Minimum standards generally; responsibilities of owners and occupants.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 10-361
in effectSec. 10-361. - Minimum standards generally; responsibilities of owners and occupants.
(a) It is unlawful for a person knowingly to allow a property of which the person has ownership or control to be kept or used in violation of this division.
(b) Each person who owns or otherwise has control of a property is responsible for maintaining in a sanitary condition the shared or public areas of the property and the premises thereof.
(c) Each occupant of a dwelling unit or a sleeping unit shall keep in a sanitary condition the part of the unit that the occupant occupies or controls.
(d) No person who owns, controls, or occupies real property shall use the property for the open storage of any dead tree, refuse, glass, building material, or of any inoperable motor vehicle, boat, refrigerator, stove, or other object of a reasonably similar size. For the purposes of this division, "inoperable" means either incapable of use for its intended purpose or reasonably appearing to be incapable of use for its intended purpose. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for violation of this subsection that the person to whom the citation was issued was licensed by a proper authority to store the item in the manner in which it was stored at the time the citation was issued.
(e) A violation of this division does not of itself create a negligence per se standard or otherwise expand existing liability in tort.
(f) This division applies to manufactured homes and house trailers to the extent allowed by law.
(Ord. No. 2011-108, § 4, 2-9-2011)
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_CH10BUNEPR_ARTIXBUST_DIV4MIST_S10-361MISTGEREOWOCFetched: 10/26/2026