Texas Commercial Law Firm

9. Mechanics and Materialmans liens. Texas has historically sought to protect the rights of tradesmen and laborers to compensation for their labor and materials. This right to compensation goes back to the earliest days of Texas history and is secured by a constitutional grant of lien rights which provides:

Mechanics, artisans and materialmen of every class, shall have a lien upon the building and articles made or repaired by them for the value of their labor done thereon, or material furnished therefor; and the legislature shall provide by law for the speedy and efficient enforcement of said liens.

In addition to the self-executing constitutional lien, which is rarely relied upon, the legislature has provided mechanics and materialmen with a statutory procedure for securing and fixing liens against real estate improved by the lien claimants. Tex. Prop. Code Ann. §53.001, et seq (Vernon 1992). The policy behind allowing these liens to be created is that mechanics and materialmen contribute value to the real estate by providing labor and material and therefore should have a preferential claim to payment out of the value contributed by them.

A Mechanics and Materialmans Lien (“M&M lien”) claimant may achieve priority over a previously recorded mortgage lien on the real estate via two methods. First, a mechanic's lien is entitled to priority if it has its “inception” before the recordation of a competing lien or mortgage. Second, an M&M lien claimant has a “super priority” position as to any other lienholders, regardless of “inception” as to improvements that are “removable”. In fact, an M&M lien claimant with a lien on removables has the right to “self-help” and may “repossess” materials provided to the construction site.

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