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Environmental Public Health Division
Neighborhood Nuisance
To file a Neighborhood Nuisance complaint click below:
Complaint Intake
HCPHES investigates complaints that may
violate the Texas Neighborhood Nuisance Abatement Act, a law
intended to eliminate public nuisances in unincorporated areas
of Texas. Examples of neighborhood nuisances include
accumulated rubbish, standing water, conditions that harbor
insects and rodents, abandoned swimming pools, high weeds and
dilapidated structures. Following an investigation that
results in a nuisance notification, a property owner or occupant
has thirty days to eliminate the nuisance. Failure to comply
can result in civil action or criminal prosecution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Neighborhood Nuisance abatement Act
(NNAA)?
The NNAA is a law designed to abate public
nuisances in unincorporated areas of Texas
CountiesBack to FAQ
What does "Abatement" mean?
Abatement is the elimination of a nuisance by
removal, repair, rehabilitation or demolition.
Back to FAQ
What constitutes a "public nuisance"?
Public nuisances are grouped into six (6) categories:
- Keeping, storing or accumulating refuse on
premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is
entirely contained in an enclosed receptacle.
- Keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish
or any unused, discarded or abandoned object,
including newspapers, vehicles, tires and cans
on premises in a neighborhood for ten days or
more, unless the rubbish or object is completely
enclosed within a building or is not visible
from a public street.
- Maintaining premises
in a manner that creates an unsanitary condition
likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents,
vermin or disease-carrying pests.
- Allowing
weeds to grow on premises in a neighborhood if
such weeds are located within 300 feet of another
residence or commercial establishment.
- Maintaining a building in a manner that is
structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to
safety, health or public welfare because of
inadequate maintenance, unsanitary condition,
dilapidation, obsolescence, fire hazard,
disaster, or abandonment.
- Maintaining a
swimming pool or unoccupied property in a
neighborhood that is not protected with a fence
that is at least four feet high and that has a
latched gate that cannot be opened by a child,
or protected by a cover over the entire swimming
pool that cannot be removed by a child.
Back to FAQ
What is refuse?
Refuse is garbage, rubbish, or paper and other decayable or
nondecayable waste, including vegetable matter and animal
and fish carcasses.
Back to FAQ
What is rubbish?
Rubbish is nondecayable waste from a public or private
establishment or residence.
What are weeds?
Weeds are any rank or uncultivated vegetable growth or
matter that is over 36 inches in height or, regardless of
height, may create an unsanitary condition or become a
harborage for rodents, vermin or any other disease-carrying
pest.
Back to FAQ
Do these six categories of public nuisances apply
to any location with the unincorporated areas of Harris
County?
No. Categories 1, 2, 4, 6 apply only to neighborhoods. A
neighborhood is defined as a recorded, platted subdivision
and within 300 feet of the platted subdivision.
Back to FAQ
When does a nuisance become an offense?
A person commits an offense if the nuisance as defined
above) remains unabated after the 30th day from which a
person receives a notice from a county official, agent or
employee to abate the nuisance. Each subsequent day a
violation occurs is a separate offense.Back to FAQ
What procedures are available to the county to
eliminate nuisances?
If a person fails to abate a nuisance after 30 days from
receiving a notice, criminal prosecution or civil action may
be initiated.Back to FAQ
What can you do to help the county eliminate
public nuisances?
When a public nuisance (as defined in above) occurs in your
neighborhood, you should first file a complaint with the
Environmental Public Health Division of the Harris County
Public Health & Environmental Services (HCPHES). If the
nuisance remains unabated for 30 days after a county
abatement notice has been received by the owner or occupant
of the property in question, the health inspector may enlist
your assistance in identifying the owner/operator and acting
as a witness in court. In addition to criminal prosecution
sought by HCPHES, you may file a civil suit in the county or
district court.Back to FAQ
What about abandoned property?
If the property in violation of the Neighborhood Nuisance
Abatement Act is abandoned, a title opinion is conducted to
determine the ownership of the property. A notice is then
sent to the owner of the property indicated in the title
opinion. If the notice remains unabated and the notice to
the owner is not received, a notice in a newspaper of
general circulation is run for two consecutive days in a
10-day period. If the owner still does not respond to the
notice the nuisance may be abated by the county with the
cost being assessed to the owner and a lien placed on the
property.
Back to FAQ
Please Help us to Help You.
Before you call us to file a complaint:
- Get as accurate an address as possible of the
complaint (name of street, street number, nearby cross
street).
- Obtain the legal description of the property in
question, if possible (name of subdivision, lot number,
block number).
- Obtain the name and address of the owner and/or name
of the occupant of the property in question, if
possible.
Call (713) 274-6300 to register a complaint Monday through
Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
*Chapter 343 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
Neighborhood Nuisance Abatement Act Brochure
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Last updated: March 30, 2012
Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services
2223 West Loop South
Houston, TX 77027
Tel: (713) 439-6000
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