Pharr, TX

Pharr has no STR-specific noise ordinance. STR guests must follow the citywide noise/disturbance rules and Texas Penal Code 42.01 disorderly conduct (unreasonable noise) at all hours…

Pharr may require business registration and zoning compliance for STR operations. Verify current permit requirements with Pharr Planning & Zoning.

Pharr has no STR-specific occupancy cap. Occupancy is set by the adopted International Property Maintenance Code minimum-floor-area formula and the dwelling's bedroom count. Texas has…

No STR-specific parking rule identified in Pharr. STR guests must use the home's driveway/garage and follow citywide street-parking, no-yard-parking, and commercial-vehicle rules…

Short-term stays under 30 days owe Texas state hotel occupancy tax, and Texas Tax Code Chapter 352 lets an eligible county levy a county hotel occupancy tax of up to seven percent…

Pharr Code Ch. 22, Art. IX (Swimming Pool Code) governs residential pool barriers. Pools deeper than 24 inches require a 4-foot minimum enclosure with self-closing, self-latching gates…

Pharr adopted the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as its official swimming pool code, meaning anyone building a residential pool must pull a permit and pass inspection before…

Pharr enforces Stage 2 of its Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan every hot season, holding lawn irrigation to two fixed days a week by street-address parity and banning…

Pharr caps grass, weeds, and brush at 12 inches from the ground. Growth over that height within 150 feet of a curb line or a neighbor's property line is a declared public nuisance, and…

Pharr requires property owners to keep trees along streets and sidewalks trimmed so they don't block pedestrians, drivers, or traffic signs, with the city able to step in and bill the…

Pharr's landscaping code bars synthetic or artificial lawns and plants from being used to satisfy the city's required street-yard landscaping on developed property.

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…

Pharr requires off-street truck loading berths for large commercial and industrial buildings, scaled to floor area, so trucks don't block the street.

Pharr's zoning code requires two paved parking spaces for every single-family home, located on the same lot as the house, so dirt or grass driveways don't meet the standard.

Pharr bans parking any vehicle on a public street, alley, or public way for more than 24 continuous hours, covering overnight and long-term street storage citywide.

Pharr prohibits parking any vehicle wider than 80 inches, including house trailers and mobile units, on a street in or next to residential-zoned property.

Street parking in Pharr is governed by local traffic ordinances and TX Transportation Code. Generally permitted except in designated no-parking zones.

Abandoned motor vehicles in unincorporated Hidalgo County are governed by Texas Transportation Code Chapter 683, which lets law enforcement take an abandoned vehicle into custody and…

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…

Amplified and live music in Pharr must stay under 80 dB(A) by day and 75 dB(A) by night at residential property lines, with a flat 85 dB(A) cap on commercial property.

Pharr caps sound at the receiving property line at 80 dB(A) by day and 75 dB(A) at night on residential property, and 85 dB(A) at all times on nonresidential property, under Chapter…

Pharr bans car stereos audible 30+ feet away and requires vehicles to run a properly installed, functioning muffler under Chapter 86's noise article.

Pharr has no ordinance naming leaf blowers specifically, but its noise code exempts normal property-maintenance sound, including lawn and yard equipment, only between 7:00 a.m. and…

Persistent barking is enforceable as a nuisance under Pharr's animal and nuisance ordinances. Officer warning typically required before citation.

Pharr's noise ordinance is codified in the municipal code hosted on Municode. Quiet hours are enforced evenings and early mornings. Violations are Class C misdemeanors under TX Penal…

Pharr requires a conditional use permit before running a home child daycare in any residential zone, plus state licensing and a 1,000-foot buffer from other home daycares.

Pharr treats home-based businesses as a conditional use requiring a use permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission, with standards limiting scale, signage, employees, and traffic…

Pharr caps home-occupation signage at 18 by 24 inches, non-illuminated, attached flush to the house, and bars any other exterior sign of a business at a residence.

Pharr's zoning ordinance treats a home-based business as a conditional use and caps the traffic it generates: the permitted use cannot create frequent or heavy traffic greater than ten…

Cottage food producers in Hidalgo County follow the Texas Cottage Food Law, not a county ordinance. No permit or inspection is required, and annual gross food income is capped at…

Horses, cattle, hogs, sheep and goats cannot be kept anywhere within Pharr city limits. Chickens and other domestic fowl are treated separately: they're allowed but must stay caged or…

Pharr allows pet shops to sell dogs, cats, and other animals, but only under an annual city permit: no adoption-only or retail sale ban exists here.

