(a) 
The purpose of this article is to protect the health, safety, morals, and welfare of our citizens by establishing minimum standards governing the construction, use, occupancy or maintenance applicable to residential and nonresidential structures. Minimum standards are established with respect to utilities, facilities, and other physical components essential to make structures safe, sanitary, and fit for human use and habitation. Demolition of structures is provided for as a last resort when compliance with standards cannot reasonably be achieved. (Refer to article 3.03, Dangerous Premises.)
(b) 
This article is found to be remedial and essential to the public interest, and it is intended that this article be liberally construed to effect its purpose. All structures within the city on the effective date of this article, or constructed thereafter, must comply with the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1501; Ordinance adopting 2019 Code)
Administrator.
The administrator of the neighborhood integrity program of the city or his designated representative.
Apartment building.
Any structure containing three or more dwelling units.
Floor space.
The total area of all habitable space.
Grade.
The natural surface of the ground, or surface ground after completion of any change in contour.
Habitable space.
The space occupied by one or more persons while living, sleeping, eating, and cooking, excluding kitchenettes, bathrooms, toilet rooms, laundries, pantries, dressing rooms, closets, storage spaces, foyers, hallways, utility rooms, heater rooms, boiler rooms, and basement or cellar recreation rooms.
Landlord.
The owner, property manager or resident manager of an apartment building or any other person held out by any owner or property manager as the appropriate person with whom the tenant normally deals with concerning the rental agreement or apartment building.
Owner.
A person claiming, or in whom is vested, the ownership, dominion, or title of real property, including but not limited to:
(1) 
The holder of fee simple title;
(2) 
The holder of a life estate;
(3) 
The holder of a leasehold estate for an initial term of five years or more;
(4) 
The buyer in a contract for deed; and
(5) 
A mortgagee, receiver, executor, or trustee in control of real property, but not including the holder of a leasehold estate or tenancy for an initial term of less than five years.
“Person” includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.
Premises or property.
A lot, plot, or parcel of land, including any structures thereon.
Property manager.
A person who for compensation has managing control of real property.
Structure.
That which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.
Tenant or occupant.
Any person who occupies a dwelling unit for living or dwelling purposes with the landlord’s consent.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1502)
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this article, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public safety, health, convenience, comfort, morals, prosperity, and general welfare. Wherever in this article there may be restrictions or provisions which might conflict, the more restrictive restrictions or provisions shall apply.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1503)
For the purpose of ascertaining whether violations of this article exist, the administrator or his representative is authorized at a reasonable time to inspect:
(1) 
The exterior of a structure and premises which contain no structure; and
(2) 
The interior of a structure, if the permission of the owner, occupant, or person in control is given.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1504)
(a) 
When the administrator determines that there is a violation of this article he shall give notice of the violation to the owner, or the person responsible. The notice must be in writing, specifying the alleged violation and providing a length of time for compliance.
(b) 
If the owner of the property resides outside McCulloch County, the administrator may give notice to the property manager. Upon receipt of a notice of violation, a property manager shall notify the owner of the specifics of the notice of violation and shall make every reasonable effort to have the owner correct the violation.
(c) 
After notice, a person who knowingly continues to violate a provision of this article or fails to perform an act required of him by this article commits an offense. A person commits a separate offense for each day or portion of a day during which a violation occurs or continues.
(d) 
The administrator has the authority to enforce provisions of this article.
(e) 
An offense under this article is punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000.00.
(f) 
In addition to imposing the criminal penalty prescribed in subsection (e) or exercising the other remedies provided by this article, the city may, in accordance with chapter 54, subchapter B of the Texas Local Government Code, bring a civil action against a person violating a provision of this article. The civil action may include, but is not limited to, a suit to recover a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000.00 for each day or portion of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted.
(g) 
The penalties provided for herein are in addition to any other enforcement remedies that the city may have under city ordinances and state law.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1505)
(a) 
Property standards.
(1) 
An owner shall:
(A) 
Eliminate a hole, excavation, sharp protrusion, and other object or condition that exists on the land and is reasonably capable of causing injury to a person;
(B) 
Securely cover or close a well, cesspool, or cistern;
(C) 
Provide drainage to prevent standing water and flooding on the land;
(D) 
Remove dead trees and tree limbs that are reasonably capable of causing injury to a person; and
(E) 
Keep the doors and windows of a vacant structure or vacant portion of a structure securely closed to prevent unauthorized entry.
(2) 
It is a defense to prosecution for a violation of this subsection that the premises concerned are the site of new construction and reasonable and continuous progress is being made to complete the construction.
(b) 
Structural standards.
