Pearland, TX Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Code adopted
- 2021 International Plumbing Code
- Enforcing official
- Building Official / Permits & Inspections
- Standard fine range
- $100 to $500 per offense, per day
- Sewer-blockage fine
- Up to $2,000 for repeat offenses
- Appeals go to
- Board of Appeals under Code § 7-15
- Sewer connection deadline
- 30 days once public main is within 200 ft
Summary
Pearland enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code, as locally amended, for every plumbing installation in the city, with the Building Official as code official and violations fined between $100.00 and $500.00 per day under Chapter 23 of the Code of Ordinances.
Sec. 23-1. - Plumbing code adopted. The International Plumbing Code, 2021 Edition, as published by the International Code Council, Inc., is hereby adopted by reference and made part of this chapter. A true and correct copy of this Code shall be on file in the office of the city secretary. ... (e)Section 108.4 is hereby amended to read as follows: 108.4 Violations. Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate or fail to comply with the requirements or provisions of any section or subdivision of the plumbing code adopted by this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 28).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 23-1 (Plumbing code adopted) adopts the International Plumbing Code, 2021 Edition, by reference, with a certified copy kept on file in the office of the city secretary. Sec. 23-1.1 modifies that adopted code with Pearland-specific amendments: the Division of Permits and Inspections enforces the code and its "code official" is the city's Building Official (amending IPC Sections 101.1 and 103.1); permit fees run through the Building Fee Schedule in Appendix A, with a plan-checking fee required whenever plans are submitted for review (Section 106.6.2); and appeals of any plumbing decision go through the process in Sec.
7-15 of the Code of Ordinances rather than the model code's own appeals section (Section 109). Local amendments also set technical minimums beyond the base IPC: building sewers connecting to private septic systems must run at least 12 inches below finished grade (Section 305.4.1); when a public sewer main comes within 200 feet of a property, the owner has 30 days from official notice to connect and abandon any septic system (Section 701.2.1); and grease traps in food-service plumbing must be cleaned at least every 90 days, with cleaning records kept and available on request (Section 1003.3). These local sections were most recently carried forward by Ord. No. 1210-2024, adopted January 22, 2024.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 23-1.1(e) amends IPC Section 108.4 so that any violation of the plumbing code is a misdemeanor, fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 per offense, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. Sec. 23-2 adds a distinct sewer-connection offense: connecting a generator to the sewer system without the required permit or registration certificate is punishable by up to $500.00, rising to a mandatory minimum of $1,000.00 for a first offense, $1,500.00 for a second, and $2,000.00 for any later offense if the violation blocks a sanitary sewer line.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pearland
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