Dallas, TX Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- Dallas City Code Secs. 43-96 to 43-98.2
- Deadline, daytime snow
- 3 hours after it falls
- Deadline, overnight/Sunday snow
- By 10:00 a.m. next day
- If too icy to remove
- Sand/ashes required instead
- Related offense
- Causing street ice, Sec. 43-98.1
Summary
Dallas requires every property owner, tenant, or occupant to clear snow and ice from the sidewalk fronting their building within set hours under Sec. 43-96: three hours if it falls before 4:00 p.m. on a weekday, or by 10:00 a.m. the next morning if it falls overnight or on a Sunday. If it is frozen too hard to chip away safely, owners must spread sand or ashes instead.
SEC. 43-96. REMOVAL OF SNOW AND ICE FROM SIDEWALKS REQUIRED.
(a) Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person having charge of any building or lot abutting upon any public way or public place shall remove the snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of the building or lot.
(b) Snow and ice which falls or accumulates before 4:00 p.m. during any day, except Sunday, shall be removed within three hours after the snow or ice has fallen or accumulated. Snow and ice which falls or accumulates on a Sunday or after 4:00 p.m. and during the night on any other day shall be removed before 10:00 a.m. the following day.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 43-96(a) puts the clearing duty on every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person having charge of any building or lot abutting a public way or public place, requiring removal of the snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of the building or lot. the following day. If the ice has frozen too solid to remove without damaging the pavement, Sec. 43-97 requires the same responsible person to strew the sidewalk with ashes, sand, sawdust, or other similar suitable materials within the same deadlines, then fully clean the walk once weather permits.
Sec. 43-98 dictates where the cleared snow and ice can go: uniformly along the curb and gutter, or onto the parkway strip between curb and sidewalk if one exists, but never piled at a crosswalk. A related offense, Sec. 1, separately makes it a violation to let water run onto a street or alley and freeze there, and makes the responsible person pay the city's full cost of removing or covering that ice. Sec. 2 assigns enforcement of the whole article to the director designated by the city manager.
Violations & Fines
Failing to clear a sidewalk within the three-hour or next-morning deadlines in Sec. 43-96, or failing to sand a sidewalk too icy to shovel under Sec. 43-97, is an enforceable violation of Chapter 43, Article IV. Anyone who lets water freeze into ice on a street or alley under Sec. 43-98.1 must also reimburse the city's full labor, equipment, and materials cost of clearing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast must I clear snow off my sidewalk in Dallas?
What if the ice on my Dallas sidewalk is too hard to shovel?
Where am I supposed to put the snow I clear in Dallas?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dallas
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Dallas to another location·View the Texas property maintenance overview
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Snow & Sidewalk Clearing in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle snow & sidewalk clearing.