Texas TREC Contract Changes 2026: What Dallas Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

What changed in the Texas TREC purchase contract in 2026?

TREC updated its standard purchase contract forms and seller disclosure requirements twice in 2026, with changes taking effect May 28 and July 1. Seven significant updates affect residential transactions statewide: new seller disclosure questions on insurance, generators, private roads, storage tanks, and conservation easements; a new standalone Water Notice form; and contract language changes affecting generators as permanent improvements, option period deadline calculations, FinCEN compliance, and notice delivery.

By Paul Blair | September 16, 2026

The contracts you sign in a Dallas real estate transaction right now look different than they did a year ago.

TREC, the Texas Real Estate Commission, updated its standard purchase contract forms in two waves this year. The first set of changes took effect May 28, 2026, with the Seller's Disclosure Notice revisions. The second wave hit July 1, bringing a new Water Notice form and changes to the One to Four Family Residential Contract itself.

Most buyers and sellers don't realize any of this happened until their agent drops a new form in front of them. Here's what changed, what it means for you, and where the details actually matter.

The Seller's Disclosure Notice Got Bigger

The Seller's Disclosure Notice, the form every seller in Texas must complete before an offer is accepted, added five new disclosure categories in May 2026.

Homeowners insurance. Sellers must now disclose whether the property has been denied homeowners insurance coverage or had a policy cancelled in the past five years. This one is a direct response to the ongoing insurance market crisis in Texas. Dallas County has seen several carriers exit the market or restrict coverage in specific zip codes, particularly in areas with hail exposure and aging roofs. If you're selling and this applies to you, you must disclose it. Buyers asking "why is this property hard to insure?" will find out during due diligence, but now they'll find out on the disclosure form first.

If you're a buyer and you see a "yes" checked here, read the piece on homeowners insurance non-renewals in Dallas before you proceed. Insurance availability directly affects your financing options and your cost to own.

Private roads. If access to the property runs over a private road rather than a public one, that's now a required disclosure. This matters for buyers because private road maintenance costs fall on the property owners who use it, not the county or the city. Some private road agreements are formal and funded. Others are loose arrangements between neighbors that haven't been revisited in years.

Above-ground storage tanks. Tanks over 500 gallons, even empty or out of use for decades, must now be disclosed. This includes petroleum tanks and chemical storage. In some older properties in north Texas, you'll find tanks from agricultural use or from when the structure was served by a fuel oil heating system. Sellers who know about these need to disclose them.

Conservation easements. A conservation easement is a legal restriction that limits how land can be developed or used. They run with the land, meaning they bind future owners too. They're more common in rural areas and larger lots, but some suburban DFW properties near preserved green space carry them. Sellers must now disclose their existence.

Generators. The old Seller's Disclosure Notice listed generators as personal property, meaning they stayed with the seller by default. The new form adds a separate question about generators and whether one is a permanent improvement to the property. A hard-wired standby generator is a fixture. A portable unit with a plug is personal property. This connects directly to a change in the purchase contract itself, covered below.

The New Water Notice Form

As of July 1, 2026, most Texas residential transactions require a new standalone form: TREC Form 61-0, the Water Notice.

This form isn't a disclosure about a particular defect. It's an informational notice about how water rights work in Texas.

Texas separates groundwater from surface water and treats them differently under state law. Groundwater, what's below the surface, is owned by the landowner in Texas, but it's regulated by Groundwater Conservation Districts. If the property is inside a GCD, that district can restrict how much water can be pumped and set rules about well drilling. Surface water, rivers, streams, and lakes, belongs to the state, and using it requires a water rights permit.

The form also requires disclosure of any wells on the property.

For most buyers purchasing a property on city water in urban or suburban Dallas, this form is informational background. For buyers looking at rural lots, horse properties, or parcels in Collin or Denton counties where wells are still common, this form raises real questions you should be asking before you close.

What Changed Inside the Contract

The One to Four Family Residential Contract, Form 20-18, was also updated, and four of the changes have practical consequences for active transactions.

Generators as permanent improvements (Paragraph 2B). The contract now explicitly lists generators as items that may be permanent improvements and convey with the property. Whether a specific generator stays or goes depends on how it's installed. A hard-wired, permanently installed standby generator is treated the same as the HVAC system. It's part of the property unless negotiated out in the contract before the offer is accepted. A portable generator on wheels doesn't convey. Sellers: if you want to take your generator, write it into the exclusions before you sign.

