Rent control rules in Houston, TX — also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances — limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Houston has NO local rent control ordinance and cannot adopt one under Tex. Local Gov't Code § 214.902, which preempts municipal rent control unless the governor approves it after a declared housing-emergency disaster. The Houston Code of Ordinances contains no rent stabilization chapter and most rent increases are unrestricted.
Tex. Local Gov't Code § 214.902 expressly forbids any Texas city from establishing rent control unless (1) the governing body finds a housing emergency exists due to a disaster as defined by Tex. Gov't Code § 418.004 and (2) the governor approves the ordinance. No such finding or approval exists in Houston, so no rent cap applies. On a month-to-month tenancy, a Houston landlord may raise rent at any time with proper notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001 (one month written notice from either side terminates a month-to-month). For fixed-term leases, the rent is locked at the contract amount until renewal. Texas does provide other tenant protections — Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 92 covers security deposits, repair-and-deduct, and bars retaliatory rent increases under § 92.331 against tenants who exercise statutory rights such as requesting repairs or complaining to a code agency.
Because Houston has no rent cap, there is no city overage to recover. However, if a rent increase is retaliatory — issued within six months of a tenant exercising a protected right such as a repair request or code complaint — Tex. Prop. Code § 92.333 lets the tenant recover a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, actual damages, attorney fees, and court costs.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Harris County.
See how other cities in Harris County handle rent control.
See how Houston's rent control rules stack up against other locations.
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