2023 Texas Statutes › Local Government Code › Title 7 - Regulation of Land Use, Structures, Businesses, and Related Activities › Subtitle A - Municipal Regulatory Authority › Chapter 214 - Municipal Regulation of Housing and Other Structures › Subchapter C. Swimming Pools and Spas › Section 214.101. Authority Regarding Swimming Pool Enclosures

Sec. 214.101.  AUTHORITY REGARDING SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES.  (a)  A municipality may by ordinance establish minimum standards for swimming pool fences and enclosures and may adopt other ordinances as necessary to carry out this subchapter.  A municipal ordinance containing standards for a pool yard enclosure as defined by Chapter 757, Health and Safety Code, as added by Section 2, Chapter 517, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, 1993, must contain the same standards for that enclosure as are required or permitted by that chapter of the Health and Safety Code.
(b)  A municipality that adopts an ordinance under this subchapter may repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated, or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare.
(c)  A municipality may require the owner of the property on which the swimming pool or enclosure or fence is situated, after notice and hearing as provided in Sections 214.001(d) and (e), to repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence of a swimming pool that the municipality or an appropriate municipal official, agent, or employee determines violates the minimum standards adopted under this subchapter.
(d)  If the enclosure or fence is on unoccupied property or is on property occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession to the property, the municipality shall give notice to the owner, in accordance with the procedures set out in Sections 214.0011(c) and (d), of the municipality's action to repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence of a swimming pool.
(e)  If a municipality incurs expenses under this subchapter, the municipality may assess the expenses on, and the municipality has a lien against, unless it is a homestead as protected by the Texas Constitution, the property on which the swimming pool or the enclosure or fence is situated.  The lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the municipality for the expenses.  The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the lien is recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is situated.  The notice must contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the swimming pool or the enclosure or fence is situated, the amount of expenses incurred by the municipality, and the balance due.  The lien is a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens and all previously recorded bona fide mortgage liens attached to the real property to which the municipality's lien attaches.
(f)  An ordinance adopted under this subchapter may provide for a penalty, not to exceed $1,000, for a violation of the ordinance.  The ordinance may provide that each day a violation occurs constitutes a separate offense.
(g)  A municipal official, agent, or employee, acting under the authority granted by this subchapter or any ordinance adopted under this subchapter, may enter any unoccupied premises at a reasonable time to inspect, investigate, or enforce the powers granted under this subchapter or any ordinance adopted pursuant to this subchapter.  After providing a minimum of 24 hours notice to the occupant, a municipal official, agent, or employee, acting under the authority granted by this subchapter or any ordinance adopted under this subchapter, may enter any occupied premises to inspect, investigate, or enforce the powers granted under this subchapter or any ordinance adopted pursuant to this subchapter.  A municipality and its officials, agents, or employees shall be immune from liability for any acts or omissions not knowingly done that are associated with actions taken in an effort to eliminate the dangerous conditions posed by an enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated, or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare and for any previous or subsequent conditions on the property.
(h)  The authority granted by this subchapter is in addition to that granted by any other law.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 517, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 577, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 12.107, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.