Option period and legal holidays (Paragraph 5). The option period in a Texas contract gives you the right to terminate for any reason during a defined window, usually three to ten days after the effective date. Deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday roll to the next business day. The contract now formally defines "legal holiday" to include a specific list: New Year's Day, MLK Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

This matters because Juneteenth and the Friday after Thanksgiving weren't always counted consistently across transactions. Now they are. If your option period ends on one of those days, your deadline shifts forward. I covered how this affects your right to back out during the option period in more detail if you want the full picture.

FinCEN reporting (Paragraph 20). The Corporate Transparency Act created a federal beneficial ownership reporting requirement for certain real estate transactions. The new contract language acknowledges this: if the transaction triggers a FinCEN reporting requirement, the parties must cooperate with information requests, and buyers are responsible for any charges associated with that compliance. Most residential sales won't trigger this requirement, but cash purchases above certain thresholds and transactions involving entities can. Your title company will flag it if it applies to you.

Notice delivery (Paragraph 21). The contract now explicitly confirms that notices sent electronically, by email, are effective upon sending. This was the practical reality in most transactions already, but the updated language eliminates ambiguity about when a notice counts. It applies to termination notices, option notices, and repair request responses.

The Back-Up Contract. If you're in a back-up position on a property, the contract change you need to know: the back-up becomes effective when the seller delivers the termination notice, not when the buyer receives it. This shortens the gap between when the first deal falls apart and when your contract goes live. There's also a new optional form, the Seller's Notice to Buyer of Removal of Contingency, that documents this transition cleanly. I covered the mechanics of back-up offers in Dallas if you're currently in that position.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a hard-wired generator automatically stay with the house when I sell?

Under the updated TREC Form 20-18, a permanently installed generator is treated as an improvement and conveys with the property by default. If you want to take it with you, you need to explicitly exclude it in the contract before you accept an offer. Listing it as an exclusion in the MLS from the start avoids the conversation later.

Do I have to disclose that my homeowners insurance was canceled?

Yes. If you had a policy canceled or were denied coverage in the past five years, the updated Seller's Disclosure Notice requires you to disclose it. This applies to the property itself, not your general claims history. It's one of the more significant additions to the disclosure form this year.

What is the Water Notice form and do I have to sign it?

TREC Form 61-0, effective July 1, 2026, is a required notice in most Texas residential transactions. It explains groundwater and surface water rights in Texas, whether the property is in a Groundwater Conservation District, and whether there's a well on the property. For most urban buyers, it's background context. For buyers in rural or semi-rural areas, it raises specific questions worth investigating before you close.

How does the new "legal holiday" definition affect my option period?

If your option period deadline falls on any of the federally recognized holidays now listed in Paragraph 5, including Juneteenth and the Friday after Thanksgiving, your deadline moves to the next business day. This only matters at the margins, but it's the kind of thing that can cause a dispute if two parties calculated the deadline differently. Your agent should be confirming the exact termination deadline in writing when the contract is executed.

What is FinCEN, and why is it in my real estate contract now?

FinCEN is the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a federal agency. The Corporate Transparency Act requires certain real estate transactions to report beneficial ownership information for anti-money-laundering compliance. The new Paragraph 20 language requires parties to cooperate with information requests if the transaction triggers a reporting requirement, and assigns the cost of compliance to the buyer. Most individual residential buyers won't be affected. Cash purchases, high-value transactions, or purchases through an entity are more likely to trigger it.

Seven changes in one contract cycle is significant. The ones most likely to come up in a standard Dallas transaction: the generator question, the insurance disclosure, and the option period deadline clarification.

If you're preparing to sell in the DFW area and want to walk through the disclosure questions before you list, I'm happy to do that with you. Start here to get a current picture of your home's value and reach out when you're ready to talk through next steps.

About Paul Blair

Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas and Los Angeles. With 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions, Paul focuses on helping clients navigate complex markets and high-stakes decisions with clear, direct advice. He holds a Texas broker's license (TREC #9011505) and a California broker's license (DRE #01792671). Connect with Paul at greysq.com.