Houston | Plats, Permits and Fees

Houston Plats, Permits and Impact Fees: Classes, Deadlines and What the City Charges

A Houston project passes through two City reviews before construction. The first is the plat, the recorded map that divides land into lots, under Chapter 42, Article II of the City code. The second is the building permit. During these reviews the City charges application fees and, under Chapter 47, impact fees for water, wastewater and drainage. This page gives the plat classes, who decides each one, the deadlines in state law, and the fee amounts the City publishes. The Houston overview gives the short version.

When a Plat Is Required

Sec. 42-20 says "any subdivision of property in the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction shall require a subdivision plat." The extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the unincorporated land outside the city limits where the City applies its plat rules. Sec. 42-1 defines a subdivision as "the division of a tract of land, including a lot, into two or more parts," however the division is made, and includes a replat. A replat is a new plat that changes an earlier recorded one. One division is left out: parts greater than five acres, where each part has access to a public street and no public improvement must be dedicated.

The rule is enforced through permits and utilities. Under Sec. 42-4(b) the building official "shall not issue a building permit" for construction on property that was subdivided after March 15, 1963 unless the property is in an approved and recorded subdivision plat. Sec. 42-7 bars utility permits and City water and wastewater service for land that was not platted as required.

A second document, the development plat, covers the building. Sec. 42-22 requires one for "the new construction or enlargement of any exterior dimension of any building." Sec. 42-1 calls it a site plan, which is a scaled drawing of the buildings, parking and driveways. The section exempts six cases. They include a detached single-family home on a lot that is part of a recorded subdivision plat, an alteration that adds no more than 100 square feet and stays out of the building line (the required distance between a building and the street), and any building in the central business district, the area inside U.S. 59, I.H. 45 and I.H. 10.

Three Classes of Plat, and Who Decides

Sec. 42-23 sets three classes. Class I and Class II are optional shorter routes for plats that qualify, and any plat may be filed as Class III. Sec. 42-70 assigns the decision. In the table, an easement is a recorded right to use part of the land for a set purpose, such as a water line, and to dedicate is to give land or a right to the public.

Source: Houston Code of Ordinances, Sec. 42-22, 42-23 and 42-70, Supplement 93 Update 1.

The director is the director of the Planning and Development Department. The Planning Commission also decides any plat that asks for a variance or special exception, and any Class I plat or development plat the director refers to it because it does not meet the chapter. A replat of one lot into townhome lots cannot be Class I, because a Class I plat may not be a replat (Sec. 42-23(d)(4)). It is filed as Class II when state law requires no notice to adjacent owners, and as Class III when it does, or when it needs a new street or public utility easement.

The Commission has a duty to approve a plat that complies. Sec. 42-71(b) says it "shall approve each subdivision plat that complies with the provisions of this chapter and other applicable laws and requirements."

The Steps, and the City's 14-Day Cycle

The Planning Department's development regulations page says applications for subdivision plats, variances and recordation are submitted on its Plat Tracker website. The City's plat submittal and approval chart shows one cycle:

• Days 1 to 4, Friday to Monday. Applications are accepted every two weeks, from 6 a.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Monday. Staff check each one for completeness.
• Day 6, Wednesday. The completeness notice is available on Plat Tracker, and staff review begins.
• Day 8, Friday. The draft Planning Commission agenda is posted.
• Day 13, Wednesday. The staff recommendation is available on Plat Tracker.
• Day 14, Thursday. The final agenda is posted at 1:00 p.m. and the Planning Commission meets at 2:30 p.m.
• Friday. The action agenda is posted.

The chart includes a note: "Plat applications may require two approvals- a preliminary and a final. Also, Planning Commission may defer action on applications to the next 14 day cycle." A Class III plat is considered twice, first as a preliminary plat and then as a final plat (Sec. 42-71).

The code sets the matching rules. Sec. 42-52 has the director review each application for completeness and return an incomplete one with an explanation. Sec. 42-53 puts a complete application filed by 11:00 a.m. on the due date on the agenda for that meeting, and gives the director ten days to approve or refer a complete Class I plat or development plat. The Commission may defer action "until the next regular meeting, but not to exceed 30 days from the filing date." Sec. 42-1 defines the filing date as the date the plat is formally presented to the Commission on its meeting agenda.

Every application comes with standard documents. Sec. 42-41 lists 17 items a plat must show, from the subdivision name to the building lines. Class I and Class II plats need a current title report, which is a title company's or attorney's summary of who owns the land and what is recorded against it (Sec. 42-42). A plat for a single-family subdivision inside the city needs a solid waste collection plan approved by the director of solid waste (Sec. 42-40(d)). A Class II or preliminary Class III plat for single-family use inside the city needs an existing conditions survey showing driveways, utility poles, trees and sidewalks within ten feet of the tract (Sec. 42-56).

The 30-Day Rule in State Law

Local Government Code 212.009(a) requires the city authority to "approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove a plat within 30 days after the date the plat is filed," and adds: "A plat is approved by the municipal authority unless it is disapproved within that period and in accordance with Section 212.0091." The period can be extended for up to 30 days at a time when the applicant asks in writing and the city agrees.

The sections that follow in chapter 212 set what a city must do when it attaches conditions or disapproves. Section 212.0091 requires a written statement of each condition or reason, with a citation to the law it is based on. Section 212.0093 lets the applicant respond in writing, and bars the city from setting a deadline for that response. Section 212.0095 gives the city 15 days after the response to approve or disapprove, and the plat is approved if the city misses that date. Section 212.0065 lets a city delegate plat approval to staff and gives the applicant a right to appeal a staff disapproval to the planning commission or governing body.

