Odessa, TX

Odessa addresses excessive barking dogs under its animal control and nuisance ordinances. Dogs that bark persistently and disturb neighbors may result in citations to the owner. Odessa…

Odessa requires mufflers on stationary engines and compressed-air machinery, banning industrial and commercial equipment noise that isn't muffled and effectively reduced anywhere in…

Odessa makes it unlawful to run a car radio, tape player, or other soundmaking device from a motor vehicle so the sound is plainly audible 100 feet or more away on any city street or…

Odessa bans outdoor loudspeakers, amplifiers, and live musical instruments near dwellings after 10 p.m. and citywide after midnight, with a separate 150-foot buffer around hospitals…

Odessa's noise ordinance (Code of Ordinances Art. 8-2) prohibits any unreasonably loud or disturbing noise that materially distresses a person of ordinary sensibilities. There are no…

Odessa treats retaining walls in the street right-of-way as anything 18 inches or shorter: no street use permit required, unlike taller fence-height walls that do need one.

Texas law does not require neighbor consent before building a fence. In Odessa, property owners are responsible for building fences on their own property line. Shared fence costs are…

Odessa's zoning code bans razor wire and barbed wire on residential fences, plus scrap metal and plywood, except for agricultural uses.

Odessa's city code bans keeping chickens, ducks, or any other fowl within city limits, with only narrow exceptions for licensed vets, stock shows, homing pigeons, and ducks on…

Odessa caps every household at six dogs and cats combined per premises, and Animal Services can inspect and cite properties that exceed the limit under Article 2-3, Section 2-3-1 of…

Odessa requires every dog and cat over six months old to be spayed or neutered unless the owner holds a current breeder's permit, with narrow health and working-animal exceptions.

Odessa does not ban retail pet sales. Anyone running a pet shop, animal establishment, or commercial breeding operation must hold a city permit and meet strict facility, feeding, and…

Odessa requires dogs to be on a leash or under the owner's control when off private property. Dogs running at large are subject to impoundment by Animal Control. All dogs must be…

Odessa has a dangerous dog ordinance rather than breed-specific restrictions. Dogs declared dangerous based on behavior are subject to registration, confinement, and insurance…

Beekeeping in Odessa is subject to city and state regulations. Texas law supports beekeeping and provides some protections, but cities can regulate hive placement and maintenance…

Odessa restricts the keeping of exotic and wild animals within city limits. Dangerous wild animals as defined by Texas law are prohibited without proper permits. Common exotic pets…

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…

Odessa has not adopted a short-term rental ordinance with specific guest occupancy caps. The city's published Permits/Licenses page does not list a short-term rental permit, and the…

Short-term rental guests in Odessa must comply with the city's general noise ordinance. There are no STR-specific noise rules, but excessive noise from rental properties can result in…

No STR-specific parking rules exist in Odessa. Standard residential parking regulations apply to short-term rental properties, including street parking restrictions and prohibitions on…

Texas imposes a 6 percent state hotel occupancy tax on short-term rentals, including houses, condos, and Airbnb or VRBO stays, whenever a room costs 15 dollars or more per day.

Odessa's City Code declares any grass, weeds, or wild brush taller than 12 inches a nuisance. Property owners must keep their lots and the adjacent right-of-way clear; the city cuts…

Odessa's landscape ordinance lists artificial turf as an approved nonvegetative ground cover for commercial developments, but caps it at 50% of the required landscaped area under City…

Odessa's Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan limits landscape irrigation to Administrator-designated days once demand triggers Moderate Conditions, with a citywide 10…

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…

Odessa's zoning code treats an in-home daycare as a home occupation, not a separate business use, so it's allowed by right only if you cap enrollment at six children, use no outside…

Odessa allows home occupations in residential dwellings only if they stay incidental to the home and meet eight strict zoning conditions.

Home-based businesses in Odessa are not permitted to display any exterior signage. The residential character of the property must be maintained, and no advertising signs are allowed on…

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…

Odessa requires a building permit before constructing a residential swimming pool. Homeowners or their registered contractor must submit an application and ONCOR-stamped site plan…

Odessa's swimming pool code counts jacuzzis and hot tubs holding two feet or more of water as regulated swimming pools, but the city's fence, locked-gate, and permit rules apply only…

Odessa designates curb loading zones by Traffic Engineering Department order, makes every city alley a loading zone by default, and caps passenger-only stops at two minutes under City…

Odessa treats an inoperable, unregistered vehicle as a junked-vehicle nuisance after 30 days on private property or 72 hours on public property, subject to removal and a fine up to…

Commercial vehicle parking in residential areas of Odessa is regulated. Large commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, and equipment are generally restricted from parking overnight in…

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…

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…

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…

Odessa repealed its juvenile curfew ordinance in October 2023 after Texas eliminated cities' authority to enforce curfews, and the city has not adopted a new one under any later state…

Odessa closes all city-run public parks to public use between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. every night, with violators subject to misdemeanor charges.

Odessa has no drone-specific ordinance. Its 1964 aircraft code broadly defines "aircraft" to include any flying contrivance and bars flight under 1,000 feet, but the FAA's exclusive…

Odessa's Zoning Ordinance caps industrial noise at the property line by octave band, down to 32-38 decibels at high frequencies in Light and Heavy Industrial districts, covering data…

Odessa's Solid Waste Division must pick up residential garbage at least once a week under City Code § 13-4-12, and most rollout-cart customers get twice-weekly pickup, Monday and…

Dumping garbage, rubbish, or solid waste anywhere in Odessa besides a permitted landfill or city-designated site is a misdemeanor carrying up to a $2,000 fine, with each day of…

Odessa requires every property to keep garbage in a city-issued container placed at or near the building, and the lid must be closed immediately after each use.

