What's the legal source of the Statute of Frauds in Texas?

The general Statute of Frauds is codified at Texas Business and Commerce Code §26.01. For real estate conveyances specifically, Texas Property Code §5.021 imposes a separate writing-and-delivery requirement on the conveyance instrument itself. Together they form the framework that requires both the underlying contract and the deed to be in writing.

Does the Statute of Frauds apply to a lease?

Only to leases for terms longer than one year, under §26.01(b)(5). A lease of one year or less can be oral and still be enforceable under the Statute of Frauds, though writing is always advisable for evidentiary reasons and because other statutes or lease-specific rules may require certain notices, terms, or disclosures to be in writing. A multi-year lease must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged.

Does the Statute of Frauds require both parties to sign?

No — §26.01 requires only the signature of the party to be charged with the promise or agreement (the party against whom enforcement is sought). A contract signed by the seller but not the buyer is enforceable against the seller, but the buyer can walk away. Practical real estate transactions almost always have both parties sign, but the statute itself does not require both signatures.

Is an email or text message enough to satisfy the Statute of Frauds?

Possibly, if the electronic message contains the essential terms and a signature (which can be a typed name or other electronic signature under the Texas Uniform Electronic Transactions Act). Texas courts have enforced agreements memorialized by email exchanges where the essential terms were present and the electronic signature was attributable to the party to be charged. The threshold question is always whether the writing contains enough to enforce.

What is partial performance, and when does it apply?

Partial performance is a narrow common-law exception that can take an oral real estate contract out of the Statute of Frauds. Traditionally it requires payment of consideration, possession of the property, and permanent and valuable improvements made by the buyer with the seller's knowledge — or other facts that would make enforcing the statute amount to fraud. The exception is narrow, courts apply it cautiously, and exam scenarios involving oral real estate contracts should usually default to "not enforceable."

Do TREC promulgated forms satisfy the Statute of Frauds?

A properly completed TREC promulgated form can satisfy §26.01 when it contains the essential terms — identification of the parties, a sufficient legal description of the property, the purchase price, and the other material terms of the agreement — and is signed by the party to be charged. TREC's promulgated forms exist in part to ensure that residential real estate transactions in Texas are documented in writing with sufficient detail to be enforceable. License holders required to use a promulgated form under TREC rules are simultaneously satisfying their Statute of Frauds compliance, provided the form is completed with the essential terms. Separately, Texas broker-supervision rules govern how sales-agent compensation flows through the sponsoring broker.

Texas Statute of Frauds for Real Estate — What Must Be in Writing

TL;DR

The Statute of Frauds in Texas, codified at Texas Business and Commerce Code §26.01, requires certain categories of agreements to be in writing and signed by the party to be charged in order to be enforceable. For real estate, §26.01 applies to (1) contracts for the sale of real estate and (2) leases of real estate for terms longer than one year. Real estate commission agreements are NOT covered by §26.01 — they have their own statute-of-frauds provision under Texas Occupations Code §1101.806(c) (part of TRELA). Texas Property Code §5.021 separately requires that a conveyance of real estate be in writing, subscribed, and delivered. An oral agreement to sell land is generally unenforceable, even if the parties shook on it and one side paid earnest money — though a narrow partial-performance exception exists at common law.

Why the Statute of Frauds Matters on the Exam

The contracts cluster on the Texas real estate exam tests the Statute of Frauds in many forms — direct definitional questions, scenario questions about whether a particular agreement is enforceable, and questions about which agreements specifically require writing. The rule sits behind every TREC promulgated contract: the reason TREC's residential contract forms exist as written documents is that the underlying transactions would be unenforceable in writing's absence. Candidates who understand the statutory framework can answer a wide range of contracts questions by mapping them back to the §26.01 categories.

The Core Rule: §26.01(a)

Texas Business and Commerce Code §26.01(a) states that a promise or agreement described in subsection (b) is not enforceable unless the promise or agreement, or a memorandum of it, is:

(1) in writing; and
(2) signed by the person to be charged with the promise or agreement, or by someone lawfully authorized to sign for that person.

Two things to note. First, the writing requirement applies to the agreement itself or a memorandum of it — a separate document that records the essential terms can satisfy the statute even if the primary agreement was not memorialized in a single signed document. Second, the signature requirement is one-sided. The agreement is enforceable against the party who signed; if only the seller signed and the buyer did not, the agreement is enforceable against the seller but not against the buyer.

What §26.01(b) Covers in Real Estate

Subsection (b) lists the categories of agreements that must be in writing. Two of them touch real estate practice directly:

§26.01(b)(4) — a contract for the sale of real estate. This is the central rule. Any agreement to buy or sell land must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged.
§26.01(b)(5) — a lease of real estate for a term longer than one year. A short-term lease (one year or less) does not require writing under the Statute of Frauds, though writing is still strongly advised. A longer lease must be in writing. The writing requirement matters in the context of Texas eviction procedure, where a written lease can specify a notice-to-vacate period different from the §24.005 three-day default.

