Building permits, zoning and land rules in Houston County, Texas

No general building permit is required to build a home on unincorporated land in Houston County; Texas law gives counties no authority to require one outside a few narrow exceptions¹. Those exceptions reach only counties with more than 250,000 people, or a county next to one, which may adopt a fire code covering commercial buildings, public buildings and multifamily buildings of four units or more in unincorporated areas, or an optional residential construction standard; no official Houston County resolution or order adopting either was found⁹. Texas also lets a county that opts in require inspections of new homes, at least 3 on a vacant lot, but that applies only if the county adopted an order for it, and we found no such order for Houston County¹⁰. Factory-built housing is different: the Texas Industrialized Housing and Buildings program sets mandatory statewide codes for manufactured and modular structures, requiring the 2021-edition International codes as of July 1, 2024, regardless of county¹¹. No official source confirms an owner-builder exemption specific to Houston County, because there's no general county building permit for one to exempt you from¹².

Houston County does not administer zoning on unincorporated land². Because the county has no zoning authority there, it sets no minimum lot size, setback, lot-coverage limit, building-height limit or zoning district for unincorporated parcels³. City limits change the answer: the City of Kennard's Planning & Inspection Department enforces zoning regulations, although the available material does not establish Kennard's districts, allowed uses or dimensional standards⁴. We could not confirm the zoning status of Crockett, Grapeland, Latexo or Lovelady, so ask the relevant city before relying on the county rule. For an unincorporated parcel, the Houston County Judge's office is the starting point for a land-use question that does not belong with the septic office or a road precinct¹³.

A permit and approved plan are generally required before constructing, installing, altering, extending or repairing an on-site sewage facility in Houston County¹⁴. Houston County is TCEQ's authorized agent for unincorporated Houston County and the City of Crockett, so submit the application and planning materials to the county OSSF office; the permitting authority must approve or deny an application within 30 days of receipt and explain a denial in writing^14,15. Once installed, the installer must give at least five working days' notice before the system is ready for construction inspection, and the system cannot be used until it passes⁶. A qualifying single-family home on at least 10 acres can avoid the permit and inspection only when every listed condition is met, including a licensed site evaluation, a 100-foot property-line setback for every system part, on-site effluent disposal and no other dwelling on the tract¹⁴. Cesspools, boreholes and seepage pits are prohibited for new installation or use, so plan on a permitted OSSF design⁶. Only about 5.3% of Houston County soils have no severe limitation for a conventional drain field, so get the site evaluation before choosing a house or system location⁷.

On unincorporated land, Houston County has no zoning rule restricting RV, tiny-home or manufactured-home occupancy and sets no minimum dwelling size³. Temporary camping is also unrestricted by county zoning on unincorporated land³. Septic rules still apply when a dwelling or RV uses an on-site sewage system, and the county OSSF office handles permits for unincorporated Houston County and the City of Crockett^14,15. Municipal rules are different: Kennard enforces zoning within its city limits, so ask its Planning & Inspection Department about an RV or tiny home before placing one there⁴. We could not confirm comparable occupancy rules for Crockett, Grapeland, Latexo or Lovelady; ask the city directly if the parcel is incorporated.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is unincorporated; the county does not require a home-building permit there, but Kennard enforces zoning within its city limits^1,4.
2. Get a septic site evaluation before buying or siting the house because only about 5.3% of county soils have no severe limitation for a conventional drain field⁷.
3. Submit the OSSF application and planning materials to Houston County's OSSF office and wait for approval before construction; the authority has 30 days after receipt to approve or deny the application^14,15.
4. Have the installer arrange the required inspection and do not use the system until it passes⁶.
5. For a driveway onto a state highway, submit TxDOT Form 1058 and receive the executed permit before work begins in the right-of-way⁸.
6. Ask the Houston County Judge's office who handles any unresolved floodplain or county land-use question¹³.

Soils and septic: with only 5.3% of the county's soils carrying no severe limitation for a conventional drain field, get a site evaluation before you commit to a parcel, and ask whether it qualifies for the 10-acre no-permit exception^6,7. Water: a private well owner doesn't have to register with the state unless the parcel falls inside a groundwater conservation district, so confirm whether one covers your specific tract¹⁶. Access: a driveway onto a state highway needs a TxDOT permit and inspection before you touch the right-of-way, and the maximum width for a private residential driveway is 24 feet⁸. Land and climate: Houston County farmland has averaged about $3,488 an acre in the USDA census, the county gets roughly 47 inches of rain a year with severe drought in about 16% of recent years, and 56% of the land is wooded⁷. Taxes and location: the county's effective property tax rate runs about 0.9%, the median property tax bill is roughly $1,429 a year, and Houston County sits about 61 miles from the nearest metro area with a population density of about 18 people per square mile⁷.