The City of Dallas requires permits for most home repairs and for new construction of homes and other buildings. If a permit is required, the contractor must post a “construction information sign” that includes the construction site address, who is responsible for the construction, and where a citizen may call for additional information.

Additionally, the city’s permit database allows you to search for permits by a specific address. Or, if you are unsure of the exact address, you can search a range of addresses.

A list of construction activities that do not require a permit is listed in Section 52-301.2 of the Administrative Procedures for the (Dallas) Construction Codes.

The City of Dallas prohibits most construction activity “on or adjacent to a residential use” between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays and legal holidays (with certain exceptions).

The City of Dallas requires a permit to “perform any construction work within the public right-of-way or any construction work outside of the public right-of-way that will cut, break, or otherwise damage the public right-of-way.” Streets and sidewalks are part of the public right-of-way (sometimes referred to as “ROW”). You can search for ROW permits on the city’s website.

If a ROW permit is required, the contractor must post a “construction information sign” that includes the construction site address, who is responsible for the construction, and where a citizen may call for additional information.

The City of Dallas requires home repair contractors to be licensed by the City if they aren’t already required to be licensed by the State of Texas. If a contractor is performing home repairs valued at $500 or more, the City of Dallas also requires the contractor to furnish the owner with a written contract prior to beginning any repairs.

The Department of Code Compliance is responsible for addressing complaints about home repair contractors. Currently, there is not a searchable database of licensed home repair contractors.

Additionally, if a contractor is already licensed by the state, they still are required to register with the City of Dallas before performing any work. The Administrative Procedures for the Construction Codes (Dallas) lists the contractors that are required to register.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) is the primary agency responsible for licensing businesses in Texas. You can search their database to verify licensed HVAC contractors and electricians. However, you’ll need to search the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners to verify the license for a plumber.

“Zoning” is the way cities manage: (1) how and what can be built on a parcel of property (ex. a 24-story structure vs. a one-story structure) and (2) how a property can be used (ex. a residential use vs. a commercial use). The City of Dallas has assigned a zoning classification to each parcel of property in the city limits. You can search for your neighborhood’s zoning classifications on the city’s website.

Also, unless a property is being used as a single family residence, duplex, or handicapped group dwelling unit, the operator of the property must obtain a Certificate of Occupancy, which will list the approved land use and occupancy (for fire code purposes) for the property.

A city’s land use decisions are primarily guided by: (1) plans, such as comprehensive plans and small area/neighborhood plans and (2) ordinances, such as zoning ordinances.

Plans – A comprehensive plan describes a city’s long-term vision for how and where a city will grow and develop. While “land use” is often the most-discussed component of a comprehensive plan, most comprehensive plans address a range of factors that impact a city’s growth and development, including: land use, housing, transportation, the environment, economic development, and urban design.

Once a comprehensive plan is adopted, it serves to guide city staffers as they make daily decisions related to zoning, creation of neighborhood plans, transportation policies, and economic development incentives.

In 2006, the Dallas City Council adopted its first comprehensive plan titled, Forward Dallas! The plan contained the following topics (which were called “elements”): land use, economic, housing, transportation, urban design, and neighborhoods. In 2024, the Dallas City Council adopted an update to ForwardDallas! This update focused primarily on modifying the land use element of the comprehensive plan.

Ordinances – The city primarily regulates land use through a massive ordinance known as the Dallas Development Code. The Dallas Development Code assigns a zoning classification to each parcel of property in the city limits and describes how property can be developed and used within each district.

Frequently, property owners submit zoning change requests asking the City to make adjustments to zoning classifications and permitted uses.

If a property owner wants to build something on their property or use their property in a way that is not allowed by the zoning classification assigned to the property, the owner must apply for a zoning change before developing or redeveloping their property. According to the City of Dallas, the process takes approximately 12 weeks and includes two public hearings. You can search for pending and historical zoning cases on the city’s website.

