A Resident's Guide to Richardson's Local Ordinances

Richardson is a mid-sized city in Dallas County, Texas, with about 121000 residents. Like most cities its size, it has a set of local rules that may differ significantly from neighboring municipalities. Here is an overview of 116 ordinances across 38 categories that affect daily life in Richardson.

Cannabis Regulations

Dispensary Zoning: Only state-licensed low-THC Compassionate Use dispensaries are legal in Texas; Richardson zoning does not establish recreational or medical marijuana dispensary categories..

Also covered: Home Cultivation (permissive). See the full cannabis regulations guide for Richardson for details.

HOA Rules

CC&R Enforcement: CC&R enforcement in Richardson is governed by Texas Property Code Chapter 209, which requires recorded enforcement policies, reasonable notice, and graduated remedies. Unrecorded or selectively enforced restrictions can be challenged under state law..

Also covered: Architectural Review (limited), Dispute Resolution (limited), Assessment & Dues (limited). See the full hoa rules guide for Richardson for details.

Rental Property Rules

Repairs & Habitability: Rental habitability in Richardson is governed by Texas Property Code Chapter 92 and the city's property maintenance code. Landlords must provide working smoke alarms, keep buildings weather-tight, and remedy conditions that materially affect tenant health and safety..

Also covered: Rent Control (permissive), Just Cause Eviction (permissive). See the full rental property rules guide for Richardson for details.

Swimming Pools & Spas

Pool Permits: Above-ground pools over 24 inches deep require a permit in Richardson and must meet pool barrier, setback, and electrical standards..

Also covered: Fencing & Safety Requirements (limited). See the full swimming pools & spas guide for Richardson for details.

Animal Ordinances

Exotic Pets: Richardson makes it unlawful to own, possess, keep, or harbor any wild animal within the city, with no household-pet exception. Only government entities, public zoos, research institutions, licensed exhibitions, rodeos or circuses, and licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers are exempt..

Also covered: Breed Restrictions (permissive), Mandatory Spay/Neuter (moderate), Beekeeping (limited). See the full animal ordinances guide for Richardson for details.

Short-Term Rentals

Noise Rules: Richardson bars short-term rental guests and owners from making noise that violates the city's noise ordinance, and ties habitual noise complaints directly to STR registration revocation. Two or more noise-related convictions at an STR within 12 months count as a habitual nuisance, letting the director pull the property's registration for a full year..

Also covered: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (limited), Taxes & Fees (moderate), Short-Term Rental Permits (restrictive). See the full short-term rentals guide for Richardson for details.

Noise Ordinances

Barking Dogs: Richardson bans letting an animal unreasonably bark, howl, crow, or make unprovoked loud noise that disturbs a person of ordinary sensibilities for at least 15 minutes. A prosecution requires a complaining witness and a dated, timed audio or video recording..

Also covered: Quiet Hours (limited), Construction Hours (limited), Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (limited). See the full noise ordinances guide for Richardson for details.

Building Safety

Building Permits: Richardson requires a city building permit before you erect, alter, repair, move, or demolish any structure. The city adopted the International Building Code, 2021 Edition, whose Section 105 mandates the permit; only a small detached shed with a roof area under 40 square feet is exempt..

Also covered: Plumbing Permits (moderate), Electrical Permits (moderate). See the full building safety guide for Richardson for details.

Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors

Vending Zones: Richardson bans mobile food vending on any street with four or more marked traffic lanes and, on residential streets, allows a vendor to stop only when a customer flags them down, for no more than 15 minutes. On private property the vending must sit in a non-residential zoning district, such as commercial, office or industrial, as an accessory use to the property's main business..

Also covered: Food Truck Permits (restrictive), Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (limited). See the full food trucks & mobile vendors guide for Richardson for details.

Fence Regulations

Height Limits: Richardson caps residential fences at eight feet along rear and side property lines, but only three feet in the front yard, and requires a five-by-20-foot clear sight triangle at every alley-street intersection so fences do not block traffic visibility..

Also covered: Fence Permit Requirements (moderate), Material Restrictions (moderate). See the full fence regulations guide for Richardson for details.

Parking Rules

Commercial & Oversized Vehicles: Richardson prohibits parking box trucks, semis, dump trucks and any vehicle over 23 feet long, eight feet wide or ten feet tall on residential, duplex, townhome or apartment property, including the street out front. Section 13-3 also caps visible business-marked vehicles at one per residential lot..

Also covered: Street Parking Limits (limited), Driveway Rules (moderate), Loading Zones (moderate). See the full parking rules guide for Richardson for details.

Outdoor Cooking

BBQ & Propane Rules: Richardson's amended fire code bars charcoal grills, open-flame cookers and similar devices from combustible balconies and decks, and requires 10 feet of clearance from combustible construction elsewhere. Single-family and duplex homes are exempt, and sprinklered buildings get a pass too..