Pharr does not ban dog breeds by name: instead, animal control can declare any individual animal 'vicious' based on its behavior, triggering strict confinement, muzzle, insurance, and…

Pharr makes it unlawful to regularly feed or sustain animals on city property or right-of-way, and bans undomesticated wild animals within city limits outright.

Pharr prohibits keeping any domestic fowl, chickens, hens, roosters, ducks, turkeys, on premises under one acre that sit within 200 feet of another residence or business. Only lots of…

Pharr does not require sterilizing every pet, but a third impoundment triggers mandatory alteration before the animal can be released to its owner.

Pharr Code of Ordinances Chapter 18 (Animals) prohibits dogs from running at large within the city; off-property dogs must be under physical restraint and Pharr Animal Control Services…

Anyone keeping dogs or cats for boarding, breeding, sale, or training in Pharr needs a commercial animal establishment permit once the operation handles ten or more animals; smaller…

Texas keeps beekeeping light-touch: registration with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service is voluntary, not required to own hives. Beekeepers may register annually with the chief…

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 822 Subchapter E governs ownership of dangerous wild animals: lions, tigers, bears, primates, and more. Owners must register with their county or…

Pharr requires a $5 fence permit from the planning director before you build any residential or commercial fence.

Hidalgo County has no zoning, so it sets no neighbor or boundary-fence rules in unincorporated areas. Shared-fence rights come from Texas common law and deed restrictions, not county…

Texas counties have no general zoning authority, so Hidalgo County sets no fence-height limit in unincorporated areas. There is no county-wide maximum fence height. If your property…

Texas allows consumer fireworks on private property in the unincorporated area of Hidalgo County, but the Commissioners Court may by order restrict certain aerial and stick-type…

The Hidalgo County Fire Marshal regulates outdoor fires in the unincorporated area under Texas Administrative Code outdoor-burning rules. Contained recreational fires must be attended…

The Hidalgo County Fire Marshal enforces the International Fire Code and requires working smoke alarms in overnight accommodation facilities. Fire and life-safety inspections verify…

Hidalgo County has no wildland-urban-interface defensible-space mandate; brush clearance is addressed through outdoor-burning and burn-permit rules rather than a clearance ordinance…

Outdoor burning in unincorporated Hidalgo County is governed by Chapter 111 of the Texas Administrative Code and requires a burn permit from the Fire Marshal to burn brush. Burning is…

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…

Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Hidalgo County has no ADU or second-dwelling zoning ordinance. What does apply to a new accessory dwelling is a septic (OSSF) permit, a…

Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Hidalgo County has no minimum-dwelling-size or tiny-home ordinance. Placing a tiny home instead triggers a septic (OSSF) permit, a county…

Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Hidalgo County has no shed size, height, or setback ordinance. A simple storage shed with no plumbing needs no county building permit, but…

Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Hidalgo County has no garage-conversion ordinance and issues no building permit for interior work. But converting a garage into living…

Pharr requires every residence and commercial property to subscribe to city sanitation service, and the sanitation director sets a fixed collection day and route time for each address…

Pharr runs a drop-off recycling center at west Hall Acres and Nelson St. instead of curbside pickup, with a strict list of accepted and prohibited materials under Chapter 110, Article…

Pharr requires garbage carts at curbside by the sanitation department's designated route time and pulled back by 6:30 p.m. on collection day, out of the front yard.

Pharr requires tree limbs and brush to be cut to 3 feet or less and neatly stacked at the curb, with a one-cubic-yard cap before extra charges kick in.

Pharr treats dumping trash or waste on another's property, a right-of-way, or a street as unlawful littering, backed by criminal and civil penalties.

Pharr requires solid waste containers placed for alley collection to sit inside the subscriber's property line next to the alley, with a platform rack keeping the container level with…

Pharr's sanitation department picks up brush bundled under three feet and large appliances like refrigerators and stoves at no extra charge, but heavy accumulations over one cubic yard…

In Pharr's FEMA special flood hazard areas, new and substantially improved homes must have their lowest floor, including basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation, with…

In Pharr, construction or grading work that disturbs an acre or more must comply with a TPDES or NPDES stormwater discharge permit, and the city can demand proof of that permit before…

Pharr bans dumping anything but rainwater into its storm drains and watercourses, enforcing federal and state stormwater permits under Chapter 130, Article V.

