Sell a House With Code Violations — Notices, Citations, Hearings and the City's Lien

A Violation Doesn't Go Away Because the House Changes Hands — But It Does Change Who's on the Hook

Whatever put the notice on your door — a 311 complaint from a neighbor, a routine inspection, a fire or storm claim that exposed damage nobody permitted, or years of deferred maintenance finally catching a code officer's eye — the case doesn't close itself, and it doesn't transfer cleanly either. The citations and any pending civil-penalty suit run against the owner of record, so a sale that happens before the case resolves is usually the fastest way to stop being that person; the case, the lien, or both simply become something the new owner or the closing table deals with instead of you personally.

City Code Chapter 27 and What Makes a Structure Substandard

The City of Dallas regulates residential condition under Chapter 27 of the Dallas City Code, administered by the Department of Code Compliance. Chapter 27 sets minimum standards for structural condition, utilities, sanitation and occupancy, and it's the ordinance a code officer is enforcing when a notice cites a specific section rather than just a general nuisance complaint. Chapter 27 also carries its own administrative track — a Hearing Officer with authority to rule on ordinance violations (§27-16.17), with a further appeal to Dallas Municipal Court under §27-16.20 if the property owner disputes the order. Historically the ordinance also used a board-level process for the most serious cases, the Urban Rehabilitation Standards Board, that could recommend demolition; whether a given case runs through the current Hearing Officer track or a board-level track depends on the specific violation and case history, so the notice or citation itself — not a general description — controls which process applies to your case.

State Law Behind the Notice: Tex. Loc. Gov't Code §214.001

Chapter 27 exists because Texas gives municipalities the authority to enforce it. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code §214.001 lets a city order the "vacation, relocation of occupants, securing, repair, removal, or demolition" of a building that's dilapidated, substandard, unfit for human habitation, or otherwise a hazard to public health and safety, after notice to the owner and a public hearing. The owner gets a chance to show the scope of work needed and how long it will take — 30 days initially, extendable to 90, and beyond that only with detailed plans and progress reports.

If the owner doesn't comply, the city can do the work itself and bill the property. Under §214.001, that bill becomes a lien against the land (a homestead is protected from this specific lien), and once the city files the required notice of lien in county real property records, it becomes a privileged lien — subordinate only to tax liens, meaning it outranks even an existing mortgage.

The Fines: §214.0015 and Chapter 54

Two separate statutes put a dollar figure on non-compliance, and they aren't the same number. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code §214.0015 lets a municipality that has proven the owner had notice and still didn't comply seek a civil penalty of up to $1,000 a day per violation on non-homestead property (capped at $10 a day for a homestead) — on top of, not instead of, repair or demolition costs. Separately, Chapter 54 governs general ordinance enforcement: §54.001 caps a fire-safety, zoning, or health-and-sanitation ordinance fine (the categories most residential violations fall under) at $2,000 per violation, prosecuted criminally in Dallas Municipal Court; §54.017 offers a civil-suit route instead, capped at $1,000 per day a violation continues. Which track applies is on the notice or citation itself.

How a Case Starts, and How to Pull the History Before Closing

Most Dallas code cases start the same way: a 311 service request (a neighbor's complaint, or a report from another city department) triggers an inspection, the inspection generates a written notice if a violation is found, and a citation follows if the deadline in that notice passes without compliance. Before selling, it's worth pulling the full 311/Code Compliance case history on the property rather than relying on memory of what was received in the mail — multiple open cases, or a case that already escalated to a civil-penalty suit or a lien filing, changes what a title company will need to see at closing.

Open Permits Are Their Own Problem — Even Without a Citation

A code violation and an open or missing permit are two different case types, but they show up together often enough to be worth checking as a pair. Dallas Development Services tracks permit history and certificate-of-occupancy status separately from Code Compliance's violation cases. Unpermitted work — a converted garage, an added bathroom, a rebuilt deck — can sit invisibly for years until a retail buyer's mortgage lender orders an appraisal and the appraiser flags it, at which point the loan can stall or die entirely. A cash purchase doesn't require that permit history to be clean first, which is the practical reason an as-is sale moves when a financed one can't.

The Rental Registration Program That Generates Its Own Violations

If the house has ever been a rental, it may already be enrolled — or supposed to be enrolled — in a separate compliance track that produces violations on its own. The City of Dallas Single Family Rental Registration and Inspection Program, under Chapter 27, has required annual registration since October 1, 2025 for a non-owner-occupied single-family house or a leased duplex or condo unit: a non-refundable $74.00 fee, an annual Owner's Self Inspection Checklist and affidavit, and a comprehensive city inspection at least once every five years. A lapsed or never-completed registration is itself a Chapter 27 violation, separate from whatever physical condition issue may also be on the property.

You Still Have to Disclose It: Tex. Prop. Code §5.008

Texas's Seller's Disclosure Notice requirement doesn't have an exception for a house mid-case. Tex. Prop. Code §5.008(a) requires the seller of residential property of one dwelling unit or fewer to give the buyer a written disclosure notice, and the standard form specifically asks about known condemnation proceedings and known violations of governmental ordinances, restrictions, or zoning. §5.008(f) requires that notice on or before the effective date of a contract binding the buyer to purchase — if it's delivered after the contract is signed, the buyer gets seven days from receipt to terminate. §5.008(e) lists the actual exemptions (court-ordered and foreclosure sales, certain fiduciary and estate transfers, transfers between co-owners or to a spouse or lineal relative, and a short further list) — none of which turns on whether the house currently has an open violation.

How It Actually Closes

A municipal lien or a pending civil-penalty case shows up on the title commitment like any other lien, and it gets paid, negotiated, or otherwise resolved through escrow at closing rather than needing to be cleared beforehand. A buyer takes the property with the open case attached; curing the violation isn't a condition of the sale, though the lien or unpaid fines factor into net proceeds the same way a mortgage payoff does. Worth knowing if the property sits outside Dallas's city limits: unincorporated Dallas County runs its own abatement process under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 343, a separate track from a city's Chapter 27/§214.001 process — which one applies depends on which side of the city line the property sits on.

We buy houses with an open code case, an unresolved citation, or a lien already filed, in whatever condition they're actually in. If you've got a Dallas-area house carrying a violation and want out from under it, that starts with a no-obligation cash offer and a closing in as little as 7 days, and the same terms apply throughout the surrounding suburbs. If the house is standing empty while the case runs, that adds its own risks worth factoring in separately.

This page is general information, not legal advice — a case with a hearing date, a pending civil suit, or a filed lien should go to a Texas attorney or the case's own hearing officer for anything beyond a sale decision.

Related Situations

Dealing with a different situation? See our guide to selling a hoarder house or cleanout situation or selling a vacant house.