HAA Blog
Registration with the City of Houston
Posted by Government Affairs
on Thursday, January 21, 2010
Houston ordinance requires registration of properties by January 31
Houston’s new property inspection ordinance requires all Houston properties with three or more units to register with the City of Houston by January 31. The good news? It’s free of charge, it’s all online at http://www.houstonmultifamily.org/ and it’s not that difficult once you have the information that’s required. Here’s what you need before you start:
Certificates of Occupancy (CO’s) – You need ALL the certificates of occupancy for each property. Every building has one, and it’s supposed to be posted in the management office. If your property has eight buildings, you’ll need eight CO’s so you can enter the numbers when you register. If your property has current CO’s (life safety inspections were completed back in the 1990’s, etc.), but they’re missing, you can purchase replacements by calling the Occupancy Inspection Section at (713) 535-7730.
HCAD Account Number – Each property has an account number with the Harris County Appraisal District. Get it by going to www.hcad.org and searching for your property by street address in the “Real Property Search” section under “Record Search.”
Unit Mix – You need to know the number of units of each bedroom type in each building.
Fire Hydrants – You need to know the total number of fire hydrants on your property.
Swimming Pools – Know the number of pools, if any
Occupancy – Know the current occupancy percentage of the property.
Date opened – Know the date, or at least the year, the property opened for business.
Pay phones – Know the number of pay telephones, if any, on the property.
Contact information for owner, management company and manager: You do NOT need to enter home addresses or telephone numbers.
Make sure you’ve entered this information online by the end of January, and make sure you print and post a copy of your registration in the property’s leasing office.
If you have problems with registration, contact the City of Houston at713-535-7900.