Houston Landlord-Tenant Rules

State preemption of local tenant rules: Houston has no local tenant bill of rights, eviction-notice rule, just-cause rule or rent regulation, and Texas law sharply limits what it could adopt. Cities may not adopt or enforce ordinances in any field the Texas Property Code occupies, which expressly includes ordinances that regulate evictions or that prohibit, restrict or delay a notice to vacate or an eviction filing. Since January 1, 2026, only the Legislature may modify or suspend eviction procedures, and courts may not require mediation or other pre-trial proceedings in eviction cases. Cities also may not bar landlords from refusing tenants whose rent includes federal housing assistance, such as Housing Choice Vouchers, except for military veterans.; Rental registration/inspection: Apartment properties with three or more units must register with the City under the Multi-Family Habitability Program (Multi-Family Rental Building ordinance, Ord. 2009-1043). Houston Permitting Center inspectors do scheduled programmatic inspections and inspections in response to 311 complaints. They mainly check building exteriors and common areas, such as stairways, balconies, railings, exterior lighting, walkways and visible structural problems. Owners get a notice of violation and time to fix problems, followed by a re-inspection. The inspection fee is a base charge of $134.28, plus $5.36 for each unit over 25.; High-risk apartment inspection program: City Council adopted the High-Risk Apartment Inspection Program on May 6, 2026 (approved by the Mayor May 12, 2026; the ordinance took effect on approval under its emergency clause). An apartment building (3+ units) that receives 10 or more qualifying citations in a 6-month period is designated a 'high-risk rental building' (multiple citations on one day count as one). Qualifying citations include no valid certificate of occupancy, structural violations, orders to vacate or emergency repair orders, fire-safety system failures, sanitation/plumbing problems, electrical hazards, blocked exits and failure to fix cited violations on time. The owner must register within 15 days of the notice (registration lasts 6 months) and may appeal the designation within 15 days. The City must inspect within 30 days of registration and re-inspect within 30 days after that. A building that does not fix all violations in 6 months stays in the program 12 months, and repeat offenders are recorded in the county property records. A new owner must fix outstanding violations within 180 days (extensions up to 90 days for good-faith efforts). The City must list designated buildings online and post tenant resources and referrals. Violations are misdemeanors with fines of $250 to $2,000 per violation per day. The same ordinance raised the general apartment-habitability fine to $500 to $2,000 per violation per day (Sec. 10-159).; Air conditioning (local habitability standard): Houston's minimum building standards now require the owner to provide and maintain, in good working order, refrigerated air equipment in each habitable space that can keep the inside temperature at least 20 degrees Fahrenheit below the outside temperature or no higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This requirement was added by Ordinance No. 2026-0732 (Aug. 19, 2026), which amended Sec. 10-363 after a council-member item filed on July 28, 2026. Owners must comply no later than the 120th day after the ordinance's passage and approval, and must make reasonable and continuous progress toward compliance before then. Units not cooled with refrigerated air must still have insect screens on exterior openings.