Harlingen, TX

Harlingen's zoning code bars accessory buildings from ever being used as a residence, blocking garage apartments and backyard ADUs citywide.

Harlingen requires a special use permit for any portable or storage building over 144 square feet in a residential zone, on top of standard setback rules.

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to…

Harlingen requires every short-term rental owner or operator to register the unit with Building Inspections and pay a fee before advertising it.

Harlingen taxes short-term rental stays at 7% under its Hotel Occupancy Tax and separately requires a $50 short-term rental registration fee per unit before renting out a dwelling.

Harlingen requires every short-term rental registration to state the unit's bedroom count and its day and night occupancy limit.

Harlingen limits building construction, demolition, alteration, and street excavation noise to 7 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. weekends.

Harlingen bars unreasonably loud loudspeakers, amplifiers, and PA systems in or near residential and noise-sensitive areas between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays, and 10 p.m. to 10…

Harlingen bars unreasonably loud noise from a commercial establishment's premises, including outdoor areas, that carries onto residential property between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Harlingen bars unreasonably loud commercial and amplified noise that's audible on residential property between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, with looser weekend and holiday…

Harlingen restricts domestic power equipment like leaf blowers to 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on weekends under the noise ordinance.

Harlingen bans dogs whose barking, whining, or howling is excessive and interferes with a neighbor's sleep or rest, treating it as a public nuisance under the animal code.

Harlingen bans playing a car radio, boom box, or stereo loud enough to be plainly audible 50 feet away in commercial, industrial, or public areas, or that unreasonably disturbs…

Harlingen's City Code § 111-144 makes retail, commercial and industrial buildings provide an off-street loading area of at least ten feet by 75 feet for each 20,000 square feet of…

Harlingen mandates asphalt or concrete surfacing for all residential driveways, connecting parking spaces, and adjacent alley aprons: grass and gravel parking areas don't comply.

Harlingen's § 32-52 defines an abandoned motor vehicle three ways, each running on a 48 hour clock, and only one of the three requires the vehicle to be inoperable and more than five…

Harlingen bars commercial trucks, trailers and boats from sitting on any street right-of-way past 24 hours in a 14-day span, with motor homes and travel trailers getting 48 hours.

Harlingen's City Code § 46-167 bars standing or parking in front of any public or private driveway, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, and at yellow-painted curbs, with only a momentary…

Harlingen caps how long commercial trucks, trailers, boats and RVs can sit on public streets, and bans semi tractor-trailers outright in residential zones.

Harlingen caps how long boats, boat trailers, and RVs can sit on a public street: 24 hours for boats and trailers, 48 hours for motor homes and travel trailers.

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

Harlingen allows home occupations by right in residential zones but caps them tightly: no hired help, no on-premises sign, no goods sold on site, and day cares are capped at six…

Harlingen's zoning code flatly bars any on-premises sign advertising a home-based business, letting owners promote only by phone number.

A Harlingen home occupation must be run by a family member living in the house, with no outside employees, no on-premises sign and no goods sold on site, and § 111-330 bars it from…

Harlingen zoning caps home-based child or adult day care at six children or adults before it stops qualifying as a home occupation.

Texas does not license cottage food at all. Health and Safety Code Section 437.0191(a) declares that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment, and…

Harlingen outlaws keeping bees or running an apiary anywhere inside city limits, treating any hive as a declared nuisance.

Harlingen bans letting a dog run at large and requires a leash of at least ten feet whenever the dog leaves its keeper's property.

Harlingen prohibits keeping lions, wolves, bears, primates, and other wild animals as pets citywide, with narrow exceptions for licensed zoos, circuses, and schools.

Harlingen has no breed-specific ban; instead a municipal court hearing can declare any dog 'vicious' under Chapter 6, triggering a $100,000 insurance mandate or court-ordered…

Harlingen bans keeping livestock anywhere in the city and limits fowl like chickens to locations at least 250 feet from neighboring homes, schools, or restaurants, capped at 20 birds.

Harlingen has no mandate to spay or neuter a pet. Section 6-146(g) instead zeroes out the first at large fine for a microchipped, altered dog or cat, and lets a dog owner cut $200.00…

Harlingen makes it a criminal offense to harbor more than five dogs or cats combined per dwelling unit in residential, multi-family, and mobile-home zones.

Texas lets hunters bait and feed game animals, including deer, on private property statewide. Baiting is unlawful on most public land, for wild turkey in the East Zone, and for all…

Harlingen adopts the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code by reference, so its pool barrier, fencing, and gate standards become mandatory for any pool, spa, or hot tub built or…

Harlingen requires pool installations, including above-ground and portable pools, to comply with the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code adopted under § 103-25, enforced through…

Harlingen exempts campfires from its outdoor-burning permit, but the fire chief must approve one in advance; backyard grilling for personal food needs no approval at all.

