Carrollton, TX Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

05 is Carrollton's list of conditions that make a building 'substandard,' and subsection (R) singles out open-flame cooking devices: charcoal burners and other open-flame cookers may not be operated on a combustible balcony or within 10 feet of combustible construction. The rule then extends the identical 10-foot buffer to liquefied-petroleum-gas cooking devices, meaning propane grills, once the tank's water capacity exceeds five pounds, which covers essentially every standard propane tank sold for home grilling. Two exceptions apply. First, one- and two-family dwellings are excluded entirely, so a homeowner grilling on a private patio or balcony at a single-family or duplex home is not covered.

Second, any building, balcony or deck protected by an automatic sprinkler system is exempt regardless of building type. In practice that leaves the rule aimed squarely at apartment and condominium balconies, where a charcoal or propane fire on a combustible wood balcony has the shortest path to spreading into the structure. 04(E)(11) a violation for 'use of an open-flame cooking device' at a rental property is one of the twelve conditions the Designated City Official may prosecute immediately, without first serving the written notice the housing code otherwise requires.