Rental conversions in Houston

The City of Houston's Legal Department notes that some cities regulate land use through zoning laws, while Houston enforces the land use restrictions created by residents.¹⁶ In Houston, deed restrictions can be enforced by a property owner in the subdivision, a homeowners association or civic club, or, for some restrictions, the City Attorney, and the written restrictions may be found in a plat, a deed, a separately filed instrument or amendments to them.¹⁶

Under state law and Sections 10-551 through 10-555 of the city code, the City of Houston can sue to enforce certain deed restrictions in subdivisions inside the city: limits on how property may be used, building setbacks, the size of a lot or the size, type and number of structures on it, a structure's orientation, and certain fences that need a building permit.¹⁷ If your restrictions limit the lot to a single-family residence, a second unit may be ruled out whatever the city code allows, so get a copy of yours and read the use and setback clauses before paying for plans.

Houston's Livable Places changes to Chapters 42 and 26 of the city code, effective November 27, 2023, allow second dwelling units to be larger, with parking based on unit size, where deed restrictions do not prohibit them.¹⁰

Houston's Livable Places guide describes a second dwelling unit, also called an accessory dwelling unit or garage apartment, as a detached unit allowed on a single-family residential lot, typically above a garage or in a separate structure from the main house, and no larger than 1,500 square feet.¹¹ In Houston, a second dwelling unit needs one additional parking space if the main house does not meet the parking requirements or if the unit is between 1,001 and 1,500 square feet, and where feasible it should take access from an alley.¹¹

The Houston Planning Department's ADU|HOU program offers a free set of preapproved building plans for second dwelling units, a design book of schematic designs, and videos on the basics, the steps to build one and how to finance it.¹¹ Starting from a preapproved plan can shorten design, though the company still has to fit it to your lot, your drainage and your floodplain status.

Cost vs. Value's ADU job is a new one-story, 660-square-foot detached unit on a slab, with a bedroom suite, a bath with walk-in shower, a kitchen, a mini-split heat pump, a stacked washer and dryer, and a paved parking space.¹⁸ A unit over a garage keeps more of the yard, but it adds a stair and second-floor framing that cottage does not have.

Converting an attached or detached garage into a room or small apartment is a remodel in the city's eyes. Houston's residential remodel permit covers the remodel or conversion of an existing house or an addition, requires plan review, and stays valid for six months.¹² Plans for a Houston residential remodel permit must show prescriptive compliance with the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code or include a REScheck or IC3 compliance report.¹³ A garage was not built as a cooled room, so expect insulation, a window and a way to cool the space to be part of the job.

The 2021 IRC requires at least 5/8-inch Type X gypsum board or equivalent between a garage and habitable rooms above it, and does not allow any opening from a garage directly into a sleeping room.¹⁹ The 2021 IRC requires at least one egress door for each dwelling unit, reached by a continuous path that does not pass through a garage, and opening to a public way or a yard or court that leads to one.¹⁹ If the house is in a floodplain, ask how the floodplain office will treat a garage floor that becomes living space before you design around it.

Houston defines a short-term rental as a dwelling unit, or any portion of one, rented or offered for rent for less than 30 consecutive days, and it is unlawful to operate, rent, lease or advertise one in the city without a valid certificate of registration.¹⁵ Houston's short-term rental certificate of registration costs $275 a year and is valid for one year from the date it is issued.¹⁵

To register a Houston short-term rental, the host supplies identification, an emergency contact, links to every listing, proof of hotel occupancy tax remittance or registration (not needed for Airbnb-only listings), the owner's authorization or a current lease, and completion of a human trafficking awareness course.²⁰ A Houston short-term rental must post its certificate of registration inside the front entrance and post the names and phone numbers of emergency contacts, who must respond to an emergency within one hour of being notified.¹⁵

Starting January 1, 2027, the City of Houston will begin notifying platforms to remove short-term rental listings that lack a certificate of registration.²⁰ Violating Houston's short-term rental ordinance carries a fine of $100 to $500 for each violation, and each day a violation continues counts separately.¹⁵ Deed restrictions can also limit short stays, so check them as well.

A landlord who does renovation work on pre-1978 rental housing personally needs both EPA firm and renovator certification; a landlord who hires the work out needs neither, but the firm must be Lead-Safe Certified.²¹ Before a renter signs a lease for most pre-1978 housing, federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, share available records, hand over EPA's Protect Your Family From Lead pamphlet and include a Lead Warning Statement.²²

The 2021 IRC requires smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area and on every story including basements, interconnected within each dwelling unit so that one sounding sets off all of them.¹⁹ When work that needs a permit is done, the 2021 IRC requires each dwelling unit to get carbon monoxide alarms as required for new homes, with exceptions for exterior work and plumbing.¹⁹ Ask the company to mark every alarm on the plans and show the exit path from each bedroom.

HUD's research office describes an ADU as compact, self-contained secondary housing on the same lot as an existing single-family home.²³ More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.²⁴

For a parent, a ground-level unit beats an apartment up a garage stair. Ask for a curbless shower, a wide entry with no step and a lit path from the main house. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁵

The number on this page connects you, on a recorded line, to one independent company that handles rental conversions in the Houston area. The unit, the permits and the price are between you and them.

We're paid for the call. You pay us nothing, and we never call or text you. How we make money

Before the final payment, get the paperwork Texas requires. When the owner makes final payment on a Texas residential construction contract, the original contractor must sign and deliver an affidavit stating that the bills for the job have been paid.²⁶ In Texas, every written proposal, invoice or contract for plumbing must show the name and license number of the responsible master plumber.²⁷ Check a Texas license