Page 8 - NBIZ Magazine April 2022

Commercial Brokers’

Liens in Texas

By Brian D. Womac

ommercial property owners, real estate brokers, and agents should
all know that Texas law has assisted licensed brokers. They now have
the right to file a lien against an owner’s commercial property when
the owner fails to pay the broker’s earned commission from a sale or
lease of said property. Known as the Broker’s and Appraiser’s Lien on
CCommercial Real Estate Act, Chapter 62 of the Texas Property Code
(the “Act”), the Act sets out the steps a broker can take to effectively place a lien on the
owner’s property until he/she is paid. One must understand several key provisions of
the Act and how it applies to commercial real estate brokers.
Brokers Entitled to Lien
A licensed real estate broker has the right to file a lien on the seller or landlord’s
commercial property if the broker has earned, but has not been paid, commissions
under a signed commission and/or listing agreement that sets out the amounts to be
paid. The right to file the lien must be disclosed in the signed agreement. The required
language can be as simple as follows:

Landlord (or Seller if applicable) hereby acknowledges that under Chapter 62, Texas
Property Code, a broker is entitled to claim and levy a lien against the building to secure
payment of any earned and unpaid commission(s).

The Act requires that the commission be earned and the notice of lien affidavit be filed
in the real property records of the county where the commercial property is located. The
broker claiming the lien must comply with the specific requirements set out in the Act.

8 NBIZ ■ April 2022