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…

Pharr adopts the 2018 International Building Code and requires a permit from the Building Safety Division before you build, remodel, or add to a structure. The building official…

Pharr requires an electrical permit before any wiring installation, alteration, or addition begins, under the city's adopted National Electrical Code.

Pharr's Code of Ordinances still lists a nightly curfew for minors under 17, but Texas House Bill 1819 barred cities from adopting or enforcing juvenile curfews statewide effective…

Pharr's eleven designated city parks are off-limits between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Chapter 90, with fines starting at $50 for anyone caught inside after hours without…

Pharr caps noise from any nonresidential property, including data centers, at 85 dB(A) at all times, measured at the property line.

Pharr requires a $10 permit from the community planning and development department before any garage, porch, or yard sale, limited to two per lot each year.

In Pharr's R-1 single-family district, a house and its attached structures can cover no more than 50 percent of the lot, under the city's zoning ordinance area requirements.

In Pharr's R-1 single-family district, structures are capped at 36 feet or 2 1/2 stories, whichever governs, under the city's zoning ordinance area requirements.

In Pharr's R-1 single-family district, houses must sit at least 20 feet back from the front property line, with side and rear setbacks set by lot depth and location.

In Pharr's Downtown and Historic Main Street District, a permanent sign painted or applied to a glass window can cover no more than 25 percent of the total glass area, with lettering…

Pharr caps electronic message signs at 5,000 nits by day and 500 nits at night, requires an automatic dimmer, and limits digital displays to 30 percent of the allowed sign area.

Pharr allows garage and yard sale signs only on the property where the sale is held, up 12 hours before the sale, and they must come down right after it ends.

In Pharr, holiday lighting installed on public property, streets, alleys, or sidewalks must be wired by a registered electrical contractor and covered by a permit that the city caps to…

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…

Pharr cannot run red-light cameras. Texas Transportation Code 707.020 bars every local authority from operating a photographic traffic signal enforcement system, and the Texas Attorney…

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…

Pharr bans blocking sidewalks with goods, vehicles, or any other objects, criminalizing conduct that includes sitting or camping with belongings on public walkways under Chapter 114 of…

Pharr treats permitted BYOB establishments, venues, and events as public places where drinking is confined to the premises: open containers can't leave, even into the parking lot.

Pharr's noise ordinance bans loud music, amplifiers, and party noise that disturbs neighbors, and puts the liability on whoever is present at the house: resident or guest.

Pharr requires every auto wrecker performing nonconsent tows to hold both a Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2308 tow truck registration and a separate Pharr Police Department…

Running a sexually oriented business in Pharr requires a city license issued through the planning and zoning department and approved by the board of city commissioners, and the…

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…

Pharr lets residents block door-to-door sellers with a posted "No Peddlers Allowed" or "No Solicitations Allowed" sign, and bars peddling citywide between a half-hour before sunset and…

Pharr requires door-to-door peddlers and solicitors to obtain a permit from the city secretary, including a background investigation, $2,000 bond, and $50 fee before selling anything…

Pharr declares any substandard building a public nuisance and can order the owner to repair, vacate, or demolish it within 30 to 90 days, or the city will do it and place a lien on the…

Vacant and weedy lots in unincorporated Hidalgo County are regulated as public nuisances under Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 343. Overgrown lots, dumped debris, and…

Pharr requires landlords of multi-family rental complexes to register annually with the building official and pay a $50 fee plus per-unit inspection charges.

Pharr's Housing Code sets minimum habitability standards for rental units, working plumbing, heat, hot water, and structural soundness, and lets the city order repairs, disconnect…

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…

Pharr's zoning code requires every artificial light source to be shielded so its direct rays never cross onto a neighboring zoning district.

Pharr's zoning code bars any artificial light source from casting direct rays across a zone boundary line, so security and site lighting must be shielded or aimed inward.

Pharr flatly prohibits selling goods or exhibiting merchandise on any public street, sidewalk, alley, or right-of-way: no permit can authorize it. Vendors may sell only on private open…

Pharr bars mobile food vendors from single-family residential and agricultural districts unless the health coordinator approves in writing, and keeps them 100 feet from any open…

Under Texas Health & Safety Code Section 437.0045, a county, city, or public health district may require a food truck permit only if the Department of State Health Services would…

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 §…

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…

A Texas HOA enforces its recorded restrictive covenants (Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 202), but Chapter 209 controls the procedure: § 209.006 requires certified-mail notice and a cure…

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…

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…

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…

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…