Fire Regulations

Outdoor Burning: Richardson's Fire Code amendments prohibit open burning and bonfires outright citywide, extend any Collin or Dallas County burn ban into the city automatically, and let the fire code official order any open burning extinguished..

Also covered: Smoke Detectors (limited), Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (moderate). See the full fire regulations guide for Richardson for details.

Outdoor Lighting

Dark Sky Rules: Every outdoor light fixture in Richardson, in any zoning district, has to be built and aimed so its beam does not cross the property line. The zoning ordinance's performance standards ban glare or direct illumination intense enough to create a nuisance or interfere with a neighbor's use of their land..

Also covered: Light Trespass & Shielding (moderate). See the full outdoor lighting guide for Richardson for details.

Environmental Rules

Flood Zones: Richardson requires new construction and substantial improvements to residential structures in a special flood hazard area to sit with the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated two feet above the base flood elevation. A licensed engineer or land surveyor must certify the elevation on a FEMA certificate, and floodways bar new fill or building outright unless engineering proves no rise in flood levels..

Also covered: Erosion Control (moderate), Flood Elevation Requirements (moderate), Stormwater Management (moderate). See the full environmental rules guide for Richardson for details.

Home Business

Signage Rules: A Richardson home occupation cannot advertise itself with any sign at all. Section 10(a)(6) bans interior and exterior signs, advertisements, or displays that promote the business, and Section 10(a)(5) separately forbids anything visible from outside indicating the home is used for more than a dwelling..

Also covered: Customer Traffic Restrictions (moderate), Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (moderate), Home Daycare (moderate). See the full home business guide for Richardson for details.

Accessory Structures

ADU Rules: Richardson zoning has no true accessory dwelling unit category. The only living-quarters accessory building it allows in single-family districts is a 'servants' quarters,' and the zoning definition bars it from ever being rented out or used as a separate dwelling, and strips it of any kitchen or its own utility hookups..

Also covered: Shed & Carport Rules (moderate). See the full accessory structures guide for Richardson for details.

Building Setbacks & Zoning

Structure Height Limits: In Richardson's R-1250-M single-family district, a house is capped at two stories, with the first story limited to 25 feet and the second to 15 feet, while a detached accessory building like a garage or servants' quarters tops out at one story and 12 to 25 feet depending on its footprint..

Also covered: Setback Rules (moderate), Lot Coverage Limits (moderate). See the full building setbacks & zoning guide for Richardson for details.

Tree Protection

Heritage & Protected Trees: Richardson's tree code sets a higher protection tier for its biggest trees: any tree with a caliper of 24 inches DBH or more is a "specimen tree," and removing one requires replanting at double the ratio required for an ordinary protected tree. Developed single-family and duplex residential lots are exempt..

Business Licensing & Operations

Auto Repair on Residential Property: Richardson's home occupation rules flatly prohibit repairing or servicing vehicles, engines, or large equipment as a home-based business. The only exception is work an owner or tenant does on their own vehicle for personal use; a repair shop, detailing operation, or mechanic side business run from a residence is an illegal home occupation..

Also covered: Tobacco Retail License (restrictive), Adult Entertainment (restrictive), Secondhand Dealers (moderate). See the full business licensing & operations guide for Richardson for details.

Landscaping Rules

Tree Removal & Heritage Trees: On nonresidential, multifamily and undeveloped property in Richardson, cutting down a protected tree (6-plus inches DBH) or a specimen tree (24-plus inches DBH) requires a permit from the development services director first. Removing one without a permit is a separate offense per tree, punishable by up to $2,000.

Also covered: Tree Trimming (moderate), Native Plants (permissive), Water Restrictions (moderate). See the full landscaping rules guide for Richardson for details.

Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules

Encroachment Permits: Before anyone builds, alters or resurfaces a walk, drive, curb, gutter or paved area on public property in Richardson, the building inspection department has to authorize it first. That happens either through a contractor's voucher tied to an existing building permit, at no extra charge, or through a standalone concrete permit with a fee from the Master Fee Schedule..

Also covered: Obstruction Rules (moderate), Sidewalk Repair (moderate). See the full sidewalk & pedestrian rules guide for Richardson for details.

Public Conduct

Skateboarding Rules: Inside the Galatyn Park Urban Center, Richardson bans skateboards, roller skates, roller blades and similar devices on any public or private street, sidewalk, parking area, Galatyn Plaza, or the Charles W. Eisemann Center once the city or the property owner has posted that area off-limits, under Sec.

Also covered: Loitering Rules (moderate), Aggressive Panhandling (restrictive), Public Alcohol Use (moderate). See the full public conduct guide for Richardson for details.