Note what §26.01(b) does not cover for real estate: commission agreements. Section 26.01(b)(7) is a commission writing requirement, but it applies only to commissions for oil and gas mining leases, oil and gas royalties, minerals, and mineral interests — not general real estate commissions. Practitioners frequently get this wrong. The real estate commission writing requirement is in a separate statute, addressed below.

Other §26.01(b) categories — promises to answer for another's debt, agreements made in consideration of marriage, agreements not to be performed within one year, medical care warranties — are real but less commonly tested in the real estate context.

Real Estate Commissions: Tex. Occ. Code §1101.806(c)

Texas has a separate, real-estate-specific commission writing requirement embedded in TRELA itself. Under Texas Occupations Code §1101.806(c): "A person may not maintain an action in this state to recover a commission for the sale or purchase of real estate unless the promise or agreement on which the action is based, or a memorandum, is in writing and signed by the party against whom the action is brought or by a person authorized by that party to sign the document."

This is TRELA's own statute-of-frauds provision, and Texas courts have repeatedly required strict compliance with it. A broker pursuing a real estate commission claim without a written agreement signed by the party to be charged generally cannot recover — even through breach of contract, quantum meruit, fraud, or promissory estoppel theories. The TRELA writing requirement is independent of and in addition to the general §26.01 framework: §26.01 covers the underlying purchase contract; §1101.806(c) covers the commission agreement.

One narrow carve-out: §1101.806(a)(1) exempts agreements between license holders to share compensation — those do not have to be in writing to be enforceable as between brokers and agents (though writing is always advisable). The requirement applies to commission claims against the seller, buyer, or other client.

The TRELA writing requirement works in tandem with the new SB 1968 written-buyer-representation requirement that took effect January 1, 2026 — together they mean that essentially every meaningful agreement between a license holder and a client in a Texas residential transaction now lives in writing.

The Companion Rule: Property Code §5.021

Texas Property Code §5.021 sits alongside §26.01 and addresses a related but distinct point — the conveyance instrument itself, not the underlying agreement:

"A conveyance of an estate of inheritance, a freehold, or an estate for more than one year, in land and tenements, must be in writing and must be subscribed and delivered by the conveyor or by the conveyor's agent authorized in writing."

The deed (the instrument that actually transfers title) must be in writing, signed (subscribed) by the grantor, and delivered to the grantee. Section 26.01 governs the underlying contract to sell; §5.021 governs the deed that completes the conveyance. The two rules work together — a real estate transaction needs both a written, signed contract under §26.01(b)(4) and a written, subscribed, delivered deed under §5.021.

What the Writing Must Contain

The Texas Supreme Court and appellate courts have repeatedly held that a real estate contract satisfying the Statute of Frauds must contain enough information to identify the agreement's essential terms without resort to oral evidence. Courts look for:

Identification of the parties — the seller and the buyer.
A legal description of the property — the contract must furnish, within itself or by reference to some other existing writing, the means by which the property to be conveyed can be identified with reasonable certainty. A property description that says "my farm in Travis County" is generally insufficient; a description that incorporates a recorded survey or deed by reference may be enough.
The purchase price — or some agreed-upon means of determining it.
Essential terms — payment, closing, and any conditions material to the parties' agreement.
Signature by the party to be charged.

The Texas case law on what counts as "reasonable certainty" in legal descriptions is well-developed — Pickett v. Bishop and similar cases are foundational. Vague or shorthand descriptions have repeatedly been held insufficient. This is one of the reasons TREC's promulgated contract forms include detailed property description fields rather than leaving the description to the parties.

Multiple Documents Can Be Read Together

The statute permits the writing to consist of multiple documents read together, as long as the documents collectively contain the essential terms and at least one of them is signed by the party to be charged. In practice, this means a signed listing agreement plus a referenced legal description plus an email or addendum referencing the same transaction can collectively form a sufficient writing — even if no single document contains everything.

Courts will read documents together when they appear to relate to the same transaction and the references between them are clear. The party arguing enforcement has the burden of proving the documents are linked.

The Partial Performance Exception

Texas common law recognizes a narrow exception to the Statute of Frauds: partial performance can take a real estate contract out of the statute and make an oral agreement enforceable. The traditional formulation requires three elements:

Payment of consideration — the buyer paid all or substantial portion of the purchase price.
Possession of the property — the buyer took possession.
Permanent and valuable improvements — the buyer made permanent and valuable improvements to the property with the seller's knowledge and consent (or, in some formulations, other facts that make enforcing the statute amount to fraud).

Not every partial performance qualifies. Texas courts have applied the exception cautiously and have refused to enforce oral agreements where the elements were only partially met. As a practical matter, exam scenarios that mention an oral contract should usually be answered with "not enforceable under the Statute of Frauds," with the partial-performance exception being the rare narrow path.

