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!! IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE UPDATE !!
Senate Bill SB 673 will allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to be built on any single-family lot in Texas, unless prohibited by deed restrictions or an HOA. Municipalities would be stripped of this zoning power. This bill would effectively make single-family zoning a thing of the past in the older sections of any and every town in the state, large or small. The occupancy bills listed below are bad, SB 673 would be worse! CALL YOUR SENATOR using the information at the bottom of this page.
Other bills have been filed with the Texas Legislature to strip municipalities of their ability to limit occupancy of residential structures. Just a few of the things that will happen if a bill is passed:
- ALL affected cities (there are discrepancies between the House and Senate
bills) would be unable to limit occupancy, even though the true target is
just College Station.
- ROOs and HOOs would become invalid.
- Investors would have an even greater financial incentive to buy up single-
family homes for conversion to rentals. Families can't compete with the
cash flow from 5+ student renters.
- The supply of affordable homes for sale or rent would shrink even faster
than it is now. Over 60% of people who work in College Station, do not
live here, largely due to housing unaffordability and unavailability. The
situation will only get worse and the decline of our older, single-family
neighborhoods will accelerate.
STATUS UPDATE (4/26/25)
House bill HB 2797 is now sitting with the Calendars Committee. No action was taken last week, which is a good sign, but there will be other chances before about May 15. If the bill doesn't make it out of the Calendars Committee, it dies. Keep up the pressure on your and other Representatives.
What you can do.
Contacting members of the House Calendars Committee is the best action at this point to stop the occupancy bill. Their information can be found at:
https://house.texas.gov/committees/committee/050
Actually CALLING the appropriate Legislators is the most effective way to voice your opinion on any issue. A live person will answer, listen and engage you, and record your concerns, which will be sent to their boss. This works! Sen. Schwertner was the only "no" when the Senate bill came up for a vote.
College Station Legislators
Rep. Paul Dyson: (512) 463-0698, Dist. 14 (Bryan/College Station)
Sen. Charles Schwertner: (512) 463-0105, Dist. 5 (B/CS, Georgetown)
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick https://www.ltgov.texas.gov/ 512-463-0001
Contact information for all Texas Legislators can be found at:
House: https://www.house.texas.gov/members
Senate: https://senate.texas.gov/members.php
"No More Than Four" (NMT4) Occupancy Enforcement
A College Station ordinance (since 1939) limits occupancy of single-family homes to a maximum of four unrelated individuals.
Some important points to know about the new enforcement effort:
- Complaints can be initiated by any citizen through See-Click-Fix or by calling Code
Enforcement at 979-764-6363. The complaint WILL be investigated.
- Code Enforcement will also be proactively investigating properties they believe are in
violation of occupancy limits.
- The definition of "related" was recently refined to include families of any size, non-traditional
families, siblings living together, etc. For instance, two siblings living in a house can have
three unrelated housemates, two sets of siblings can have two unrelated housemates.
- A violation is now considered a civil offense, i.e. a parking ticket. This change lowers the
burden of proof for easier, faster adjudication while keeping a conviction off a person's
criminal record.
- Evidence, based on interviews with occupants, the number of vehicles parked near a
residence, etc., can be collected ONLY by City personnel. Photos, etc. provided by residents
can't be used in court, but may help document the scope of the problem for future reference.
- Texas A&M's Off Campus Student Services (OCSS) has been conducting a vigorous education
campaign ("Remember Me + 3") directed at students, parents, landlords, property managers
and anyone else they can think of to inform them of renewed enforcement of NMT4. The
excuse of "I didn't know" from anyone is simply no longer acceptable.
- If a student is found to be a "ghost tenant" (their name is not on the lease) they must relocate
as soon as possible or face additional fines. OCSS will work closely with local apartment
and property managers to find housing for these students. Non-students are on their own.
- Occupancy is based on the number of people living in a house, not the number of bedrooms.