Harlingen bans all outdoor burning without a fire department permit, and when Cameron County activates a burn ban the city must follow it and cannot override the county's ruling.

Harlingen enforces smoke alarm requirements through its locally adopted 2024 International Residential Code and International Fire Code, incorporated by ordinance under Chapter 103…

Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2154 governs fireworks sales and use, while Local Government Code Chapter 352 limits how counties can restrict consumer fireworks during drought. The…

Selling, transporting, dispensing, or storing propane (LP-gas) in Texas requires a license from the Railroad Commission of Texas under Natural Resources Code Chapter 113. Only the…

Harlingen caps weeds and grass on any premises at 12 inches and requires cut vegetation to be removed, not left in piles.

Harlingen designates trees 24+ inches in circumference (8-inch caliper) as protected and requires mitigation, build-around credit, transplant, or replacement planting, before removal…

Once Harlingen Waterworks System declares Stage 2 of its drought plan, § 48-145(d)(2)(a) limits irrigation to twice a week overnight, with even-numbered addresses on Wednesdays and…

Harlingen bars trees, shrubs, and vines from private property that hang into public rights-of-way below 8 feet over sidewalks or 15 feet over streets and alleys, under Code of…

Harlingen's zoning landscape code flatly bars synthetic lawns or artificial plant material from counting toward required landscaping on commercial, multifamily, and other…

Texas Property Code 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning rainwater harvesting systems, and Health & Safety Code 341.042 sets statewide standards for harvested rainwater used as a…

Harlingen caps solid front-yard fences at 40 inches for houses and duplexes, with taller solid fencing allowed at the rear and side lot lines.

Harlingen caps front-yard fence height at 40 inches for solid designs and regulates rear and nonresidential fences by sight-triangle and traffic-view rules.

Under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 143, Subchapter F, you cannot tear out a fence you jointly own with a neighbor, or one attached to a neighbor's fence, without mutual consent. To…

Harlingen lets mobile food vendors sell on public streets during festivals only after the city commission approves a street closure, plus permits and the event sponsor's sign-off.

Harlingen requires anyone closing a street or alley for a parade, festival, or public event to get permission from the city engineer first, who then notifies police and fire before the…

Exclusive or semi-exclusive use of Harlingen park property for an event requires a park permit issued by the city manager, plus liability insurance.

Closing any Harlingen street or alley for a block party requires advance permission from the city engineer: closing one without it is unlawful under Chapter 40 of the city code.

Harlingen makes it unlawful to erect or maintain any fence, gate, pole, sign, hedge, building, or other obstruction on a public street, alley, or sidewalk, since sidewalks are legally…

Harlingen's Charter puts the cost of building and repairing sidewalks on the abutting property owner, backed by a lien on the property if the city ends up doing the work.

Harlingen's City Code § 40-6 makes it unlawful to erect, place, build, construct or maintain a fence, gate, pole, post, sign, hedge, building or other obstruction on any public street…

In a Harlingen special flood hazard area, § 105-57(1)(a) requires the lowest floor and every mechanical, electrical and plumbing component of a new or substantially improved home to…

Harlingen requires every new subdivision plat to include an engineered drainage plan with hydrology and hydraulic calculations, and caps lot grading at a 4:1 slope before the city will…

New subdivisions in Harlingen must submit engineered drainage plans with hydrology and hydraulic calculations, floodplain data, and stormwater flow computations before the city will…

Harlingen requires a floodplain development permit and 18 inches of freeboard above base flood elevation for new construction in special flood hazard areas.

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work…

Harlingen's noise ordinance makes it illegal to create unreasonably loud or raucous noise that disturbs neighbors' peace, covering house parties, stereos, and amplified sound at any…

Harlingen bans possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages anywhere in a city park under Section 36-108(a), with narrow exceptions for fenced pavilion rentals and specific events the…

Harlingen bills every household for mandatory twice a week garbage service and fixes collection day at both ends: bins accessible by 6:30 a.m., back in the side or back yard by 8:00…

Commercial and multi-unit lots in Harlingen must enclose their garbage dumpster on private property, with truck access approved by public works.

Harlingen requires garbage carts out by 6:30 a.m. on collection day and pulled back by 8:00 p.m., set within five feet of the property line clear of obstructions.

Harlingen collects heavy bulky waste like furniture and mattresses every 4-6 weeks, capped at two cubic yards per residence.