What the Statute of Frauds Does NOT Require

A few things candidates sometimes assume the statute requires but it does not:

Notarization. The Statute of Frauds requires the writing to be signed, not notarized. Notarization is often required for recording (so that a deed can be recorded in the county records) but is not required for the contract to be enforceable between the parties under §26.01.
Witnesses. Texas does not require witnesses for a real estate contract to be enforceable.
A specific form. The statute requires writing and signature — not any particular format. TREC promulgated forms exist for compliance and policy reasons (uniformity, consumer protection, unauthorized-practice-of-law concerns) but the underlying §26.01 rule would be satisfied by any sufficient writing.
Both signatures. The statute requires the signature of the party to be charged — meaning the party against whom enforcement is sought. A contract signed only by the seller is enforceable against the seller but not against the buyer.

Common Misconceptions

"All real estate contracts must be notarized." No — the Statute of Frauds requires writing and signature, not notarization. Deeds that are recorded must be acknowledged before a notary, but the underlying contract is enforceable without notarization.
"An oral agreement is enforceable if the buyer paid earnest money." Generally no. Payment of earnest money alone is not partial performance under Texas law — the doctrine requires payment, possession, and permanent improvements (or analogous facts amounting to fraud if the statute is enforced).
"A one-year lease must be in writing." Texas requires writing for leases longer than one year. A lease of exactly one year or less may be oral and still enforceable under the Statute of Frauds — though writing is always advisable.
"The Statute of Frauds is only about contracts." Section 26.01 governs the contract; Property Code §5.021 governs the conveyance instrument (the deed). Both must be in writing for a complete real estate transfer.
"A commission agreement is enforceable as long as both parties agreed orally." No — Tex. Occ. Code §1101.806(c) (not §26.01) specifically requires real estate commission agreements to be in writing. A broker pursuing a commission claim without a written agreement signed by the party to be charged faces a major obstacle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the legal source of the Statute of Frauds in Texas?: The general Statute of Frauds is codified at Texas Business and Commerce Code §26.01. For real estate conveyances specifically, Texas Property Code §5.021 imposes a separate writing-and-delivery requirement on the conveyance instrument itself. Together they form the framework that requires both the underlying contract and the deed to be in writing.
Does the Statute of Frauds apply to a lease?: Only to leases for terms longer than one year, under §26.01(b)(5). A lease of one year or less can be oral and still be enforceable under the Statute of Frauds, though writing is always advisable for evidentiary reasons and because other statutes or lease-specific rules may require certain notices, terms, or disclosures to be in writing. A multi-year lease must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged.
Does the Statute of Frauds require both parties to sign?: No — §26.01 requires only the signature of the party to be charged with the promise or agreement (the party against whom enforcement is sought). A contract signed by the seller but not the buyer is enforceable against the seller, but the buyer can walk away. Practical real estate transactions almost always have both parties sign, but the statute itself does not require both signatures.
Is an email or text message enough to satisfy the Statute of Frauds?: Possibly, if the electronic message contains the essential terms and a signature (which can be a typed name or other electronic signature under the Texas Uniform Electronic Transactions Act). Texas courts have enforced agreements memorialized by email exchanges where the essential terms were present and the electronic signature was attributable to the party to be charged. The threshold question is always whether the writing contains enough to enforce.
What is partial performance, and when does it apply?: Partial performance is a narrow common-law exception that can take an oral real estate contract out of the Statute of Frauds. Traditionally it requires payment of consideration, possession of the property, and permanent and valuable improvements made by the buyer with the seller's knowledge — or other facts that would make enforcing the statute amount to fraud. The exception is narrow, courts apply it cautiously, and exam scenarios involving oral real estate contracts should usually default to "not enforceable."
Do TREC promulgated forms satisfy the Statute of Frauds?: A properly completed TREC promulgated form can satisfy §26.01 when it contains the essential terms — identification of the parties, a sufficient legal description of the property, the purchase price, and the other material terms of the agreement — and is signed by the party to be charged. TREC's promulgated forms exist in part to ensure that residential real estate transactions in Texas are documented in writing with sufficient detail to be enforceable. License holders required to use a promulgated form under TREC rules are simultaneously satisfying their Statute of Frauds compliance, provided the form is completed with the essential terms. Separately, Texas broker-supervision rules govern how sales-agent compensation flows through the sponsoring broker.

Bottom Line

The Statute of Frauds is foundational to Texas real estate contract law. The two real-estate categories under §26.01(b) — contracts for the sale of real estate and leases longer than one year — are the ones most likely to appear on the exam, alongside Tex. Occ. Code §1101.806(c), TRELA's separate commission writing requirement. Texas Property Code §5.021 imposes a parallel writing-and-delivery requirement on the conveyance instrument. Oral agreements are generally unenforceable, with partial performance as a narrow common-law exception. Candidates who memorize the two §26.01(b) real-estate categories, the separate §1101.806(c) commission rule, the "party to be charged" rule, and recognize that the statute requires writing and signature (not notarization or witnesses) will handle the contracts-cluster Statute of Frauds questions confidently. For the full contracts-cluster blueprint and the other Texas-specific topics you'll need to know, see our Texas real estate contracts hub.

Source: Texas Business and Commerce Code §26.01 · Texas Property Code §5.021 · Texas Occupations Code §1101.806 (TRELA)