Houston | Deed Restrictions
Houston Deed Restrictions and Special Minimum Lot Size Areas
A deed restriction is a private rule recorded with the county that limits what an owner may build or do on a lot. Houston has no zoning, and the City itself can take an owner to court to enforce these recorded rules. Where a neighborhood has no lot size rule in its restrictions, City Council can set one for a block or an area under Chapter 42. This page covers both. The Houston overview gives the short version.
Houston deed restrictions in six facts
- The City of Houston may enforce, by suit for injunction, certain deed restrictions that affect subdivisions inside the city. Source: City of Houston Legal Department
- An owner who fails to comply with a recorded restriction after notice is subject to civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day. Source: Houston Code, Sec. 10-552
- The city may not start or keep up a suit when a property owners association with authority to enforce the restriction files suit to enforce it. Source: Local Government Code 212.153
- A property owners association petition approved by owners of at least 75 percent of the real property in a subdivision can extend, add to or modify the restrictions. Source: Property Code 204.005
- City Council can set a special minimum lot size for a block or area that has no minimum lot size in its deed restrictions, and that size prevails over the smaller sizes in Chapter 42. Source: Houston Code, Sec. 42-197
- A special minimum lot size set on an application completed after May 24, 2013 stays in effect for 40 years unless City Council ends it sooner. Source: Houston Code, Sec. 42-207
Where Deed Restrictions Apply
The City's deed restriction FAQ begins with the reason the City is involved. "The City of Houston is not zoned," it says, and the State Legislature and City Council "have authorized the City to help with enforcement of recorded deed restrictions for the protection of neighborhoods."
There is no single set for the city. The FAQ says "deed restrictions adhere to subdivision lines and sometimes section or even lot boundaries." It gives Oak Forest as an example, where the restrictions "vary by section within the subdivision," and says that "In some Heights area neighborhoods, restrictions are applicable lot by lot." So the first step on any lot is to get the documents recorded for that exact lot.
The FAQ says where to get them. For property in Harris County, contact the Harris County Clerk's Office at 713.755.6405, or go to the Harris County Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline, 3rd Floor, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For Montgomery County the clerk's number is 936.539.7885, and for Fort Bend County it is 281.341.8685. The FAQ advises having "the legal description of the property, lot and block number, as well as the name of the subdivision."
What the City Enforces
State law gives the power. Local Government Code 212.151 applies Subchapter F of chapter 212 to a city with a population of 1.5 million or more, or a city without zoning ordinances, that passes an ordinance requiring uniform enforcement. Under Section 212.153(a), such a city "may sue in any court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin or abate a violation of a restriction" in a properly recorded plan, plat or other instrument that affects a subdivision inside its boundaries. To enjoin is to get a court order that stops an activity.
Houston's ordinance is Chapter 10, Article XV of the City code. Sec. 10-551 lists the five kinds of restriction it covers:
| Kind | A limitation that |
|---|---|
| Use | Affects the character of the use to which real property, including residential and rental property, may be put |
| Setback | Fixes the distance that a structure must be set back from property lines, street lines, or lot lines |
| Lot and structures | Affects the size of a lot or the size, type, and number of structures that may be built on the lot |
| Orientation | Regulates orientation or fronting of a structure |
| Fences | Regulates construction of a fence that requires a building permit |
Source: Houston Code of Ordinances, Sec. 10-551, Supplement 93 Update 1.
For a multiplex project the third row is the one to read first. A restriction that allows one dwelling per lot, or one structure, or sets a minimum lot size, is within the kinds the City enforces. Sec. 10-551 excludes two things from the term: provisions that restrict property "on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin," and restrictions "that by their express provision have terminated."
How Enforcement Works
The Legal Department's deed restriction page gives the hotline, 832.393.6333, and a mailing address for written complaints. The FAQ describes the steps. The Deed Restriction Enforcement Team gets copies of the recorded deed and restrictions, confirms who owns the property and that the activity is prohibited, and investigates. Its attorneys then decide whether to send the owner a letter about the violation or close the file. Before a suit for an injunction is filed, the case is reviewed again for evidence and witnesses. The FAQ says there is no fee to the person who complains.
The City code adds four measures:
- Civil penalties. Sec. 10-552(a) sets "civil penalties of not more than $1,000.00 per day," and each day of noncompliance is a separate violation.
- Repair or demolition. Sec. 10-553(a) lets the city attorney ask the court "to compel the repair or demolition of any structure or portion thereof" that violates the article.
- Stop work. Under Sec. 10-555, when the city attorney advises that work is being done under a void building permit, the building official "shall order the building work stopped."