Mobility & Curb Rules

Red-Light Cameras: Texas Transportation Code Sec. 707.020 bars every city in the state, Richardson included, from implementing or operating a red light or photographic traffic-signal camera: House Bill 1631 shut the industry down statewide effective June 2, 2019.

Also covered: Shared E-Scooter Rules (moderate), Bike Lane Rules (moderate). See the full mobility & curb rules guide for Richardson for details.

Soliciting & Door-to-Door

Solicitor Permits: Richardson requires anyone soliciting funds, going house to house to sell goods or services, or distributing handbills on private property to first obtain a permit from the police department. Canvassers who are not selling anything or asking for money are exempt.

Trash & Recycling

Bulk Item Disposal: Texas Health and Safety Code section 365.012 criminalizes dumping bulk loads of litter or solid waste at any place that is not an approved solid waste site, and the penalty scales with the size of the load: a Class C misdemeanor for five pounds or less, up to a state jail felony once the dump reaches 1,000 pounds, 200 cubic feet, or a closed barrel or drum..

Also covered: Yard Waste Collection (moderate), Collection Schedule (restrictive), Bin Placement Rules (moderate). See the full trash & recycling guide for Richardson for details.

Sign Regulations

Window Signs: Richardson caps window signage at 25 percent of the total visible window area per facade under Sec. 18-96(35), counting poster marquee signs toward the same limit, and no permit is required for a window sign that meets the section's design rules..

Also covered: Holiday Displays (permissive), Digital Billboards (moderate), Political Signs (permissive). See the full sign regulations guide for Richardson for details.

Garage & Yard Sales

Frequency, Duration & Permits: Richardson caps garage and occasional sales at three per address and three per resident within any rolling 12-month period, each capped at 72 consecutive hours, under Sec. 13-157.

Curfew Laws

Park Curfew: Richardson parks close nightly at 10:30 p.m. and reopen at 5:00 a.m.; Sec.

Special Events & Permits

Street Fair Rules: Richardson requires a temporary open air market permit from the director of health before any vendor fair or produce market opens on private property. Markets run only Saturdays, Sundays, or national-holiday Mondays, capped at three consecutive days, with a $50 food vendor fee..

Also covered: Park Event Permits (moderate). See the full special events & permits guide for Richardson for details.

Noise from Specific Sources

Generator Noise: Portable and standby generators in Richardson must operate within the city's noise ordinance decibel limits, which are stricter at night and in residential zones. Permanent standby installations also require a building permit and setback compliance..

Also covered: HVAC & Mechanical Noise (permissive). See the full noise from specific sources guide for Richardson for details.

Property Maintenance

Vacant Lot Maintenance: Owners of vacant lots in Richardson must keep grass and weeds under 12 inches, remove trash and debris, and secure the property against dumping..

Also covered: Property Blight (limited). See the full property maintenance guide for Richardson for details.

Hotels & Lodging

Transient Occupancy Tax: Richardson levies a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax on top of the state's 6 percent, reaching any room rented for $2 or more a night to a guest staying fewer than 30 days. Hotels collect the tax, file a monthly report by the 20th, and revenue is restricted to the uses the Tax Code allows for tourism and conventions..

Solar Energy

Panel Permits: Residential rooftop solar installations require a Richardson building and electrical permit, with structural review for mounting and NEC compliance for wiring..

Also covered: HOA Restrictions (permissive). See the full solar energy guide for Richardson for details.

Rental Inspections

Inspection Programs: Every single-family, duplex, and townhome rental in Richardson must be registered with the Chief Building Official within 30 days of first occupancy, renewed each year with a $75 nonrefundable fee, and subjected to an annual exterior inspection of the property..

Public Health Rules

Rodent Control: Commercial pest control in Richardson requires a Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Structural Pest Control Service license. Landlords must address infestations that affect habitability, and termite inspections are commonly required for real estate and construction..

Homelessness & Encampment Rules

Encampment Sanitation: Richardson makes it a criminal offense to be found asleep on any sidewalk, street, alley, public thoroughfare or park in the city. Section 13-52, carried forward from the 1966 Code, is the city's tool for clearing overnight encampments from public rights-of-way and parkland..

Drone Rules

Recreational Drones: Recreational drone use in Richardson is governed primarily by FAA Part 107 and the FAA Recreational Flyer rules, with Texas Government Code Chapter 423 preempting most local restrictions. Richardson does not have a standalone recreational drone ordinance but restricts takeoff and landing in city parks without permission..

What to Do With This Information

This overview covers the big picture, but the details matter. Each ordinance page for Richardson includes the full text, violation penalties, and frequently asked questions. Use those pages when you need specifics.