The Dallas City Plan and Zoning Commission (CPC) holds the initial public hearing(s) regarding all zoning cases. According to the city’s website, the CPC is “responsible for making recommendations to the City Council regarding planning and zoning matters, and for administering Chapter 212 of the Texas Local Government Code regarding the platting and recording of subdivisions and additions.” The City Plan Commission consists of 15 members. Each city council member and the mayor appoint one member to the board. The mayor also appoints the Chair of the CPC and the City Council appoints the Vice Chair.

Neighborhood Associations can play a key role in informing neighbors about potential zoning changes, communicating with City Plan commissioners, hosting informational meetings, and negotiating with developers. Since zoning change requests can often incite strong opinions from affected neighbors, it is important for neighborhood leaders to develop strong working relationships and communication protocols with their Plan Commissioner and City Council member well in advance of any contentious zoning case.

If your neighborhood has a “residential” zoning classification, your neighborhood is primarily composed of buildings where people live, i.e. homes. However, while the primary use of these properties is residential, owners of property in residentially-zoned neighborhoods may also use their property for certain accessory uses. In some instances, a homeowner is required to obtain a permit before engaging in an accessory use. The most common accessory uses in residentially-zoned neighborhoods are listed below:

• Swimming Pool (private) – An owner may construct a swimming pool for the “exclusive use of the residents of a residential use.” However, “no private swimming pool may be operated as a business, except that private swimming lessons may be given under the home occupation use.”
• Home Occupation – An owner (or an occupant) may use their home for an occupation that is “incidental” to the residential use of the property (e.g. remote work, therapist’s office, artist’s studio, etc.). There are numerous limitations related to this accessory use, including a prohibition against on-site advertising, loud noise, and generating traffic congestion.
• Occasional Sales (garage sales) – An owner may hold up to two garage sales at their home per year. However, the sale can’t last for more than 3 consecutive days and must occur inside a building or garage or on an approved surface. Most importantly, the owner must obtain a garage sale permit before hosting the garage sale.
• “Little Free Library” – In recent years, some homeowners and business owners have built small book-lending kiosks on their properties. A homeowner is allowed to build a “little free library” in their front yard so long as it is built out of materials that are “resistant to damage or deterioration from exposure to the outside environment.”

All rental properties in Dallas are regulated in one way or another. If a property is primarily rented for “short-term” stays (i.e. 30 consecutive days or less), the City of Dallas regulates the property in two distinct ways:

• Zoning/Land Use – The City’s zoning code includes a short-term rental lodging use (51A-4.205(3)). A property may not be used as a short-term rental in a neighborhood that is categorized as a single-family, duplex, or townhome district. However, a property may be used as short-term rental in a neighborhood that is zoned as multifamily or mixed use, among several other neighborhoods.
• Registration, inspection, and ongoing compliance – If a property is located in a district where short-term rental uses are allowed, the landlord must register the property and pass an inspection. The landlord must also comply with standards related to occupancy, noise, parking, payment of hotel occupancy taxes and a minimum stay of 2 nights.

The 5th Court of Appeals recently affirmed a lower court ruling that paused enforcement of the short-term rental ordinances. (2/15/2025)

In 2018, the City of Dallas amended its City Code to create two processes by which residents may seek city approval to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), which is the official name for a casita or a granny flat. The first process is “neighborhood-driven.” Specifically, groups of neighbors can form a coalition and seek city approval to allow the construction of ADUs within a geographic area designated by the neighbors. The second process is “homeowner-driven.” This process allows an individual homeowner to seek city approval to construct an ADU on the parcel of land where their residence is located.

• Accessory Dwelling Unit Overlay – A neighborhood-driven process where a neighborhood (consisting of at least 10 property owners) submits an application to the City to create an overlay that will allow ADUs. The neighborhood must gather signatures (indicating approval) from at least 50% of the property owners living within the boundaries of the proposed overlay. Before the overlay can be approved, the City Plan Commission and the City Council must consider the application at separate public meetings. If the overlay is approved by both the City Plan Commission and the City Council, residents living within the boundaries of the overlay who wish to build an ADU can follow the regular building permit application process.