Harlingen collects tree limbs, brush and yard waste once a month at no extra charge, but piles are capped at one brush-truck load and pieces must be cut to 5 feet.

Harlingen's City Code § 38-4 makes it unlawful to cast, throw, drop, sweep or deposit garbage or anything offensive to health on any street, alley, sidewalk, park, public place or…

Cameron County runs a mandatory residential collection program in unincorporated areas: each household must have service, billed at $93.30 per quarter (before tax), with one 96-gallon…

Texas Health and Safety Code Section 361.425 orders every county, municipality, school district, university, and state agency to run a recycling program that separates and collects at…

Harlingen limits garage, yard, patio, estate and rummage sales to four per address and four per resident each calendar year, four consecutive days each, under zoning section 111-334.

Anyone soliciting donations, sales, or door-to-door commissions in Harlingen must first obtain a license from the city secretary, backed by a police background check.

Harlingen requires anyone soliciting donations or sales to hold a city license and bars all solicitation on public ways after dark, regardless of license status.

Harlingen's zoning code bars planned development districts from making the city responsible for enforcing private deed restrictions or covenants. CC&R enforcement stays a private HOA…

Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, unpaid assessments become a lien (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0094), but a Texas HOA may not foreclose that lien without first…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs residential subdivision homeowners associations, not condominium associations and not associations that are themselves subject to the Public…

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown…

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a…

A Texas property owners' association cannot sell your home at a trustee's sale the way a mortgage lender can. Tex. Prop. Code Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a…

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 sets no cap on how much of a subdivision an association can rent out, no minimum lease term, and no grandfather clause: a declaration can still ban…

Harlingen has no data center specific noise rule. The citywide ordinance in § 34-114 bars unreasonably loud and raucous commercial noise that is plainly audible five feet from a home…

Harlingen's smoke-free ordinance exempts retail tobacco and e-cigarette stores from its indoor vaping ban, but only if smoke from the shop doesn't drift into areas where smoking is…

Harlingen requires tow truck operators performing non-consent tows to hold a city certificate of registration from the chief of police, on top of state TDLR licensing.

A sexually oriented business in Harlingen needs a special use permit, and City Code § 111-414(1) draws a 1,500 foot radius around schools, churches, hospitals, day nurseries…

Junkyards, auto salvage yards, recycling businesses and flea markets in unincorporated Cameron County cannot sit within 50 feet of a public street or state highway, inside an…

Harlingen requires illuminated signs within 200 feet of a residential lot line to use diffused or indirect lighting so rays don't shine into adjoining residential lots.

Harlingen closes all city parks, recreational facilities, and golf courses nightly from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. under Code § 36-106.

Minors under 17 are barred from Harlingen public places and business premises from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weeknights, and from 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends, under the city's minor…

Harlingen caps garage/occasional-sale signage to a narrow window: signs can't go up more than three days before the sale and must come down within 12 hours after it ends, per City Code…

In Harlingen's Downtown District Overlay, window signs can cover no more than 30% of a storefront's total glass area, separate from citywide sign permit rules.

Harlingen does not ban digital billboards. It folds them into the animated sign standards of § 111-277(c), which set an eight second minimum dwell time, a one second message change…

Texas Election Code 259.003 and Election Code Section 259.002 protect political signs on private residential property. Cities cannot regulate compliant signs at any time, and HOAs…

Harlingen adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code, requiring permitted, inspected plumbing work by registered plumbing contractors before fixtures, water lines, or sewer…

Harlingen requires a building permit and a certificate of occupancy before any structural alteration, addition, or use change to a building, issued by the chief building official under…

Harlingen requires a building sub-permit for electrical wiring, fixtures, or equipment work under the 2023 National Electric Code, issued by the chief building official.

Harlingen bars sitting, standing, or lying on public sidewalks, streets, or walkways after a police warning or posted sign, once doing so unreasonably blocks pedestrian or vehicle…

Harlingen designates any protected tree with a trunk 60 inches or more in circumference as a "historic tree," triggering the city's tree-removal permit and mitigation process before it…

Harlingen's § 103-4 declares any substandard structure a public nuisance and unlawful, then routes it through the code compliance officer and the Construction Board of Adjustments and…

Harlingen caps lot coverage at 60% in residential zones, rising to 80-100% in commercial and industrial districts under the zoning ordinance.

Harlingen caps residential buildings at three stories; going taller requires a board of adjustment hearing and approval first.

