How close to the property line can I build in Houston?
Last verified August 13, 2026
against Houston Code of Ordinances §42-150 et seq.
· LotCodex
Houston's "building line" — the minimum distance from a street-adjacent property line within which nothing needing a building permit may be built — applies citywide and in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), except the central business district, which has none. For a single-family house it is typically 25 feet on a major thoroughfare or a collector-street front, and 20 feet on a local street. A garage or carport facing a collector or local street, however, always needs at least 20 feet regardless of how close the house itself may sit — 19 feet only under a separate, in-city performance standard (a private street, Type 2 easement, or shared driveway sets its own, lower garage figure instead). Houston authorizes further reductions, to 15, 10, 5, or 0 feet, tied to conditions such as vehicular access, plat notations, or garage and entry design, but nearly all of them apply only inside the city, not the ETJ.
Applies to: Single-family residential lots in Houston along a public street (major thoroughfare, collector street, or local street), a private street, a Type 2 permanent access easement, or a shared driveway, under Chapter 42, Article III, Division 3, Subdivision A — plus the central business district exemption (Sec. 42-151(a)) and the general ≥10-foot encroachment allowance (Sec. 42-151(b)(1)). Several of the reduced figures on this page — Sec. 42-153(b) and all of Sec. 42-157's performance-standard tracks — apply ONLY inside the city, not Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ); this is stated explicitly wherever it applies, both in the answer and in the summary table. It does NOT cover: multi-unit residential reserves, retail commercial centers, or other non-single-family tracts (which follow Sec. 42-153(a)/(c), 42-154, 42-155, or 42-237); a lot along a primary or secondary transit-oriented-development or walkable-places street (Sec. 42-164, which sets its own building line and controls over the numbers here); a lot inside a city-designated special minimum building line block (Sec. 42-170 et seq., which also controls over these numbers); the rest of Sec. 42-151's encroachment allowances beyond (b)(1) — subsections (c) through (h), covering type 2 PAEs, shared driveways, historic buildings, and existing nonconforming encroachments; or visibility-triangle and pipeline setbacks (Sec. 42-160, 42-161).
Street or roadway type
Building line
Central business district (any street)
No requirement (Sec. 42-151(a))
Major thoroughfare (general)
25 feet
Major thoroughfare — single-family lot backing onto it (Sec. 42-152(b))
10 feet
Major thoroughfare, planned ROW ≤80 ft — SF lot w/ alley/flag-staff/shared-driveway/PAE access (Sec. 42-153(b), city only)
15 feet
Collector street — front of lot (principal structure)
25 feet
Collector street — back and sides of lot
10 feet
Local street — front of lot (principal structure)
20 feet (or 10 feet with a typical-lot-layout plat notation, Sec. 42-156(b)(2))
Local street — back and side of lot
10 feet
Garage or carport facing the street, collector or local street (Sec. 42-156(c))
20 feet (19 feet only under the in-city Sec. 42-157(b) standard)
Collector or local street, city only — Sec. 42-157(b) performance standard, principal structure
10 feet
Collector or local street, city only — rear/side access or qualifying shared driveway (Sec. 42-157(c))
5 feet
Local street, plat has typical lot layout + alley-access notation, not a corner lot (Sec. 42-156(d))
No front building line required (the city imposes none — not a mandate to build at the property line)
Collector or local street, city only — subdivision SOLELY a corner replat with shared driveways (Sec. 42-157(d))
0 feet
Private street / Type 2 permanent access easement
5 feet
Shared driveway, 18 feet or wider
3 feet
Shared driveway, narrower than 18 feet (garage/carport)
4 feet
Summary for a single-family residential lot. Houston's own chart (Sec. 42-150(d)) is illustrative only; the text of each cited section controls in case of conflict — this table is built from the numbered sections, not the chart. "In the city only" figures do not apply in Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
Common questions
Is the building line the same everywhere on my lot?
No. Houston sets a different building line for the front, back, and sides of a lot, and the applicable number depends on what kind of street each lot line faces — major thoroughfare, collector, local street, private street, Type 2 permanent access easement, or shared driveway each have their own figure. A corner lot can face two different street types and so have two different building lines.
Does the reduced local-street line also apply to my garage?
No. Sec. 42-156(c) sets a street-facing garage or carport at 20 feet "notwithstanding the other provisions" of that section — overriding the 10-foot reduction available to the house itself under Sec. 42-156(b)(2). On a collector or local street, the only way to bring that garage figure below 20 feet is the separate, in-city-only performance standard of Sec. 42-157(b), which allows 19 feet, with the same "notwithstanding" override against that standard's own 10-foot house figure. A garage on a different roadway type has its own, lower figure instead: 4 feet on a shared driveway narrower than 18 feet (Sec. 42-159(b)), or 5 feet on a private street or Type 2 permanent access easement (Sec. 42-158) — see the table above.
Can a building line be smaller than what this page lists?
Yes, several ways, not all of them optional. Sec. 42-156(d) REQUIRES no front building line at all — not an optional standard the plat opts into — when the plat has a typical lot layout and notes restricting vehicular access to an approved public alley (except for corner lots). The central business district has no building line requirement at all (Sec. 42-151(a)). Sec. 42-153(b) and 42-157(b)-(d) authorize further reductions — to 15, 10, 5, or 0 feet — but only inside the city, tied to vehicular access, plat notations, or garage and entry design depending on the provision. A city-designated special minimum building line block (Sec. 42-170 et seq.) can also set its own, controlling number for a specific area.
This is how the code reads; confirm with the city — or ask a builder who's actually pulled this permit in Houston.
The authoritative text is the
Houston Code of Ordinances;
permitting questions go to
Houston Permitting Center.