San Antonio, TX Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Sec. 6-51 adopts the San Antonio Property Maintenance Code (SAPMC) as the city's minimum housing code, controlling within city limits from its effective date. Article V builds an enforcement track on top of that code specifically for apartment complexes with five or more dwelling units, including mixed-use complexes that blend housing with commercial space, per Sec. 6-66(c)(1). A Development Services code official who cites an owner for an uncorrected SAPMC violation drawn from a defined list, covering rodent harborage, structural members, exterior walls, stairways and handrails, window and door frames, extermination, habitable-space and bathroom standards, water and heating systems, electrical hazards, emergency escape openings, and smoke alarms, assigns a program point once the owner fails to cure within a reasonable time, presumed to be ten days, under Sec.

6-66(c)(8)-(9) and Sec. 6-67. A property that racks up three or more program points within six months is enrolled in the Apartment Inspection Program for a minimum of six months, per Sec. 6-68(a). The owner must register with the city within ten days of notice, designate a property manager present for inspections, and give the code official round-the-clock emergency contact information, under Secs. 6-68 through 6-70. Once enrolled, Sec. 6-71 lets the code official inspect the property at least monthly, covering the whole premises plus at least five percent of units, a minimum of two, and the owner cannot block entry; requests to inspect occupied units require at least ten days' notice.

A complex graduates only after fixing every original violation and drawing no more than two program points over six straight months, per Sec. 6-72; owners re-enrolled within four years of a prior graduation serve at least a full year the second time, and Sec. 6-73(a) doubles that minimum to one year for a repeat enrollment.