By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1406
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county regulation of property maintenance; imposing a
penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 233, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 233.902 to read as follows:
Sec. 233.902. PROPERTY MAINTENANCE STANDARDS; REQUIRING
REPAIR, REMOVAL, OR DEMOLITION OF BUILDING OR OTHER STRUCTURE.
(a) A county may by order establish minimum standards for property
maintenance in the unincorporated area of the county.
(b) If the county finds that a building, bulkhead or other
method of shoreline protection, fence, shed, awning, or other
structure, or part of a structure, is likely to endanger persons or
property, the county may:
(1) order the owner of the structure, the owner's
agent, or the owner or occupant of the property on which the
structure is located to repair, remove, or demolish the structure,
or the part of the structure, within a specified time; or
(2) repair, remove, or demolish the structure, or the
part of the structure, at the expense of the county, on behalf of
the owner of the structure or the owner of the property on which the
structure is located, and assess the repair, removal, or demolition
expenses on the property on which the structure is located.
(c) The county by order shall provide for:
(1) the assessment of repair, removal, or demolition
expenses incurred under Subsection (b)(2);
(2) a method of giving notice of the assessment; and
(3) a method of recovering the expenses.
(d) If a county incurs expenses under Subsection (b), the
county may assess the expenses on the property on which the
structure is located. The county may obtain a lien against the
property to secure the assessment, unless it is a homestead as
protected by the Texas Constitution, by filing a notice of lien.
The notice must contain the name and address of the owner if that
information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal
description of the real property on which the structure is located,
the amount of expenses incurred by the county, and the balance due.
The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice
is recorded and indexed in the office of the county clerk in each
county in which the property is located.
(e) The county may punish by fine a person who does not
comply with an order issued under Subsection (b)(1).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.