Edinburg, TX Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing Requirements (2026)

Edinburg is a Texas home-rule municipality in Hidalgo County. The City of Edinburg Building Safety Department's Adopted Building Codes page lists the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC), 2018 International Building Code (IBC), 2018 International Plumbing, Mechanical, Energy, and Fire Codes, and the 2017 National Electrical Code as the city's currently adopted construction codes. Under the 2018 IRC, residential swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs serving one- and two-family dwellings are governed by Appendix G (Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs) with barrier requirements in Section AG105. AG105 applies to any pool, spa, or hot tub containing water more than 24 inches deep. The barrier must be at least 48 inches high measured on the side facing away from the pool. Openings in the barrier must not allow passage of a 4-inch sphere. Where the barrier consists of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops of horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the spacing between vertical members may not exceed 1.75 inches. Chain-link fence mesh, where used, is limited to 1.25-inch openings unless slatted to reduce openings to 1.75 inches. Pedestrian access gates must open outward away from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching; if the release mechanism is less than 54 inches above the bottom of the gate it must be on the pool side of the gate at least 3 inches below the top, with no opening greater than 0.5 inch within 18 inches of the release. Where a dwelling wall serves as part of the barrier, doors with direct pool access must have alarms or the pool must be equipped with an approved safety cover meeting ASTM F1346. Edinburg residential pool permits and inspections are issued through the Building Safety Department, and barrier compliance is verified at the final inspection. Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 757 (Pool Yard Enclosure Act) imposes a separate state 48-inch enclosure mandate, but Sec. 757.002 limits its scope to owners of multiunit rental complexes containing pools, condominium/townhome rental dwellings with a pool, and property-owners associations (HOAs) that own, control, or maintain a pool. Detached single-family homes fall outside the Act and are governed instead by Edinburg's adopted IRC AG105 standards.