- The permit affidavit. Sec. 10-552(b) makes it unlawful to build under a permit when the work violates a recorded restriction and the applicant swore in a required affidavit that it complied.
The power has limits. Section 212.153(b) bars the city from starting or keeping up a suit when "a property owners' association with the authority to enforce the restriction files suit." Section 212.154 bars the city from stopping a violation that occurred before August 30, 1965 "as long as the nature of the violation remains unchanged." Under Sec. 10-553(a) the City files or joins no suit when, in the opinion of the city attorney, "no legal cause of action could be alleged and proved." The Legal Department also says its attorneys are "prohibited by law from giving legal advice or offering a legal opinion to any individual member of the public," so an owner who needs a restriction interpreted must hire a private attorney.
Private parties can enforce restrictions too. Property Code 202.003 says "A restrictive covenant shall be liberally construed to give effect to its purposes and intent." Restrictive covenant is the legal name for a deed restriction. Section 202.004(c) lets a court assess civil damages for a violation "in an amount not to exceed $200 for each day of the violation."
Deed Restrictions in Permits and Plats
The City checks restrictions at several points before anything is built. A site plan filed for parking review must come with a certified copy of the deed restrictions, or a title report stating there are none (Sec. 26-475). A title report is a title company's or attorney's summary of who owns the land and what is recorded against it. For a replat, Sec. 42-1 requires the title report to include "information regarding any deed restrictions applicable to the property."
A replat is a new plat that changes an earlier recorded one. Sec. 42-49 applies extra steps when any lot in the earlier plat was limited to single-family use, or to no more than two homes per lot, by deed restrictions or by notes on the plat. The owner must file an affidavit that the replat "does not amend, remove, or violate" restrictions recorded separately from the plat. The Planning Commission holds a public hearing, and the applicant publishes notice at least 20 days before it. State law sets the same test in Local Government Code 212.0146, which applies to a city of 1.4 million people or more.
Notes printed only on the plat follow Sec. 42-193 when part of a plat is replatted. A plat restriction that limits land to residential or single-family use "may be amended to permit the use of that property only for landscape, park, recreation, drainage, or open space uses." The City Fee Schedule lists a "Title & Deed Restriction Review" for subdivision plats at $707.34, as of January 1, 2026.
Buyers get a notice too. Sec. 10-556 makes each seller of deed-restricted property in the city responsible for giving the buyer a notice at closing, signed by both and recorded with the county. A seller who fails to do so can be fined up to $500.
How Restrictions Are Changed or Extended
Property Code chapter 204 applies to residential subdivisions in a county with a population of 3.3 million or more. The Houston overview gives the 2020 Census count for Harris County. Section 204.005 lets a property owners association approve and circulate a petition "relating to the extension of, addition to, or modification of existing restrictions." The petition is effective when it is approved by the owners "of at least 75 percent of the real property in the subdivision or a smaller percentage required by the original dedicatory instrument" and filed with the county clerk. A dedicatory instrument is a document that governs how a subdivision is set up, maintained or run (Property Code 202.001). If approved, the petition "is binding on all properties in the subdivision or section."
This matters to a buyer in two ways. Restrictions that are close to their end date can be extended by petition, and a subdivision can add to its restrictions after you buy. Section 204.002(c) leaves out parts of a subdivision that contain a commercial structure, an industrial structure, an apartment complex or a condominium development. Chapter 204 defines an apartment complex as two or more dwellings on one lot with one owner and one manager.
Special Minimum Lot Size Blocks and Areas
Sec. 42-197 lets City Council designate a special minimum lot size block or area "to preserve the lot size character of a single-family residential neighborhood that does not have a minimum lot size established by deed restrictions." A blockface is the part of a block that faces one street between two cross streets. The designation applies only inside the city.
| Rule | Block | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Size of the area | One blockface, or two blockfaces facing each other | At least five blockfaces with 5 or more lots on each |
| Largest number of lots | None stated | 500 lots in one subdivision plat, or 400 across different plats |
| Lots in or restricted to single-family use | At least 60 percent | At least 80 percent |
| Lots with no minimum lot size in deed restrictions | At least one lot | At least 10 percent of the lots |
| Who signs the application | The owner of one lot in the block | The owners of 10 percent of the lots |
| Support needed | Owners of 51 percent of the area and no written protest, for approval by the director. Other applications go to the Planning Commission | Owners of 55 percent of the area, on mailed response forms |
| Public steps | Mailed notice, a 30-day protest period, two signs on each blockface | A community meeting, mailed response forms, two signs on each blockface |
Source: Houston Code of Ordinances, Sec. 42-197 to 42-201, Supplement 93 Update 1.
