Garland, TX Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Garland requires every single-family rental dwelling to hold a rental permit issued by the Director of Code Compliance, and § 32.09(H)(1) makes a full inspection mandatory each time there is a change in tenancy. The property owner or permittee has two ways to satisfy that requirement: request that the City itself perform the inspection, or submit a certification of compliance from a state-licensed real estate inspector, dated no more than 30 days before the application, attesting that the home meets the minimum housing standards in Chapter 32. Neither option closes the door on the tenant. The same subsection states plainly that nothing in it prohibits an inspection at the request of a tenant, so a renter who believes the home fails those standards can ask the City to inspect regardless of whatever certification the owner filed.

If an inspection turns up violations, § 32.09(H)(2) and (H)(3) keep the pressure on the owner rather than the tenant: no rental permit will be issued and no utility release will be given until the owner submits sufficient proof of repair, meaning an affidavit, repair receipts, and photographs, or passes a reinspection. The smoke alarm and occupancy-limit certifications required under § 32.09(E) tie directly back to the same minimum housing standards in §§ 32.03 and 32.04 that any tenant-requested inspection checks against.