure: four years from when the buyer discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the problem.¹
Deceptive Trade Practices Act: two years from discovery, with a possible 180-day extension.²
Federal lead-based paint disclosure (homes built before 1978): no closing-date cutoff; a knowing violation can be pursued when the buyer finds it.³

Breach of Contract Claims: Four Years

If your sales contract required you to do something and you didn’t do it, the buyer has four years to sue. Common examples are agreeing to complete a repair before closing and skipping it, failing to leave an appliance that was supposed to convey, or not removing personal property from the premises by the promised date.¹

The four-year clock starts on the day the breach happens, not on closing. If the contract gave you 30 days after closing to finish a roof repair, day 31 is where the clock starts if the work wasn’t done. That can push the deadline further out than sellers assume.

Fraud and Concealment: Four Years From Discovery

Fraud claims are where post-sale exposure gets unpredictable. A fraud or nondisclosure claim comes up when a seller knew about a serious problem and either lied about it on the disclosure form or actively hid it. The defect has to be significant enough that a reasonable buyer would have walked away or negotiated the price down had they known.

The limitations period is four years, but the clock doesn’t start at closing. It starts when the buyer discovered the defect or should have discovered it with reasonable effort. Texas courts apply this discovery rule when the injury is “inherently undiscoverable,” meaning the kind of problem a diligent buyer wouldn’t catch within the normal limitations period. Foundation cracks patched over with cosmetic plaster are the textbook example: the clock starts when the damage re-emerges, not when the seller covered it up.¹

The practical result: a seller who concealed something serious can be sued six, eight, or even ten years after closing.

DTPA Claims: Two Years From Discovery

Buyers can also sue under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The DTPA carries a shorter two-year deadline, and it has its own discovery rule built in. The two years run from the date the buyer discovered the deceptive act, or reasonably should have.²

The deadline can be extended by another 180 days if the buyer proves the seller deliberately did something to prevent the suit from being filed. Buyers who suspect fraud often file under both theories at once, because the DTPA route can produce damages beyond simple repair costs when the violation is knowing or intentional.

Why the Disclosure Notice Drives Most Lawsuits

Under Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code, most sellers of single-family homes must give the buyer a written Seller’s Disclosure Notice on or before the effective date of the contract. The form asks you to document what you actually know about the property: plumbing, roof, foundation, termites, past water damage, and more. You fill it out based on your knowledge as of the date you sign it.⁴

The disclosure is not a warranty. It doesn’t promise nothing will break. It records what you knew. That’s precisely why it drives so much post-sale litigation: if you marked “no” next to a problem you knew about, or left something off that you were aware of, you’ve built the buyer’s fraud case for them.

A limited group of transfers are exempt from the notice requirement altogether, including foreclosures, bankruptcy sales, transfers by an estate or trust fiduciary, transfers between family members or spouses, sales to or from a governmental entity, and brand-new construction that has never been occupied.⁴ If your sale falls outside those categories, you owe the notice, and the accuracy of that notice will define most of your exposure.

Whether an “As-Is” Clause Protects You

Most Texas real estate contracts include an “as-is” clause, meaning the buyer accepts the property in its current condition. When it works, it shifts the burden of finding problems onto the buyer and their inspector. A buyer who skips an inspection, or misses something an inspection would have caught, generally can’t come back to sue you over it.

The clause has a hard limit, though. It does not protect a seller who committed fraud. You cannot lie on the disclosure form about a known defect, or actively conceal a problem, and then hide behind the as-is language. Texas courts have consistently held that an as-is clause fails when the seller used fraud or concealment to get the buyer to agree to it in the first place.⁵

There’s also an exception when the seller interfered with the buyer’s inspection: blocking access to parts of the property, rushing the inspection timeline, or otherwise limiting the buyer’s chance to find problems independently. In those situations, the clause loses its protective effect.⁶

Lead Paint on Pre-1978 Homes

If your home was built before 1978, federal law adds a separate liability layer that sits outside the Texas timelines. Under 42 U.S.C. § 4852d, you must disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards, hand over any available inspection reports, give the buyer the EPA-approved lead hazard pamphlet, and allow at least 10 days for the buyer to conduct their own lead inspection before the sale becomes binding.³

Penalties for skipping this are severe. A seller who knowingly fails to disclose can be held liable for three times the buyer’s actual damages. Civil fines can reach $10,000 per violation, and the violation is treated as a prohibited act under the Toxic Substances Control Act.⁷

The federal rule has no expiration tied to the sale date. A buyer who discovers years later that you concealed known lead hazards can still bring a claim.

How to Shorten Your Exposure

A seller who honestly disclosed what they knew and delivered on their contractual promises will usually see all realistic exposure close within four years of closing. A seller who concealed a serious defect has no clean cutoff, because the discovery rule keeps the door open until the buyer finds the problem.

The best protection isn’t a well-worded contract clause. It’s an accurate, complete disclosure form and a paper trail showing you didn’t hide anything. Fill the notice out carefully. Answer based on what you actually know as of the day you sign. If a problem was repaired, say so and keep the receipts. If you’re unsure about something, say that too. Everything you disclose in writing is something a buyer can’t later claim you hid.

1
State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.004 – Four-Year Limitations Period
2
State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code 17.565 – Limitation
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
4
State of Texas. Texas Code Property Code 5.008 – Sellers Disclosure of Property Condition
5
Justia. Prudential Insurance Company of America v Jefferson Associates
6
Texas Real Estate Research Center. A Clause for Concern? What Does As-Is Mean in Real Estate?
7
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A – Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint Hazards