Registration of apartment communities.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-283
in effectSec. 28-283. - Registration of apartment communities.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate an apartment community in the city without first registering the ownership of such property as required by this section. No fee shall be charged for the registration required by this section.
(b) The owner of an apartment community shall provide or cause to be provided to the police official the following information regarding such property:
(1) The name of the owner and, if the owner is a corporation, whether foreign or domestic, the registered agent of the owner and the residential or business address of the owner and registered agent, if any, which address information shall include the street name and number, office or suite number if a business address, and the city, state, and zip code;
(2) The nature and extent of the owner's interest in the property. If there is only one owner, the extent of the owner's interest is 100 percent; and
(3) The name and business or residence address, including street name and number, city, state and zip code, of the current manager or management company of the apartment community and, if the manager is other than an individual, the name, title, business address, including street name and number, city, state and zip code, of the individual to be contacted for any purpose under this article relating to the apartment community.
(c) The use of a public or private post office box or other similar address shall not be sufficient for the purposes of complying with this section.
(d) Any change of ownership of an apartment community, including, but not limited to, the sale of the property or any ownership interest therein, shall require the purchaser or transferee to update the information provided under subsection (b) of this section and to file such updated information with the police official within 30 days of the effective date of such ownership change. A prior owner may advise the police official that he no longer holds any ownership interest in the property. The same requirement shall apply to any change relating to the owner's registered agent and manager or management company.
(e) The owner of a newly constructed apartment community shall comply with the provisions of this section not later than the thirtieth day following completion of construction.
(f) A true and correct copy of the registration statement shall be posted at all times in the business office at the property or, if no business office is maintained at the property, in a common area or other conspicuous place accessible at all times to the tenants of such property.
(g) A failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall constitute an offense under this article.
(h) Compliance with the requirements of this section shall be deemed to meet the requirements of sections 250.003 and 250.004 of the Texas Local Government Code.
(Ord. No. 06-1124, § 2, 11-8-06)
Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH28MIOFPR_ARTIXEXCRACCEAPCO_S28-283REAPCOFetched: 10/26/2026