Tarrant County - Engineering Services, Development Division

Tarrant County, Texas

county

Fort Worth, TX

Tarrant County does not enforce zoning in unincorporated areas and does not issue standard residential building permits. Under authority the county adopted September 1, 2009 (after the Legislature abolished the Texas Residential Construction Commission), the county's own page states that "all new residential structures and improvements to existing residential structures that increase the square footage or value by more than 50 percent shall be constructed to the International Building Code (IBC)." The page further states: "Tarrant County does not have inspection authority or responsibility for residences and can not charge fees; instead the builder is required to" notify the county of the construction, obtain three inspections during construction from a third party, and submit a notice of compliance to the county. "Failure to obtain the inspections is a Class C misdemeanor." This notice requirement does not apply to multi-family, manufactured, or modular housing, or to a builder who intends to occupy the residence themselves. Separately, any building to be built after August 1, 2018 in the unincorporated areas requires a Construction Permit for commercial buildings, public buildings, and multifamily dwellings of four or more units, and additional permits are required for floodplain development and stormwater control on sites over one acre.