Odessa's city containers don't take dead trees, brush, or other bulky yard debris: residents must haul it off at their own expense.

Odessa lets businesses use privately owned compactors and roll-off containers, but the city sets the service fees, weight limits, and container placement rules.

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…

Odessa allows garage sales without a permit only if they last two days or less and happen no more than twice a year.

Odessa requires every mobile food vendor to first hold an Ector County health department permit, pass a fire marshal inspection, and pay the city's $300 annual permit fee (or $50 per…

Odessa requires mobile food vendors to hold an Ector County Health Department permit first, then pay a city fee and pass a Fire Marshal inspection before opening.

Odessa bars mobile food vendors from congested spots, school streets, and within 100 feet of intersections.

Odessa requires a building permit before you construct, alter, or repair a structure. The city enforces the 2018 International Building Code, adopted at City Code Sec. 3-2-1 and…

In Odessa's FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas, new construction and substantial improvements must elevate the lowest floor to or above base flood elevation, and every structure's…

Odessa requires an NPDES or TPDES stormwater discharge permit for construction sites, plus a copy of the notice of intent filed with the city's Development Department before the site…

Odessa bars dumping anything but stormwater into its municipal storm drain system, making it a criminal offense to introduce sewage, chemicals, or wash water into the MS4 without a…

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…

Texas Water Code Section 16.3145 orders the governing body of every Texas city and county to adopt the floodplain-management ordinances or orders needed to qualify for the National…

Odessa requires a city license, applied for through the chief of police, to operate any sexually oriented business, and bars such a business within 1,500 feet of a church, school…

Odessa bans wrecker companies from soliciting tow business on city streets or chasing accident scenes, while routing all police-requested tows through a single contract the city…

Anyone selling e-cigarettes to Texas consumers must hold an e-cigarette retailer permit issued by the Comptroller, obtained for each place of business under Health and Safety Code…

Texas Penal Code § 48.05 makes it a Class C misdemeanor to camp on any public property in Odessa, streets, parks, or city land, without the managing agency's consent, and bars local…

Odessa makes it a class C misdemeanor to sleep or camp between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on any sidewalk, street, alley, or other public right-of-way, with belongings subject to removal as a…

Odessa can order vacation, repair, or demolition of any building that's dilapidated, unsafe, or unsecured from trespassers, enforced by the Board of Survey under Article 3-10 of the…

Odessa caps electronic billboards at 35 feet (42-1/2 feet on Interstate 20 frontage), requires a 300-foot buffer from residential districts, and forces the display dark from 10 p.m. to…

Odessa bans garage sale signs on any property but your own and anywhere in the street, alley, or public right-of-way, treating violations as a nuisance subject to police removal.

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…

Installing solar panels in Odessa requires a building and electrical permit reviewed against the 2018 IRC, 2018 IBC, and 2017 NEC before any contractor can start work.

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…

Odessa restricts single-family homes in its SF-1 through SF-4 and Single-Family Estate districts to two and one-half stories under City Code § 14-8-1, with narrow exceptions for…

Odessa's zoning code limits how much of a residential lot the main building and accessory structures can cover, capping most single-family and manufactured-home districts at 70% of…

Odessa's Zoning Ordinance sets minimum yard setbacks by district: front yards follow a per-zone schedule with a 20-foot exception for shallow SF-3 lots and 15 feet on cul-de-sacs…

Odessa's zoning ordinance bars intense glare or direct illumination from crossing a property line into neighboring land, in every zoning district except Heavy Industrial.

Odessa's zoning code bars intense glare or direct illumination crossing a property line into neighboring land, treating bright unshielded fixtures as a code violation citywide except…

Odessa police run a citywide Flock Safety license plate camera network that deletes non-hit data after 30 days and limits use strictly to law enforcement.

Grills and other open-flame cookers must sit at least 10 feet from combustible walls or structures at Odessa apartment buildings without sprinklers, per the Fire Marshal's Office, and…

Odessa's social host accountability ordinance makes anyone who hosts, permits, or allows a gathering where underage drinking occurs criminally liable, even in a rented hotel room…

Drinking alcohol is illegal in any Odessa public park and on the streets, alleys, or parking lots that border it. Just being near an open container of alcohol counts as proof of…

Odessa cannot run red-light cameras. Texas outlawed photographic traffic signal enforcement statewide in 2019, stripping every home-rule city of the power to ticket drivers by camera…

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…

Odessa requires a permit before going door-to-door to sell goods or solicit; peddler permits cost $120 per 90 days while pure solicitors pay no fee under City Code § 4-6-9.

Odessa can order the vacation, repair, securing, or demolition of any building, rental or owner-occupied, that is dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and a hazard…

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…

Texas Property Code Chapter 202 overrides HOA deed restrictions in Odessa subdivisions, protecting flag display, solar panels, and drought-resistant landscaping regardless of what a…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 sets the rules for HOA fines in Odessa: written notice by certified mail before any fine, a chance to cure curable violations, and a ban on foreclosing…

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…

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…

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 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 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…