5 Things That Changed in the Texas Real Estate Contract in 2026

If you last bought or sold in Texas a few years ago, the contract you sign this fall isn't quite the one you remember. TREC's resale contract, form 20-19, became mandatory on July 1, 2026. Most of the rewrite is housekeeping, but five changes reach the closing table, and one of them could move a deadline on your calendar this month.

1. Brokerage compensation has its own paragraph. Paragraph 12 is now split: 12A covers closing expenses, and 12B covers brokerage compensation alone, opening with the line that it "is not set by law and is fully negotiable." The catch is the seller-concession line, 12A(1)(b), which now excludes brokerage compensation, so a seller contribution toward your real estate agent goes in 12B(1) as its own number. New in 12B(2), a buyer may now help pay the seller's real estate broker. Either way, compensation is set in your buyer representation agreement, who pays is known before any purchase contract is signed, and whether to sign is always your decision.

2. "Legal Holiday" is a defined list. When an earnest money or option fee payment falls on a weekend or legal holiday, Paragraph 5A(2) still moves it to the next business day, but the contract now names exactly 11 holidays. Thanksgiving and the Friday after are on it, so a payment due Thursday, November 26 slides to Monday, November 30. December 24 and 26 are not, even though most title companies close. The extension covers money only; your option period still ends at 5:00 p.m. on the stated day.

3. There's a new water rights disclosure. Paragraph 7I points to TREC form 61-0. Most Cypress and Katy subdivision homes served by a MUD or the city meet its five-part exemption, but a well (even a capped one), a stock tank, or severed groundwater rights brings the form back, which is common on acreage in Waller County. Delivered after signing, it gives the buyer 7 days to terminate for any reason.

4. Generators convey. A standby generator bolted to a pad and tied into the electrical panel now stays with the house unless the seller excludes it in writing. A portable unit on wheels is personal property.

5. Smart-home controls transfer. Paragraph 2C now covers any app or software rights the seller can transfer for garage door openers, gates, and other smart devices.

Paragraph 14 is unchanged: storm damage before closing is still the seller's to restore. Paragraph 7F is unchanged too. If an agreed repair can't be finished by closing, the buyer can extend up to five days, and beyond that an escrow holdback is the usual answer.

Buying or selling around Houston before year-end? I'm glad to read the contract with you paragraph by paragraph, no obligation.

Read more on the Houston Prime Realty blog:

• What Houston Home Buyers Should Know About the 2026 Texas Contract Changes — the full walkthrough, with all 11 holidays listed and the 12A-versus-12B blanks side by side.
• Texas Seller's Water Disclosure: Who Has to Deliver It and What It Asks — the five-part exemption line by line and how sellers avoid the 7-day window.
• Hurricane Hits Before Closing — Now What? — the three choices Paragraph 14 gives a buyer, and the insurance step to take during the option period.
• What Is an Escrow Holdback in a Texas Home Sale? — who holds the repair money, how much, and the conventional, FHA, and VA rules.

General information about TREC form 20-19 (mandatory July 1, 2026), not legal advice. For a specific transaction, talk with your title company or a Texas real estate attorney.

Kevan Pewitt · REALTOR® & Real Estate Broker · Houston Prime Realty · Serving Houston, Cypress, and Katy — (281) 500-7077.