Health and Safety Code
CHAPTER 343. ABATEMENT OF PUBLIC NUISANCES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 343.002. Definitions.
In this chapter:
(1) "Abate" means to eliminate by removal, repair,
rehabilitation, or demolition.
(2) "Building" means a structure built for the support,
shelter, or enclosure of a person, animal, chattel, machine,
equipment, or other moveable property.
(3) "Garbage" means decayable waste from a public or private
establishment or restaurant. The term includes vegetable,
animal, and fish offal and animal and fish carcasses, but does
not include sewage, body waste, or an industrial by-product.
(4) "Neighborhood" means:
(A) a platted subdivision; or
(B) property contiguous to and within 300 feet of a
platted subdivision.
(5) "Platted subdivision" means a subdivision that has its
approved or unapproved plat recorded with the county clerk of
the county in which the subdivision is located.
(6) "Premises" means all privately owned property, including
vacant land or a building designed or used for residential,
commercial, business, industrial, or religious purposes. The
term includes a yard, ground, walk, driveway, fence, porch,
steps, or other structure appurtenant to the property.
(7) "Public street" means the entire width between property
lines of a road, street, way, thoroughfare, or bridge if any
part of the road, street, way, thoroughfare, or bridge is open
to the public for vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
(8) "Receptacle" means a container that is composed of
durable material and designed to prevent the discharge of its
contents and to make its contents inaccessible to animals,
vermin, or other pests.
(9) "Refuse" means garbage, rubbish, paper, and other
decayable and nondecayable waste, including vegetable matter
and animal and fish carcasses.
(10) "Rubbish" means nondecayable waste from a public or
private establishment or residence.
(11) "Weeds" means all rank and uncultivated vegetable
growth or matter that:
(A) has grown to more than 36 inches in height; or
(B) may create an unsanitary condition or become a
harborage for rodents, vermin, or other disease-carrying
pests, regardless of the height of the weeds.
(12) "Flea market" means an outdoor or indoor market,
conducted on non-residential premises, for selling secondhand
articles or antiques, unless conducted by a religious,
educational, fraternal, or charitable organization.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 343.003. Effect of Chapter on Other State Law.
This chapter does not affect a right, remedy, or penalty under
other state law.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
SUBCHAPTER B. PUBLIC NUISANCE PROHIBITED
Sec. 343.011. Public Nuisance in Certain Counties.
(a) This section applies to the unincorporated area of a county
with a population of 125,000 or more.
(b) A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance
under this section on any premises.
(c) A public nuisance is:
(1) keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on premises in a
neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained in a closed
receptacle;
(2) keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish, including
newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, furniture,
tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood for 10 days or
more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed in a
building or is not visible from a public street;
(3) maintaining premises in a manner that creates an unsanitary
condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents,
vermin, or disease-carrying pests;
(4) allowing weeds to grow on premises in a neighborhood if the
weeds are located within 300 feet of another residence or
commercial establishment;
(5) maintaining a building in a manner that is structurally
unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or public
welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary conditions,
dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or abandonment or
because it constitutes a fire hazard;
(6) maintaining on abandoned and unoccupied property in a
neighborhood a swimming pool that is not protected with:
(A) a fence that is at least four feet high and that has a
latched gate that cannot be opened by a child; or
(B) a cover over the entire swimming pool that cannot be removed
by a child; or
(7) maintaining a flea market in a manner that constitutes a fire
hazard.
(d) This section does not apply to a site or facility that is
permitted and regulated by a state agency.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 28,
1995.
Sec. 343.0111. Public Nuisance Generally Applicable.
(a) This section applies to the unincorporated area of a
county, regardless of the population size of the county.
(b) A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance
under this section.
(c) A public nuisance is:
(1) discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual
obstruction on:
(A) county-owned land; or
(B) land or easements owned or held by a special
district that has the county commissioners court as its
governing body; or
(2) discarding refuse on the smaller of:
(A) the area that spans 20 feet on each side of a
utility line; or
(B) the actual span of the utility easement.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 28,
1995.
Sec. 343.012. Criminal Penalty.
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person violates Section 343.011(b) or 343.0111(b);
and
(2) the nuisance remains unabated after the 30th day after
the date on which the person receives notice from a county
official, agent, or employee to abate the nuisance.
(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of not less than $50 or more than $200.
(c) If it is shown on the trial of the defendant that the
defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this
section, the defendant is punishable by a fine of not less than
$200 or more than $1,000, confinement in jail for not more than
six months, or both.