Replats, Notice and Variances

A replat needs a public hearing 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 plat notes (Sec. 42-49). The applicant publishes notice at least 20 days before the hearing. Sec. 42-83 has the director mail a letter to owners within 300 feet at least 20 days ahead, and the applicant post a sign of at least four by eight feet, no more than 15 feet from the street. If the replat also needs a variance and owners of at least 20 percent of the land within 200 feet, inside the original subdivision, protest in writing, approval requires three-fourths of the Commission members present (Sec. 42-84).

A variance is permission to depart from a rule. Under Sec. 42-81 it needs five findings, among them an undue hardship or unusual physical conditions, that the applicant did not create the hardship, and that money is not the only reason. A special exception under Sec. 42-82 is a smaller adjustment: the Commission may not grant one that changes a standard by 33 percent or more, and a change of 10 percent or less is presumed acceptable in size. Neither one can change the performance standards for small lots. The deed restrictions page covers replats in restricted subdivisions.

After Approval: 12 Months to Record

Sec. 42-80 makes the approval of a Class I, Class II or Class III plat valid for 12 months. The owner can ask in writing for an extension of no more than 12 months from the original expiration date, and must ask before the approval expires. When an approval expires, "the applicant must submit a new subdivision plat and pay all applicable fees." Approval of a development plat lasts until the project is complete.

To record the plat, Sec. 42-45 requires the original drawing, an updated title report, a recorded map return agreement (a written agreement that lets the county clerk return the recorded plat to the department), and proof that city, county and school district taxes are paid. The Planning Department says recordation appointments are held in person.

Source: City of Houston, City Fee Schedule, Planning and Development rows, read October 8, 2026. The schedule adds an administrative fee of $33.56 to a fee greater than $50.

The Planning Department says a new fee schedule takes effect on January 1 of each year and applies to applications submitted on or after that date. Sec. 42-54(b) doubles application fees for work done without the approval the chapter requires.

The Building Permit

The City code lists what must be in place before the building official issues a permit:

• a recorded subdivision plat, and an approved development plat where one is required (Sec. 42-4);
• a parking site plan approved by the director (Sec. 26-474);
• in a flood zone, a floodplain development permit or other compliance with Chapter 19 (Sec. 19-11);
• a wastewater capacity reservation and proof that impact fees are paid, when the project needs more sewer capacity (Sec. 47-313).

State law sets the deadline. Local Government Code 214.904 gives a city until the 45th day after a permit application is submitted to grant or deny it, give written notice of why it cannot yet decide, or reach a written agreement on a deadline. After a written notice, the city must grant or deny the permit within 30 days. A city that misses the deadline "may not collect any permit fees associated with the application" and must refund any it collected.

The Houston Permitting Center's website did not load for this review, so this page gives no building permit fee amounts and no City review times for permits. Ask the Houston Permitting Center for both.

Impact Fees for Water, Wastewater and Drainage

An impact fee is a one-time charge on new development that pays for the added public pipes, plants and drainage works the development needs. Houston's three impact fees are in Chapter 47, Article IX (wastewater), Article X (water) and Article XV (drainage). Each article says it is adopted under chapter 395 of the Local Government Code. The code sets the method, and the City Fee Schedule states the amounts.

Source: City of Houston, City Fee Schedule, HPW (Houston Public Works) rows, read October 8, 2026, and Houston Code of Ordinances, Chapter 47, Supplement 93 Update 1.

Water and wastewater. Both fees are charged per service unit, and the fee due is the number of service units times the fee then in effect (Sec. 47-319 and 47-393). The number of service units for a project comes from a land use equivalency table adopted by City Council. VanPlex did not open that table, so this page gives no count for a duplex or fourplex. Ask Houston Public Works for the count for your plan. Both fees apply in a benefit area that covers the city and the ETJ, and both are collected when the building permit is issued. The "collected" amount is what the City charges now. The "maximum assessed" amount is the upper limit fixed for a development when it is assessed, and the fee due can never exceed it.

The water fee was reset on a date fixed in the code. Sec. 47-384(d) suspended the yearly index adjustment from May 19, 2021 and directed the City to calculate the fee "that will take effect on July 1, 2026," with yearly adjustments resuming from that date. Under Sec. 47-316 and 47-384, the yearly adjustment follows the Producers Price Index for All Commodities published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Drainage. The drainage fee applies to new development inside the City's drainage service areas, which lie within the city limits. A service unit is "1,000 square feet of impervious surface," and impervious surface is ground covered so that it does not readily absorb water, such as roofs, concrete, asphalt and compacted gravel. The schedule lists the same rate, $25.56, for the Brays Bayou, Buffalo / White Oak, Clear Creek, Greens Bayou, Hunting Bayou, San Jacinto and Sims / Vince service areas. At that rate, 2,000 square feet of added impervious surface is 2 service units and $51.12. Sec. 47-892 collects the fee at or before the building permit.

Credits and exemptions. All three articles exempt "low and moderate cost single family housing," a single family residence inside the city limits whose initial purchase price does not exceed the median price for single family housing in the city published by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. When a project removes existing structures, the capacity or impervious surface they used is credited, and no drainage fee is due when the new impervious surface is no larger than the old.

Reserving sewer capacity. Under Sec. 47-331, an owner who plans a use that changes the amount of utility service must file a reservation application. When capacity is available, Sec. 47-332 has the director issue a wastewater capacity reservation that is conditioned on payment within six months.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Houston overview, how Texas zoning works, and Texas property tax.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)