• Board of Adjustment process – A property owner may file an application with the Board of Adjustment to request a special exception to build an ADU. Before the application can be approved, the Board of Adjustment must hold a public hearing and consider the request. If the Board of Adjustment approves the application, the homeowner can follow the regular building permit application process.

In Dallas, group homes are most commonly operated out of a single-family residence where the residents share certain common facilities, such as bathrooms and the kitchen.

If you live in a neighborhood with a single-family zoning classification, only one type of “group home” land use is allowed to operate in your neighborhood. If you live in a neighborhood with another form of zoning classification (multifamily, mixed use, etc.), there are several types of “group home” land uses that may be allowed to operate in your neighborhood.

• Handicapped Group Dwelling Unit – A type of group home called a “Handicapped Group Dwelling Unit” is allowed to operate “by right” in single-family neighborhoods. To qualify as a Handicapped Group Dwelling Unit, the residents must: (1) be “handicapped,” (2) live together as a single housekeeping unit and (3) the home must be their permanent residence (not temporary). No more than 8 unrelated persons (which can include up to two supervisors) may reside in the home. Additionally, these facilities must be located at least 1,000 feet from other group homes.
• Group Residential Facility – Group homes that do not meet the definition of a Handicapped Group Dwelling Unit will typically be categorized as a Group Residential Facility, so long as the residents are provided “room and board.” Group Residential Facilities are not allowed “by right” in single-family residential districts.
• Residential Hotel – Larger group homes with more than six (6) guest rooms may be classified as a Residential Hotel. Residential hotels are not allowed “by right” in single-family residential districts.

In some instances, a “group home” will be required to obtain a City of Dallas Boarding Home Facility license if they provide community meals, light housework, meal preparation, transportation, grocery shopping, money management, laundry services, or assistance with self-administration of medication but do not provide personal care services to those persons. Group homes that provide a more intense level of care may be required to obtain a license from the State of Texas.

Owner-Occupied Homes – The Dallas City Code doesn’t explicitly set limits regarding how many people may occupy owner-occupied homes. However, the Dallas Development Code – through its definition of “family” – limits the number of unrelated persons who may reside together in a dwelling unit. 

Rental Homes – The Dallas City Code references Section 92.1010 of the Texas Property Code, which states that “the maximum number of adults that a landlord may allow to occupy a dwelling is three times the number of bedrooms in the dwelling.”

While zoning laws are how cities regulate land use within their boundaries, deed restrictions are how private citizens may limit land use. For example, a developer building a subdivision on vacant land might impose deed restrictions that prohibit future homeowners from installing chain link fences.

In most cases, private deed restrictions do not guide a city’s permitting decisions or code enforcement actions. For instance, homes in your neighborhood might have private deed restrictions that limit the height of homes to one story. However, if the Dallas Development Code (i.e. zoning code) allows structures in your neighborhood to be two stories tall, the city would not deny a building permit for a two-story home due to your neighborhood’s private deed restrictions. Instead, individual neighbors who are affected by the violation or your Homeowner’s Assocation (HOA) would have to take action to enforce the deed restrictions.

The City of Houston is a rare outlier because it enforces private deed restrictions. The Texas Legislature granted the City of Houston this special authority after the city’s voters failed to approve the adoption of a zoning code.

According to the City of Dallas’s crop production ordinance, community gardens (officially defined as “urban gardens”) may be located in residential neighborhoods and the operators may produce crops and raise chickens. A community garden must comply with all zoning requirements for the residential district in which the community garden is located, including yard, lot, and space regulations. Additionally, the community garden cannot sell any of its produce or eggs on-site.

However, it is unclear whether the City of Dallas will enforce its current crop production ordinance. In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed a law that placed significant limits on a city’s ability to regulate agricultural uses.

The City of Dallas is in the process of examining which city ordinances will need to be modified to comply with state law. (12/14/2024)