Many "stealth dorms" were intentionally built/remodeled to violate the NMT4 ordinance.
Unless the property has been granted a HOO (High Occupancy Overlay) it is still limited to
four unrelated individuals. "It's OK there's five of us here, there's five bedrooms" is not an
acceptable excuse.
CSAN, other civic organizations, supportive City Council members, City Staff and, recently Texas A&M, have spent years and an untold amount of effort getting NMT4 to the point of active enforcement.
You, our neighborhood partners, know the goings-on on your street better than anyone - you are the "eyes and ears" of NMT4 compliance.
Report violations!
We must prove that the problem is real and that the City is serious about following the law. But, just as importantly, we must do our best to make sure complaints are valid and provable. Understand and respect the legal process that the City must follow. Nothing will harm the NMT4 effort more than a deluge of complaints that can't be supported with evidence.
Shared Housing, Middle Housing, ROOs, and HOOs:
big changes to help preserve our single-family neighborhoods.
Restricted Occupancy Overlay (ROO)
- The ROO was created in 2022 to give neighborhood residents the opportunity to limit
the number of unrelated occupants in a home to two. Families of any size or type are not
restricted in any way.
- The definition of "related" was more clearly defined during the adoption process so that
non-traditional families would not be discriminated against.
- Phases of a subdivision must follow a strict application process involving notifications,
neighborhood meetings and voting. Phases may work together to educate and inform
their residents, but must follow the application process separately.
Follow the links in the section below for detailed information on the ROO.
Shared Housing
- A new building classification for residential structures, reviewed during permitting.
- It basically determines what is a true single-family residence and what is an
"Ag Shack" or "stealth dorm," something that has been missing from our codes.
- There are a number of criteria that will be used to determine what will be considered
"Shared Housing," but a critical one is more than four bedrooms/baths. Structures
with four or fewer may still be considered shared housing based on other criteria.
- Shared Housing will not be allowed to be built in single-family neighborhoods. Existing
structures will be grandfathered in.
- High occupancy Shared Housing will no longer be automatically included in the
new Middle Housing zones.
- Since inception, the City has denied ALL building permits for Shared Housing
structures in single-family neighborhoods. Prior to the change, 20-40 permits for
"Mini-dorms" or "Ag Shacks were typically approved per year.
CLICK for the characteristics that define a "Shared Housing" structure.
Middle Housing
- A new zoning classification adopted by the City in October 2022.
- Middle Housing zones allow a higher unit density than currently exists. The City solicited
and received considerable public input, mostly negative. As a result, a few proposed
areas were completely removed from consideration and nearly half those remaining
were recommended for Middle Housing, but NOT Shared Housing.
- Properties in Middle Housing zones will no longer be required to go through the
rezoning process as they do now. They must only adhere to construction and
setback requirements.
CLICK to go to the Middle Housing page for maps, information and a FAQ.
High Occupancy Overlay (HOO)
- HOO designated areas will allow more than four unrelated individuals to legally occupy a
housing unit. This change should provide additional beds for students "displaced" by
enforcement of the four-unrelated ordinance.
- The HOO was created to give the City increased planning flexibility and give the public
a much greater opportunity for input via the rather involved Overlay process.
A number of areas have been approved for Middle Housing, but NOT for the
HOO, thus helping to preserve neighborhood integrity.
For a much more detailed discussion of what these new classifications will and won't do
CLICK HERE.
Can You Do the ROO Too?
Click for steps to take before you contact the City and a detailed list of neighborhoods that can likely get the ROO.
A number of neighborhoods have gone through the voting process and been approved by City Council for a ROO, limiting occupancy to "two unrelated."
To view the City's current map of these areas, as well as those approved for a HOO, CLICK here.
(Click the map, in the pop-up box tick the box in the lower right corner
then click "OK" to get the map.)
Who owns all those rental properties?
A lot of out-of-town investors, that's who.
CLICK to see a breakdown.
What is CSAN?
Hover over text
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