(d) Each day a violation occurs is a separate offense.
(e) The court shall order abatement of the nuisance if the
defendant is convicted of an offense under this section.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 28,
1995.
Sec. 343.013. Injunction.
(a) A county or district court may by injunction prevent or
restrain a violation of this chapter in the unincorporated area
of the county.
(b) A county or a person affected or to be affected by a
violation under this chapter, including a property owner,
resident of a neighborhood, or organization of property owners or
residents of a neighborhood, may bring suit under Subsection (a).
If the court grants the injunction, the court may award the
plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
SUBCHAPTER C. COUNTY AUTHORITY RELATING TO NUISANCE
Sec. 343.021. Authority to Abate Nuisance.
A county may abate a nuisance under this chapter by demolition or
removal if the county adopts abatement procedures that are
consistent with the general purpose of this chapter and that
conform to this chapter.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Sec. 343.022. Abatement Procedures.
(a) The abatement procedures adopted by the commissioners court
must be administered by a regularly salaried, full-time county
employee, but the removal or demolition of the nuisance may be
made by a person authorized by the person administering the
abatement program.
(b) The abatement procedures must require that written notice
be given to:
(1) the owner, lessee, occupant, agent, or person in charge
of the premises; and
(2) the person responsible for causing a public nuisance on
the premises when:
(A) that person is not the owner, lessee, occupant,
agent, or person in charge of the premises; and
(B) the person responsible can be identified.
(c) The notice must state:
(1) the specific condition that constitutes a nuisance;
(2) that the person receiving notice shall abate the
nuisance before the 31st day after the date on which the notice
is served;
(3) that failure to abate the nuisance may result in:
(A) abatement by the county;
(B) assessment of costs to the person responsible for
causing the nuisance when that person can be identified; and
(C) a lien against the property on which the nuisance
exists, if the person responsible for causing the nuisance
has an interest in the property; and
(4) that the person receiving notice is entitled to submit,
before the 31st day after the date on which the notice is
served, a written request for a hearing.
(d) The notice must be given:
(1) by service in person or by registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested; or
(2) if personal service cannot be obtained or the address of
the person to be notified is unknown, by posting a copy of the
notice on the premises on which the nuisance exists and by
publishing the notice in a newspaper with general circulation
in the county two times within 10 consecutive days.
(e) The abatement procedures must require a hearing before the
county abates the nuisance if a hearing is requested. The
hearing may be conducted before the commissioners court or any
board, commission, or official designated by the commissioners
court. The commissioners court may designate a board,
commission, or official to conduct each hearing.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 123, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 5, eff. Aug. 28,
1995.
Sec. 343.023. Assessment of Costs; Lien.
(a) A county may:
(1) assess the cost of abating the nuisance, the cost of
legal notification by publication, and an administrative fee of
not more than $100 on the person receiving notice under Section
343.022; or
(2) by resolution or order, assess the cost of abating the
nuisance, the cost of legal notification by publication, and an
administrative fee of not more than $100 against the property
on which the nuisance exists.
(b) The county may not make an assessment against property
unless the owner or owner's agent receives notice of the nuisance
in accordance with Section 343.022.
(c) To obtain a lien against the property to secure an
assessment, the commissioners court of the county must file a
notice that contains a statement of costs, a legal description of
the property sufficient to identify the property, and the name of
the property owner, if known, with the county clerk of the county
in which the property is located.
(d) The county's lien to secure an assessment attaches when the
notice of lien is filed and is inferior to a previously recorded
bona fide mortgage lien attached to the real property to which
the county's lien attaches, if the mortgage was filed for record
in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the real
property is located before the date on which the county files the
notice of lien with the county clerk.
(e) The county is entitled to accrued interest beginning on the
31st day after the date of the assessment against the property at
the rate of 10 percent a year.
(f) The statement of costs or a certified copy of the statement
of costs is prima facie proof of the costs incurred to abate the
nuisance.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 6, eff. Aug. 28,
1995.
Sec. 343.024. Authority to Enter Premises.
(a) A county official, agent, or employee charged with the
enforcement of health, environmental, safety, or fire laws may
enter any premises in the unincorporated area of the county at a
reasonable time to inspect, investigate, or abate a nuisance or
to enforce this chapter.
(b) Before entering the premises, the official, agent, or
employee must exhibit proper identification to the occupant,
manager, or other appropriate person.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 343.025. Enforcement.
A court of competent jurisdiction in the county may issue any
order necessary to enforce this chapter.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989