TREC 20-19: what changed in the Texas resale contract in 2026

Contracts is 9 of the 40 scored questions on the Texas state portion of the real estate exam, and it was one of the two areas where first-time candidates scored lowest in TREC's most recent exam topic report. The contract most of those questions are about just changed. The One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19, was approved by TREC on May 4, 2026 and became mandatory on July 1, 2026, replacing 20-18. If your study material cites 20-17 or 20-18, here's what's different. Everything below comes from the 20-19 form itself, TREC's contracts page, TREC's published articles on the changes and the marked-up forms in TREC's May 4, 2026 meeting materials.

Why the version matters

When a license holder negotiates a contract to sell, exchange, option or lease real property, TREC's rules require using the contract forms TREC has approved for mandatory use for that type of deal, with a few narrow exceptions (for example, when the license holder is acting only as a principal). So when a mandatory form changes, every licensee has to switch on the effective date.

The resale contract wasn't the only form that turned over on July 1, 2026. The same date made new versions of the unimproved property contract (9-18), both new home contracts (23-20 and 24-20), the farm and ranch contract (25-17), the residential condominium resale contract (30-18), the amendment (39-11), the back-up contract addendum (11-9) and the HOA addendum (36-11) mandatory, along with a brand-new mandatory form, 61-0.

The new water rights disclosure (Paragraph 7I and form 61-0)

This is the headline change. Paragraph 7I requires the seller to deliver a Seller's Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights, TREC No. 61-0, unless all five of these statements are true:

1. The seller knows of no water well on the property.
2. The seller knows of no pond, lake or water tank.
3. The seller knows of no surface water right (a permit, certified filing or certificate of adjudication administered by the TCEQ).
4. The seller knows of no severance, sale or lease of groundwater rights.
5. The property's water comes only from a named city, municipal utility district or other special district, water supply corporation or private water supply company.

A few details that make good exam questions:

• The disclosure is required by the TREC contract, not by a statute. TREC added it to implement a Sunset Advisory Commission directive.
• It was added to Paragraph 7 of most TREC contract forms, but not the Residential Condominium Contract (Resale).
• Form 61-0 is a mandatory-use form, effective July 1, 2026.
• A seller who is exempt from the Seller's Disclosure Notice under Property Code 5.008 is not automatically exempt from the water disclosure. They're separate requirements.
• If the buyer doesn't have the water disclosure at signing, the seller must deliver it within the number of days the contract sets. Until it arrives, the buyer can terminate any time before closing. Once it arrives, the buyer can terminate for any reason within 7 days after receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first. Either way the earnest money is refunded. That's the same structure as the Seller's Disclosure Notice in Paragraph 7B.

Paragraph 12B: brokerage compensation contributions

The 2026 cycle added a new Paragraph 12B. It says brokerage compensation "is not set by law and is fully negotiable." Each party pays its own broker under separate written agreements, and the contract itself only records contributions: the seller paying toward the buyer's broker, or the buyer paying toward the seller's broker, by dollar amount or percentage.

This lines up with the 2026 agency changes, where a license holder working with a residential buyer needs a written agreement stating the broker's compensation before showing property. IABS and written buyer agreements in 2026 covers those. The amendment form (39-11) can be used to change the 12B contribution amounts.

The other changes in the 2026 cycle

TREC's Broker-Lawyer Committee recommended these in January 2026:

• "Generators" were added to the list of improvements in Paragraph 2B.
• Paragraph 21 (Notices) was rewritten. Notices must be in writing and are effective when mailed, hand-delivered, sent by overnight courier or transmitted electronically to the other party or that party's agent.
• All addenda were reorganized into categories in Paragraph 22: Financial; Leases; Additional Tests and Reports; Statutory Disclosures and Notices; and Other.
• Paragraph 20B now requires both parties to deliver information the escrow agent needs for government reporting.
• Old Paragraph 8B was removed, and old 6E(12) was struck.

One related addendum change: under the new back-up contract addendum (11-9), the back-up contract's Amended Effective Date is the date the seller delivers notice that the first contract terminated. The earlier version keyed it to the buyer's receipt of that notice.

Separately, TREC posted a new Seller's Disclosure Notice (TREC No. 55-1, replacing 55-0) and a renumbered lead-based paint addendum (56-0, replacing OP-L), both effective May 28, 2026 and both voluntary-use forms. The 55-1 notice asks about some things the old one didn't, including conservation easements, whether the property is insured, a private road the seller maintains and storage tanks.

The deadlines you still need to know

None of the timelines below changed in 20-19; TREC's marked-up copy of the form shows no changes to them. The earnest money and option fee are still due to the escrow agent within 3 days after the Effective Date. Here are the Paragraph 5 and 6 timelines as 20-19 states them:

• Earnest money and option fee: both delivered to the escrow agent within 3 days after the Effective Date. They can be paid separately or together. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the end of the next day that isn't.
• Option period: the buyer's unrestricted right to terminate runs for the negotiated number of days, and the termination notice must be given by 5:00 p.m. local time where the property is, on the last day. Terminate during the option period and the seller keeps the option fee, while the buyer gets the earnest money back.
• Title commitment: due within 20 days after the title company receives a copy of the contract. The deadline extends automatically by up to 15 days or to 3 days before closing, whichever is earlier.
• Title objections: once the buyer objects, the seller has a 15-day cure period. If the seller doesn't cure, the buyer has 5 days after the cure period to terminate (and get the earnest money back) or waive the objection.

Time is of the essence for Paragraph 5, so those deadlines are strict.

What to study

For the exam, know three things cold: which TREC form fits which kind of deal, what the key paragraphs of the resale contract say, and the timelines above. Form numbers change with each revision, so learn what each paragraph does, not just the number on the form. What's on the Texas real estate exam shows how contracts fit into the rest of the state portion.

Encodr's free Texas real estate course has a Texas contracts unit covering promulgated forms, the key paragraphs of the resale contract, addenda and notices, the statute of frauds and the Seller's Disclosure Notice. For the proration math that Paragraph 13 sets up at closing, try the property tax proration calculator.