Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Overton, Texas

At a glance

Building permit

Required inside Overton; issued by the city's community development office¹

Zoning

Yes, the city has a zoning ordinance with named districts⁵²

Minimum lot (single-family district)

6,000 sq ft, with exceptions for older lots of record⁶

Minimum home size (single-family district)

1,000 sq ft on lots of 6,000 sq ft or more; 750 sq ft on smaller lots⁷

Manufactured homes

Only in a licensed manufactured home park or subdivision, with narrow exceptions⁸

Septic permits

Rusk County designated representative under the TCEQ program; confirm for in-city lots³

Outside city limits

No county zoning in unincorporated Rusk County⁴

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does Overton, Texas have zoning, and what does it mean for lot size and setbacks?

Yes. The City of Overton has a zoning ordinance with named districts, so land inside city limits is not free of use rules⁵. Overton's districts run from single-family and multi-family residential to manufactured-home, commercial, industrial and agricultural open space².

In the single-family (SF) district, no building may go on a lot under 6,000 square feet, though older lots of record that were already in separate ownership may still take a one-family dwelling⁶. Setbacks are at least 25 feet in front and 25 feet in the rear, with side yards of at least 10 feet and 15 feet on the street side⁹. Buildings may cover no more than 40 percent of the lot¹⁰, and height tops out at 35 feet or two and one-half stories¹¹.

In the agricultural open space (AO) district there is no fixed numeric minimum; the planning and zoning commission sets it case by case¹².

Do you need a building permit in Overton, and who issues it?

Yes. The City of Overton states that building permits are required, and its community development office accepts all permit applications for new construction and redevelopment and issues the permits¹. The same office handles zone change, variance and special use permit applications through the planning and zoning commission¹.

For questions, call the city secretary / community development coordinator's office at 903-834-3171¹. The city publishes a schedule of fees as Appendix A to its code of ordinances on eCode360¹³; we did not confirm the amounts, so ask the office for the current figure before you budget.

Which building code edition the city enforces, and how inspections and certificates of occupancy are scheduled, we could not confirm; the community development office can answer that¹.

Can you put a manufactured home, RV or tiny home on a lot in Overton?

Manufactured homes are the clearest answer. Overton makes it unlawful to locate or maintain a manufactured home anywhere in the city other than in a lawfully designated and licensed manufactured home park or subdivision⁸. The exceptions are narrow: a sales location or temporary office, and one small camper trailer kept as an unoccupied accessory use, and a manufactured home kept under an exception may not be used for living or sleeping⁸. New manufactured home park or subdivision districts are granted only as a zoning ordinance amendment⁸.

For RVs and tiny homes inside Overton, we could not confirm a rule; the city's land use schedule governs it, so ask the community development office before you buy. Any tiny home still has to meet the single-family district's minimum living area, which is 750 square feet on lots under 6,000 square feet⁷.

How do septic permits work for a lot in Overton?

Texas requires a permit to construct, install, alter, extend or repair an on-site sewage facility, and local programs can be stricter than the state minimums¹⁴. Rusk County administers septic permitting and inspection through its Designated Representative for On-Site Septic Inspection under the TCEQ program³.

Whether a particular lot inside Overton is connected to city sewer, or falls under the city's own sanitation rules, we could not confirm. Ask the city's community development office whether sewer is available at the address, and ask the Rusk County designated representative before you plan any septic system¹⁵.

The state's exemption from permitting for a single-family home on a tract of at least 10 acres requires a site evaluation and the home as the only dwelling on the tract, so it is built for rural acreage, not a city lot¹⁴.

Building a home in Overton: the steps, in order

• Confirm the lot's zoning district with the community development office and check it against the minimum lot, setback and living-area rules².
• Ask whether city sewer reaches the lot; if not, contact the Rusk County septic representative about a site evaluation³.
• Apply for the building permit with the city's community development office before work starts¹.
• If the lot is being divided, check the city's subdivision ordinance first¹⁶.
• If a driveway will connect to a Texas state highway, TxDOT requires a permit on Form 1058 and 24 hours' notice before construction in the right-of-way¹⁷.

What stays with Rusk County, and what changes outside Overton city limits?

Septic permitting and inspection sit with Rusk County's designated representative rather than a city office³. The county's own pages are summarized on the Rusk County page.

The city's zoning and building permit rules stop at the city limit. In unincorporated Rusk County, a residential building permit does not appear to be required¹⁸, and the county has adopted no zoning ordinance⁴. Dividing land outside a municipality generally requires a plat, with an exception for land to be used primarily for agricultural use¹⁹.

Before you buy, note that the county's effective property tax rate is about 1 percent and the median bill is about $1,670 a year²⁰²¹. Only about 16 percent of Rusk County soils rate as not limited for a conventional septic drain field, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system on land outside a sewer service area²².

Watch-outs

• Building permit details inside Overton, including the adopted code edition, inspections and certificates of occupancy, were not confirmed; call the city's community development office at 903-834-3171 before you commit to a plan¹.
• RV, tiny home and accessory dwelling rules inside city limits sit in the city's land use schedule, which we could not confirm; ask the community development office rather than relying on the county's lack of zoning².
• Septic and sewer for lots inside Overton were not confirmed; contact the Rusk County septic designated representative before buying a lot that is not on city sewer¹⁵.

Sources

1. City of Overton Community Development (City Secretary's office) (cityofoverton.com)
2. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
3. Rusk County, Texas - County Septic Inspection (2026 county census)
4. Texas law on county zoning and building authority
5. Table of Contents - City of Overton, TX (eCode360) (Overton), quoted and re-checked
6. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
7. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
8. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
9. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
10. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
11. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
12. Exhibit 9A Zoning Ordinance, Part II District Regulations - City of Overton, TX (Overton), quoted and re-checked
13. Table of Contents - City of Overton, TX (eCode360) (Overton), quoted and re-checked
14. Getting a Permit for an OSSF - Such as a Septic System, quoted and re-checked
15. Rusk County Designated Representative - On-Site Septic Inspection (ruskcountytx.gov)
16. Table of Contents - City of Overton, TX (eCode360) (Overton), quoted and re-checked
17. General Access Driveway Policy, quoted and re-checked
18. Texas Real Estate Research Center (Texas A&M) - Land-Use Restrictions in Texas (2026 county census)
19. Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 232, Section 232.001, quoted and re-checked
20. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
21. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
22. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 14, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.