General building work permit checklist — Houston, Texas
Assembled from Houston’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Houston requires a permit for general building work.
Houston's amended Section R105.2, tied to the 2021 International Residential Code, sets out what can be built without a permit. A detached accessory building qualifies at 120 square feet. Fencing qualifies at 8 feet provided it is neither masonry nor concrete and carries no electric charge. A retaining wall qualifies at 4 feet, footing base to top, unless something surcharges it. Repair work has its own ceilings: 100 square feet in total for drywall, 128 square feet in total across fascia, trim and soffit, and 100 square feet in total for roof covering. Backyard play structures are exempt, and so is a window awning reaching out 54 inches or less.
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Sources
- building — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Houston publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Houston before you build.