The number comes from a formula in Sec. 42-202. Staff list the lots from largest to smallest, express each as a percentage of the total lot area, and add the percentages in that order. The lot at which the sum reaches 70 percent, or 60 percent in a historic district, sets the special minimum lot size. When an application goes to the Planning Commission, it holds a public hearing and makes a recommendation. City Council decides. After approval the director records a notice against each lot in the county real property records (Sec. 42-205).
Sec. 42-208 states the effect. A plat "shall not be approved if it provides for the creation of a lot that is smaller than or equal to the special minimum lot size." A lot that was in single-family use when the application was complete may be platted or permitted "only for single-family residential use." The requirement applies to plat applications filed after the seventh day following the date the application is published online, so a pending application can apply to a project before Council votes. If Council has not finished within 180 business days, the plat application is no longer subject to it.
The City's minimum lot size page words two points differently from the code. It says new lots "cannot be created smaller than the established minimum lot size," while Sec. 42-208(b) says "smaller than or equal to." It describes an area as "at least five contiguous blocks," while Sec. 42-197 counts blockfaces. The code controls. Ask the Planning and Development Department at 832.393.6600 how it applies the "equal to" wording before you plat lots at exactly the special minimum size.
Under Sec. 42-207 a requirement lasts 40 years when its application was complete after May 24, 2013, and 20 years when it was complete before that date. Owners can apply to rescind it, which means to cancel it, no earlier than five years after it took effect, with the support of owners of 67 percent of the area, and can apply to renew it no earlier than two years before it ends. Sec. 42-81(e) requires the Commission to grant a variance to an owner who proves a vested right, for example by showing a substantial sum spent in good faith before the requirement took effect.
Special Minimum Building Line Blocks
Sec. 42-170 offers a matching designation for building lines, the required distance between a building and the street. A special minimum building line block is one blockface or two facing blockfaces where at least 60 percent of the lots are single-family and at least one lot has no building line in its deed restrictions. The line is set by the same 70 percent method, using the existing building lines measured from the property line to the nearest point of each building, with uninhabitable porches left out (Sec. 42-173).
Once set, it "shall control over all other provisions of this chapter relating to building line requirements" (Sec. 42-150(c)). A requirement set on an application completed after July 24, 2015 ends after 40 years (Sec. 42-178). Sec. 42-179 applies it to plat and building permit applications filed after the seventh day following online publication of the application.
How to Check a Property
Sec. 42-197 requires the department to keep a list of current special minimum lot size blocks and areas on its website. The City's page links an online map where you can search an address, and it tells you to look for the boundary type, the status (approved, pending or under review) and the approved minimum lot size or building line. It also says existing lots are unaffected: "If your lot is already smaller than the approved SMLS, you may keep your lot and existing structure."
The City's Livable Places FAQ says the 2023 amendments did not "Affect neighborhoods that have active deed restrictions or minimum lot size or building line restrictions." A lot inside one of these designations follows the designation first, and the smaller lot sizes on the lot size and small lots page apply only where the designation and the deed restrictions allow them.
Best For
- ✓ A lot whose recorded restrictions have ended by their own terms and were never extended.
- ✓ A block with no special minimum lot size or building line designation, approved or pending.
- ✓ A tract platted as an unrestricted reserve with no separate recorded restrictions.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ The restrictions allow one dwelling or one structure per lot.
- ✕ The block or area has a special minimum lot size larger than the lots you plan.
- ✕ A property owners association is able to extend the restrictions by a 75 percent petition.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → Every restriction recorded for the lot, obtained from the county clerk.
- → The City map of special minimum lot size and building line boundaries.
- → Whether a designation application is pending, since it applies to plats filed after the seventh day.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: the Houston overview, how Texas zoning works, and HB 24 and zoning protests.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a copy of the deed restrictions for my Houston property?
How do I report a deed restriction violation in Houston?
What kinds of deed restrictions does the City of Houston enforce?
What is the penalty for violating a deed restriction in Houston?
Can the City of Houston sue over a deed restriction when my HOA has already sued?
Can Houston enforce a deed restriction violation that began before 1965?
How can a Houston subdivision change or extend its deed restrictions?
How is a special minimum lot size calculated in Houston?
Can a special minimum lot size in Houston be removed?
What is a special minimum building line block in Houston?
Can I replat a lot in a deed-restricted Houston subdivision?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
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