Houston, TX Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Houston created the High-Risk Rental Building (HRRB) program through Ordinance No. 2026-0388, effective May 6, 2026, adding Division 2 to Chapter 10's apartment-standards article. A multi-family rental building of three or more units is designated an HRRB once it receives ten or more citations in any six-month period covering any combination of failures: no valid certificate of occupancy, uncorrected structural violations, an order to vacate or emergency repair order, nonfunctional smoke detectors or sprinkler systems, unsafe sanitation or plumbing including bulk containers, electrical fire or shock hazards, blocked means of egress, or failure to correct violations within the deadline the building official sets.

Multiple citations issued the same calendar day count as one citation toward the ten-citation threshold. Once designated, the building manager must register in the Program within fifteen days of notice and stay enrolled for six months, providing a manager reachable twenty-four hours a day. Registration is exempt for buildings whose rooms are regulated by a state or federal agency, college or university housing, and condominium units under Chapters 81 or 82 of the Texas Property Code. Owners selling an HRRB must notify the building official thirty days before closing and disclose outstanding violations to buyers; a new owner then has 180 days to resolve them, extendable up to ninety more days on a showing of good-faith repair progress.

A manager or owner may appeal an HRRB designation within fifteen days; an impartial hearing officer must rule within thirty business days. Buildings that fail to clear violations within six months enter a Repeat Offender track that extends registration to twelve months and records the designation in the county's real property records.