Harlingen's zoning code sets minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks by district and lot type, ranging from 5-foot interior side yards in single-family zones up to a 50-foot front…

Harlingen requires a mobile food vendor permit for trucks, trailers and carts, bars fixed operation in residential/multifamily zones, and keeps units at least 300 feet from established…

Harlingen requires a health permit for every mobile food unit and attaches ongoing conditions to it: a daily licensed commissary visit, a three business day advance itinerary, a police…

Harlingen requires mobile food vendor permits and bans fixed-location food truck operations in residential and multifamily zoning districts citywide.

Harlingen adopts the International Property Maintenance Code as the citywide minimum standard for occupied buildings, including rentals, and declares any structure unfit for human…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction)…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is…

Texas law forbids cities from adopting rent control. A municipality may not establish rent control unless its governing body finds a housing emergency caused by a disaster and the…

Texas places no statutory limit on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. However, the landlord must refund the deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the…

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with…

BBQ grills, including propane grills, are permitted in unincorporated Cameron County and stay allowed even during a county burn ban. Propane cylinders follow Railroad Commission LP-gas…

Installing a solar panel or solar roof in unincorporated Cameron County requires a permit under the Flood Damage Prevention and Building Regulations before work starts, and the county…

Section 202.010 of the Texas Property Code voids any homeowners association rule that bans or restricts installing a solar energy device, a term that under Tax Code Section 171.107…

In unincorporated subdivisions of five acres or less, a subdivider who proposes to reuse treated wastewater (greywater) must design the system to the state's own reclaimed-water rules…

Cameron County's housing code requires every window, exterior door and other structure opening to be substantially weathertight, watertight and rodent proof, and kept in sound repair…

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 487 limits cannabis dispensing to state-licensed Compassionate Use Program providers: expanded to as many as 15 organizations by HB 46 (2025). There…

Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 makes it a crime to possess or grow marijuana anywhere in the state. Home cultivation is illegal in every Texas city and county regardless of plant…

Texas Government Code Chapter 423 occupies the field of unmanned aircraft regulation. Cities and counties cannot adopt their own recreational drone ordinances, though limited municipal…

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 expressly preempts municipal and county minimum wage ordinances. The state minimum wage equals the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, and political…

Texas appellate courts have struck down municipal paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio as preempted under the Texas Minimum Wage Act. HB 2127 (2023) further…

Texas authorizes License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry concealed handguns statewide under Government Code Chapter 411. Since 2021, permitless constitutional carry under HB 1927 also…

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances…

Texas authorizes open carry of holstered handguns statewide for adults 21 and older under Penal Code 46.02 and HB 910 (2015). Long guns may be openly carried subject to disorderly…

Texas Penal Code 46.02(a-1) lets any non-prohibited adult carry a handgun inside a personally-owned or leased motor vehicle or watercraft without a License to Carry. Since HB 1927…

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 234, Subchapter E lets any county's commissioners court license, zone, and inspect "game rooms": for-profit businesses with six or more skill or…

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place…

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code §…

The Texas Legislature has authorized exactly one vehicle checkpoint program, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. Government Code Section 411.0095 lets the Department of Public…

Texas has never enacted an express statutory right to film police, so the legal boundary for a bystander with a phone is set by the offense of Interference with Public Duties, Texas…

Texas Penal Code Section 38.02 makes it a crime to refuse your name, residence address, or date of birth only after a peace officer has already lawfully arrested you. Being detained on…

No Texas statute obliges a driver to consent to a vehicle search, and none requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What Texas law does require is a paper trail: Article…

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 212 and Agriculture Code Chapter 251 limit municipal authority to zone or regulate land qualified for agricultural use appraisal. Counties have no…

The Texas Right to Farm Act, Agriculture Code Chapter 251, protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits and local regulations after one year of operation. HB…

The Texas Supreme Court in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) held that Health and Safety Code Section 361.0961 preempts municipal plastic bag bans. Cities and…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 sets the minimum age for purchasing or possessing tobacco and e-cigarette products at 21 statewide, aligned with federal Tobacco 21. Active…

Texas regulates extra lighting by color, count, height and aim rather than by naming underglow. Transportation Code Section 547.305 bars any lamp showing red from directly in front of…

Texas grants no square inches of windshield to a camera. Transportation Code Section 547.613(a)(1) makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material placed on or…

Texas banned motorcycle lane splitting in plain words on September 1, 2023. Transportation Code Section 545.0605(a)(3)(B), added by House Bill 4122 of the 88th Legislature, says the…

Texas outlaws license plate covers in Transportation Code Section 504.945(a)(7), which makes it an offense to display a plate carrying a coating, covering, protective substance or…

Texas does not prohibit owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. The one radar offense in the vehicle equipment chapter, Transportation Code Section…

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block…

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets…