Dallas, TX Building Safety: Scaffold & Sidewalk Shed (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Dallas City Code Sec. 43-6
- Origin
- Code 1941, Art. 139-6
- Max fine
- $500 ($2,000 if fire/zoning/health hazard)
- Continuing offense
- Separate offense each day
- Enforcement
- Code Compliance / building official
Summary
Dallas City Code Sec. 43-6 makes it unlawful to erect or use an unsafe or insecure scaffold anywhere in the city if it endangers workers on it or people passing underneath. Because the section carries no listed dollar fine, the city's general penalty in Sec. 13-1 fills the gap: up to $500 a violation, or $2,000 if the scaffold also creates a fire, zoning, or health hazard.
SEC. 43-6. UNSAFE SCAFFOLDS. No person shall erect, use or cause or suffer to be erected or used within the city any insecure or unsafe scaffold, whereby the safety of persons working thereon or passing thereunder may be in any manner endangered. ...
SEC. 13-1. GENERAL PENALTY; CONTINUING VIOLATIONS.
(a) Whenever a person does an act that is forbidden, fails to perform an act that is required, or commits an act that is made an offense by any provision of this code or of any ordinance, rule, or regulation of the city and no specific penalty is provided for a violation of the provision, the violation is punishable by a fine:
(1) not to exceed $500;
(2) not to exceed $2,000 if the provision violated governs fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, including dumping of refuse
Full Breakdown
Sec. 43-6, dating to the 1941 code and carried forward from Article 139-6, is short but sweeping: no person shall erect, use, or cause or suffer to be erected or used within the city any insecure or unsafe scaffold, whereby the safety of persons working on it or passing under it may be endangered in any manner. It applies to any scaffold in the city, whether for a construction site, a sign installation, or a building maintenance job, and protects both the workers on the scaffold and pedestrians walking beneath it.
The section sits in Chapter 43's Article I, In General, alongside related street-and-sidewalk safety offenses like Sec. 43-7, which bars leaving a sidewalk broken or an opening uncovered, and Sec. 43-8, which makes each day an obstruction or hazard remains a separate offense. Because Sec. 43-6 does not spell out its own fine, Dallas' citywide general penalty at Sec. 13-1 applies: a violation is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500, rising to $2,000 if the unsafe condition also implicates fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, and Sec.
13-1(b) makes every day a violation is committed or continued a separate offense unless another ordinance already says so. Code Compliance and the building official enforce scaffold safety in the field, and an unsafe scaffold found during a building inspection under the Dallas Building Code, Chapter 53, can also trigger a stop-work order independent of the Sec. 43-6 citation.
Violations & Fines
Using or maintaining an insecure or unsafe scaffold is punishable under the citywide general penalty, Sec. 13-1: up to $500 per offense, or up to $2,000 if the hazard also involves fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, with each day the unsafe scaffold remains in place charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Dallas regulate unsafe scaffolding?
What is the fine for an unsafe scaffold in Dallas?
Can Dallas cite me every day an unsafe scaffold stays up?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dallas
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Dallas to another location·View the Texas building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.