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

Texas counties lack general residential building-code authority outside specific exceptions in Texas Local Government Code Chapter 233. Bell County therefore does not require or enforce a pool barrier on a single-family home in unincorporated territory. The state Pool Yard Enclosure Act (Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 757) requires a pool yard enclosure of at least 48 inches in height measured from the ground on the side away from the pool (§757.003), with openings small enough that a 4-inch sphere cannot pass under the enclosure, and limits where a building wall may form part of the enclosure for buildings constructed on or after January 1, 1994 (§757.003(d)–(e)). However, §757.002 expressly limits these requirements to owners of multiunit rental complexes with a pool, condominium/townhome rental dwellings with a pool, and property-owners associations that own, control, or maintain a pool. Single-family detached homes are outside the Act's scope. Inside city limits — Killeen, Belton, Temple, and Harker Heights all have adopted versions of the International Residential Code — the IRC's standard 48-inch pool-barrier rule with self-closing/self-latching gates applies for any pool deeper than 24 inches.