Waco, TX Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 16-96, part of Chapter 16's Article III on litter and open storage, applies the same duty to every category of privately owned land: occupied, unoccupied, and vacant property are all named in the same sentence. Subsection (a) bars throwing or depositing litter or junk on that property, and subsection (b) goes further, barring the accumulation, or allowing the accumulation, of litter, junk, rubbish or garbage on the land, whether or not anyone actively dumped it there. Subsection (c) extends the same rule inside any house, building or other structure, barring accumulated filth, carrion, or other impure, unsanitary or unwholesome matter, and subsection (d) makes clear that a person commits an offense under subsections (b) and (c) if he is criminally negligent, meaning a property owner cannot claim ignorance of a junk pile that built up over time on land they control.

Enforcement runs through Sections 16-89 and 16-90, which apply to this article. Under Section 16-89, the city gives the responsible person, owner, occupant, or lessee, notice that they are in violation and must correct it; if the violation isn't corrected, the city can do the work itself and place a lien on the property for the cost, including staff wages, equipment charges, and filing fees, with interest accruing at ten percent per year from the date the corrective work is completed. Section 16-90 separately lets the city bypass notice altogether and issue a citation straight to municipal court, or a summons, for any violation of the article; failing to appear within ten days is itself a separate offense.

This litter and junk rule is distinct from Waco's weeds-and-grass height ordinance in Sections 16-61 through 16-71, which separately caps vegetation on any property, including vacant lots, at 12 inches.