An owner shall:
(1) 
In all apartments, apartment houses, dwellings or dwelling units provide safe and unobstructed and adequate means of egress leading to safe and open space at ground level. Every bedroom shall have at least one window or opening, which can easily be opened, facing directly to the outside. The total of openable window or opening area in every bedroom shall be equal to 5.7 square feet;
(2) 
Provide painting, waterproofing and repair of parts of the structure subject to deterioration due to the elements, which shall include but not be limited to loose siding, siding with holes, excessive cracks or rotted boards which permit air to penetrate rooms, loose roof covering, and holes or leaks in the roof which cause damage to the structure or rooms;
(3) 
Provide and maintain railings for stairs, steps, balconies, porches, and elsewhere as specified in the International Building Code and International Residential Code as amended by the city;
(4) 
Repair holes, cracks, and other defects reasonably capable of causing injury to a person in stairs, porches, steps and balconies;
(5) 
Maintain a structure intended for human occupancy and a structure used as an accessory to a structure intended for human occupancy in a weather-tight and watertight condition;
(6) 
Maintain floors, walls, ceilings, and all supporting structural members in a sound condition, capable of a bearing imposed loads safely;
(7) 
Provide cross-ventilation of not less than 1-1/2 square feet for each 25 lineal feet of wall in each basement, cellar, and crawl space;
(8) 
Repair or replace chimney flue and vent attachments that do not function properly;
(9) 
Repair holes, broken or missing windows, breaks, and loose surface materials that are health or safety hazards in or on floors, walls, and ceilings; and
(10) 
Provide and maintain a moisture-resistant finish or material for the flooring or subflooring of each bathroom, shower room, and toilet room.
(c) 
Utility standards.
An owner shall:
(1) 
Provide and maintain in operating condition connections to discharge sewage from a structure or land into a public sewer system where available;
(2) 
Provide and maintain in operating condition a toilet connected to a water source and to a public sewer, where available, in each structure intended for human habitation;
(3) 
Provide and maintain in operating condition connections and pipes to supply potable water at adequate pressure to a structure intended for human habitation;
(4) 
Provide and connect a kitchen sink, bathtub or shower, and lavatory to a cold and hot water source in each structure intended for human habitation;
(5) 
Connect plumbing fixtures and heating equipment that the owner supplies in accordance with the applicable International Building Code, National Electrical Code and International Residential Code, as amended by the city;
(6) 
Provide and maintain in operating condition supply lines for electrical service to each structure intended for human occupancy;
(7) 
Connect each heating and cooking device that burns solid fuel to a chimney or flue;
(8) 
Provide and maintain in operating condition electrical circuits and outlets sufficient to safely carry a load imposed by normal use of appliances and fixtures;
(9) 
Provide and maintain in operating condition a device to supply hot water of a minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit within each structure intended for human habitation; and
(10) 
Provide heating equipment capable of maintaining a minimum inside temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit or utility connection for such equipment in each room of a structure intended for human occupancy.
(d) 
Health standards.
An owner shall:
(1) 
Eliminate rodents and vermin in and on the land;
(2) 
Provide a structure intended for human habitation with a screen for keeping out insects at each opening of the structure if the structure is not cooled with refrigerated air, and maintain the interior of a vacant structure or vacant portion of a structure free from rubbish and garbage.
(e) 
Occupancy load.
(1) 
A structure or dwelling unit is overcrowded if the following standards are not met:
(A) 
Floor space per person.
Each structure or dwelling unit shall contain at least 200 square feet of habitable floor space per occupant.
(B) 
Sleeping space per person.
In each structure or dwelling unit of two or more rooms, each room occupied for sleeping purposes shall contain at least 36 square feet of floor space for one occupant and shall contain an additional 27 square feet of floor space for each additional occupant.
(C) 
Special provisions for children.
Children under 12 months of age shall not be considered occupants, and children under 12 years of age shall be considered as 1/2 of one occupant for purposes of subsections (A) and (B).
(D) 
Ceiling height.
For purposes of subsections (A) and (B), a room of an existing structure must have a ceiling height of at least seven feet with projections no lower than six feet eight inches to be considered habitable space. New structures must have a ceiling height of seven feet six inches with projections no lower than six feet eight inches.
(2) 
It shall be unlawful for any owner to allow an overcrowded structure or dwelling unit to be occupied. It shall be unlawful for any person to occupy an overcrowded structure or dwelling unit.
(f) 
Enforcement.
The administrator and designees shall be the code enforcement officers for purposes of enforcement of this article. When citing an owner or occupant with a violation of this section, the administrator or a designee shall issue no more than one citation from each of subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) herein per inspection. The administrator shall establish a procedure for conducting inspections which provides for fair and equal treatment of equally situated properties in the city.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1506)
(a) 
An occupant shall:
(1) 
Maintain those portions of the interior of a structure under his control free from rubbish, garbage, and other conditions that would encourage infestation of insects, rodents, and vermin;
(2) 
Remove an animal or animals from a structure if the presence of the animal or animals is a health hazard to an occupant;
(3) 
Connect plumbing, fixtures and heating equipment that the occupant supplies in accordance with the applicable city codes;
(4) 
Not alter a structure or its facilities so as to create a nonconformity with section 3.04.006 of this article; and
(5) 
Cut grass, weeds, and other growth and maintain the premises free of litter at all times. This subsection does not apply to the occupants of apartments.
(b) 
A tenant or occupant of a single-family residential structure shall keep the interior of the structure free from insects.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1507)
(a) 
A landlord shall disclose to the tenant by properly posting in the office, or, if there is no office, otherwise providing to tenant, in writing, the name and address of:
(1) 
Each property manager and resident manager;
(2) 
The management company or person responsible for the operation of the company or rental property.
(b) 
A landlord shall leave notice of entry whenever it is necessary to enter an apartment without the specific permission of the tenant. Such notice shall include the date, time, purpose and the person who has entered the apartment unit.
(Ordinance 1035 adopted 1/7/09; 2004 Code, sec. 3.1508)