Property Responsibilities

Follow all applicable rules and regulations. Contact Code Enforcement for any questions or if you have received a notice of violation.

Minimum Property Maintenance

Appearance & Upkeep

  • Mow your lawn and keep grass and weeds less than 12 inches in height.
  • Ensure your property is maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition.
  • Protect your home or business from the elements with paint or other protective covering or treatment.
  • Avoid deferring maintenance of your foundation, walls, and roof systems.

Safety

  • Properly install smoke detectors and check them annually.
  • Don't allow electrical wiring to be exposed or unsafe equipment to be used. 

Codes & Ordinances

San Antonio Property Maintenance Code (SAMPC)

Alley Maintenance

Obstructions

  • Keep the alley free of debris and junk.
  • Do not obstruct the alley with plants or stored items.
  • Do not let your alley become overgrown.
    • Mow the alley to its center. Your neighbor is responsible for maintaining the other half.

Access & Clearance

  • The alley bed must be passable for vehicles.
    • There must be a clearance of at least fourteen feet high by fifteen feet wide for vehicles to enter the alley.
  • Do not fence off any portion of the alley. It is a public passageway and must be kept open just like a city street.
  • Additional regulations apply for garbage and recyclable collection in an alley

Codes & Ordinances

Fences

Property Boundaries & Safety

  • Make sure you know where your property lines or boundaries are located. The City does not provide this service to homeowners.
  • Avoid fencing off any portion of the alley. It is a public passageway and must be kept open just like a city street.
  • Call 8-1-1 or 1-800-344-8377 to locate any possible utility lines before digging postholes. Failure to do so is against the law and might hurt you if strike a utility line.

Construction & Materials

  • Receive permission from Development Services to use the following:
    • barbed wire or razor wire
    • electric fences
  • Avoid using unapproved materials such as plywood, sheet metal, plastic, paper, tarps, or similar items.

Maintenance

  • Repair your fence if it leans more than 15 degrees from vertical or if it has any broken, rotted or fire-damaged slats.
  • You may remove the fence instead of repairing it if the fence is not required by another San Antonio Property Maintenance Code.

Codes & Ordinances

Vacant Property

Make sure your structure is secure.

Maintenance

  • Maintain your yard.
    • Don’t allow your yard to become overgrown more than 12 inches.
  • Remove all trash and debris from your property.

Codes & Ordinances

City Code Chapter 14, Article VII

Demolitions

Pre-Demolition Requirements

Before demolishing, make sure you:

  • Obtain a demolition permit.
  • Disconnect utilities.

Maintenance

  • Maintain the unimproved land.
    • Don’t allow your yard to become overgrown more than 12 inches.
  • Properly dispose of all demolition debris at an approved disposal facility. 

Codes & Ordinances

City Code Chapter 6, Division 2

Contact

Email

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