How Garland Handles Building Safety: A Practical Guide

Garland maintains 144 local ordinances across all categories, and 6 of those deal specifically with building safety. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Garland falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Childcare Center Rules

Garland requires every child care center to hold a valid permit from the Health Authority before operating, with no permit transferable between owners or sites. Operating without one, or altering a permit, is a criminal offense under Chapter 22, Article IX of the city code.

Key details: Permit issuer: City Health Authority. Permit duration: 1 year from issuance. Fee source: Master Fee Schedule, Ch. 10 § 10.85. Appeal deadline: 10 days after notice of denial/revocation. Revocation bar: 36 months, no new permit.

Operating a child care center without a permit, or in violation of any provision of Article IX, is a criminal offense under Section 22.169(A)-(B). Counterfeiting, forging, defacing or altering a permit is separately unlawful. The health authority may suspend a permit immediately for an imminent health hazard, or revoke it for a false statement, an aggravated violation, or repeated noncompliance, with a 36-month bar on reissuance to the same holder, director, officer or partner following revocation.

Compared to other cities, Garland takes a harder line on childcare center rules. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Plumbing Permits

Garland has adopted the 2015 International Plumbing Code, including its appendices B, D and E, as the city's Plumbing Code, and separately requires a plumbing permit before backflow-prevention and other regulated plumbing work is installed. Work done to a premises' plumbing system without the required permit can trigger mandatory premises containment under the city's cross-connection rules.

Key details: Adopted code: 2015 International Plumbing Code. Includes appendices: B, D, and E. Permit example: Backflow-assembly installation (§51.78). No-permit consequence: Forced premises containment. Max fine: Up to $2,000 per violation.

Plumbing work performed without the permit the Plumbing Code requires exposes the property to the premises-containment order under section 51.61(E), on top of the standard Chapter 30 penalty: a misdemeanor punishable under the general penalty of section 10.05, up to $2,000 for fire-safety or public-health-related violations and up to $500 for other Code violations, with each day of unpermitted work or noncompliance treated as a separate offense.

Elevator Maintenance

Garland's own code does not set separate elevator-maintenance permit rules; its only mention of elevators exempts maintenance, alteration, and repair of elevators and escalators from the city's electrical-licensing scheme because that work is regulated under the Texas Health and Safety Code. The city licenses only general electrical connections tied to that equipment, not the elevator mechanism itself.

Key details: Elevator maintenance: Regulated by state law. Governing state law: Health & Safety Code ch. 754. City elevator permit: None found in Chapter 30. Related city license: Municipal Electrical Maintenance License. Technician training: 8 hours, Building-Official approved.

Because Chapter 30 does not regulate elevator maintenance directly, there is no city-level fine schedule for it. A violation of the scope limits on a municipal electrical maintenance technician's license, such as touching equipment the license doesn't cover, is enforced like any other Chapter 30 electrical violation: a misdemeanor under section 30.49, punishable under the general penalty of section 10.05, up to $2,000 for fire-safety-related violations or $500 otherwise, with each day a separate offense.

The rules around elevator maintenance in Garland lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Building Permits

Garland adopts the International Building Code and requires a building permit before you erect, enlarge, alter, repair, move, or demolish any structure. Only contractors registered with the City may secure building permits, though homeowners may pull permits for a residence they own.

Key details: Governing code: International Building Code (§ 30.01). Permit rule: Required before building work. Who may apply: City-registered contractors; homeowners exempt. Enforcing office: Garland Building Official. Registration term: One year, then renewed.

Securing building permits without City general-contractor registration is unlawful. The Building Official administers permits, and the Unified Building Standards Commission may suspend or revoke a contractor's registration for persistent Code violations.

Building Inspections

Garland's building code ties every construction permit to a fixed inspection sequence: foundation or plumbing rough-in first, framing or electrical rough-in second, then a final inspection before occupancy. § 30.301(R) defines those stages to set refund percentages, and § 31.03 blocks final approval until every Chapter 31 requirement is met.

Key details: First inspection: foundation, pool steel, or plumbing rough-in. Second inspection: framing, top-out, electrical rough-in, or duct. Refund before first inspection: 75% of permit fee. Refund after final inspection: 0%, no refund. Refund request deadline: 60 days, written, with receipt.

Starting work before a required inspection, or skipping straight to occupancy without the final inspection, forfeits the abandonment refund entirely once that final inspection has occurred under § 30.301(R)(1)(a), and § 30.301(S) bars the Building Official from issuing or amending any permit until the required fee is paid. Reinspection fees apply under § 30.301(M) whenever a scheduled inspection fails, and after-hours inspection fees apply under § 30.301(N).

Electrical Permits

Garland has adopted the 2014 National Electrical Code and requires a separate electrical permit before any regulated wiring is installed, altered, repaired, replaced or remodeled. Applications go to the Building Official under Code of Ordinances Article III, and a short list of minor repairs, like reinstalling attachment-plug receptacles or replacing an overcurrent device of the same capacity, is exempt from that requirement.

Key details: Adopted code: 2014 National Electrical Code. Permit issuer: City Building Official. Permit expiry: 2 years without progress. Project lapse: 5 years from first application. Max fine: Up to $2,000 per violation.

Doing electrical work without a permit, or performing work under someone else's permit, is a Code violation under section 30.49, punishable under the citywide general penalty in section 10.05: fines run up to $2,000 for fire-safety-related building violations and up to $500 for other Code violations, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense. The Building Official may also suspend or revoke a permit issued in error; appeals of Building Official decisions go to the Unified Building Standards Commission under section 30.50.

The Bottom Line

Garland's building safety rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Garland is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Garland's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.