New Braunfels, TX Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted appendix
- IRC Appendix AM, Home Day Care - R-3
- Governing code
- 2021 International Residential Code
- Enforcing office
- City of New Braunfels building official
- Max fine
- $2,000 per day, per offense
- Appeal window
- 10 days, $200 residential fee
Summary
New Braunfels folds home day cares into its residential building code rather than leaving them as ordinary houses: § 14-29(aa) adopts the International Residential Code's Home Day Care - R-3 Occupancy appendix in full, enforced by the same building official and $2,000-per-day penalty that governs the rest of Chapter 14.
aa)Appendix AM Appendix AM, Home Day Care - R-3 Occupancy, is adopted in its entirety. ... Sec. 14-42. - Violation and penalty. Any person, firm, corporation, agent, or entity that violates a provision of this chapter, or fails to comply therewith or with any of the provisions thereof... shall constitute an endangerment of the public's health, safety, and welfare and be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation or failure to comply is committed or continued shall be deemed a separate offense subject to a fine of not more than $2,000.00 for each day and each offense upon conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
in its entirety" as part of its 2021 International Residential Code amendments (Ord. No. 2023-76, § 2, 10-9-23). That appendix layers R-3 occupancy-specific life-safety requirements onto any one- or two-family home operating as a day care, rather than treating it purely as a private residence for code purposes. Enforcement runs through the same building official who administers the rest of Chapter 14 (§ 14-1): a permit is required before any relevant construction, alteration or occupancy change under § 14-5, and the building official has final authority to resolve any conflict between the day-care appendix and the base residential code (§ 14-4). 00. 00 residential appeal fee; the board can affirm, modify or reverse the building official's decision by a two-thirds vote of its members.
Violations & Fines
Failing to bring a home day care into compliance with the adopted Appendix AM standards is a Chapter 14 violation: a misdemeanor under § 14-42, with each day the noncompliance continues counted as a separate offense and fined up to $2,000.00 upon conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction. An operator who disagrees with the building official's interpretation of the appendix has ten days to request a hearing before the construction board of appeals rather than simply ignoring the citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does New Braunfels treat a home day care differently from an ordinary house under the building code?
Who enforces the home day care building requirements?
What happens if a home day care doesn't meet the Appendix AM standards?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Braunfels
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