Texas state law and local Dallas ordinances dictate what property owners can do with their property and impose some maintenance obligations. Code enforcement has recently become a bigger priority in the Dallas area, with the city adding more workers to the department to help bring properties into compliance.
Homeowners may come home from a long day at work and either open a letter in the mail or find a notice taped to their front door advising them of a compliance issue that they must address. Some code violations are issues that homeowners can handle themselves.
Overgrown weeds
Maintaining your lawn isn’t just a way to increase the curb appeal of your home. It also helps protect public health. Tall grasses and weeds can give shelter to vermin and insects, as well as the animals that prey on them. Snakes, mice and other nuisance animals may quickly populate a yard with overgrown weeds.
Out-of-service automobiles
Your brother-in-law asked if he could leave his car at your place instead of paying to tow it to the other side of the city. However, every weekend since the car broke down, he has worked overtime.
The vehicle just sits, immobilized, in front of your house or even in your lawn. You may have to move it to an area where it isn’t visible or remove it from your property entirely, but you can handle a vehicle-related compliance issue quickly in most cases.
Trash and debris or improperly-placed receptacles
There are rules against letting trash pile up outside your home. In neighborhoods with homeowner’s associations, there may be a fine if you don’t move your trash bin back from the curb quickly enough.
Neglected swimming pools
Maybe you don’t have enough money in your budget to pay for pool service this year, or perhaps your kids moved out and you can’t justify the time and effort involved in caring for the pool.
When a pool turns color or becomes infested by mosquitoes, a citation may soon follow. Draining the pool or covering it can be a way to remedy those issues.
Odor-related citations
Do you have multiple dogs and struggle to get your teenagers to clean up their leavings from the yard? Did you put in a small compost pile along your back fence where no one can see it to cut down on how much you throw in the trash? If your property produces an unpleasant odor that affects people walking down the sidewalk or your neighbors, you can face a citation that requires major changes to your property to eliminate the offensives smell.
Timely action is often necessary when facing code violation claims, as you could face fines or even city-appointed crews coming out to do the work at your expense. Learning more about how to respond to property code violations can help homeowners in the Dallas area.
