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Code violations · Texas

We buy Texas houses with code violations

Updated October 20, 2026

Provenial buys Texas houses with open code cases and city liens for cash, as they stand, and the title company pays recorded city liens from the sale at closing.

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Direct acquisition

What happens when you submit

  1. 01

    Provenial buys houses with open code cases and recorded city liens.

  2. 02

    Provenial buys with private capital.

  3. 03

    You will hear from someone within 24 hours.

  4. 04

    Sellers pay Provenial no fees or commissions.

Liens and the sale

How code cases and city liens follow a Texas house

Under Local Government Code 214.001, a city can file notice of a substandard-building hearing in the county real property records, and that notice binds later buyers and lenders. City repair and demolition costs become a lien once the notice is recorded with the county clerk, except on a homestead.

When the mortgage lenders received notice, that city lien ranks behind only property tax liens. A title search turns up recorded city liens, and the title company pays them from the sale so the city can release them.

By city

Code liens in Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin

Dallas

Dallas Water Utilities Special Collections handles liens for paving, demolition, heavy clean, litter clean, secure closure, vegetation removal, weeds, mowing, site clearance and civil penalties. Payoff and release requests go to DWULiens@dallas.gov, and you can dispute a lien with Code Compliance at 214-671-9391.

Houston

The City of Houston says its liens stay with the property and must be settled before a transfer or sale. After full payment the city issues a Release of Lien to file with Harris County real property records.

Fort Worth

Fort Worth sends substandard structures to the Building Standards Commission, which decides whether a structure is demolished. You can check a complaint online or call 817-392-1234.

San Antonio

San Antonio code liens usually follow an abatement. The city's lien payoff and release service sends documents in 15 to 20 business days, and the requester files the Release of Lien with the county clerk.

Austin

Austin says a property with a lien usually cannot be sold until the lien is resolved. Payoff requests for Travis, Williamson or Hays county properties go to DSDCodeCompliance_Payoff@austintexas.gov, and you can search code complaints online.

What we buy

Code problems we buy with

We buy houses with substandard-structure cases, demolition orders, high-weed and litter liens, open permits and unpermitted work, failed rental inspections and city repair liens. Send the notice or case number with the address.

Round Rock zoning fines can reach $2,000 a day and can be secured with a lien, and Arlington charges a $375 fee plus the contractor cost for each abatement. Selling the house as it stands moves the open case to Provenial after closing. Our city pages for Fort Worth, Arlington and Round Rock list each code office.

Disclosure

What you still disclose in an as-is sale

Property Code 5.008 requires the Seller's Disclosure Notice for most sales of a one-unit home, and its list of exempt sales has no exemption for as-is or cash sales. Tell us about code notices, liens and unpermitted work you know about, and the contract will reflect them.

How it works

How selling a house with code violations works

Send the address

Send the address, the code notice or case number and any lien letters you have received.

We look at the house and the street

We review the house, the recent sales near it and the work it needs, and someone from Provenial gets back to you within 24 hours.

You get a written cash offer

Provenial is the buyer. The offer comes in writing on a Texas purchase contract, usually the Texas Real Estate Commission's One to Four Family Residential Contract, and you decide whether to sign it.

A title company handles the closing

A Texas title company holds the earnest money, runs the title search, pays off any loan or lien from the sale and records the deed with the county clerk.

What to send

What to send

  • 01

    Address and owner

    Send the address and tell us who owns the house and who signs for the sale.

  • 02

    Condition

    Tell us the year built, square footage and the repairs you know about. Photos of the house and the street help.

  • 03

    Occupancy

    Say whether the house is vacant, owner-occupied or rented, and send the lease if a tenant lives there.

  • 04

    Loans, liens and notices

    Tell us about any loan payoff, city lien, code notice or notice of sale you have received.

  • 05

    Price and timing

    Share your asking price, any offers you already have and when you want to sell.

Frequently asked questions
Can I sell a house with code violations in Texas?

Provenial buys Texas houses with open code cases and recorded city liens, as they stand, and the title company pays recorded liens from the sale at closing.

Do I have to fix code violations before selling?

Provenial buys the house with the open case, so the repairs become Provenial's job after closing.

What happens to a city lien when I sell my house?

The title search finds recorded city liens, and the title company pays them from the sale proceeds so the city can release the lien.

Can a city put a code lien on my homestead?

Under Local Government Code 214.001, city repair and demolition costs for a substandard building do not become a lien on a homestead.

How do I find out if my house has a city lien?

Ask the city for a lien payoff. Dallas takes requests at DWULiens@dallas.gov and Austin at DSDCodeCompliance_Payoff@austintexas.gov, and recorded liens show up in the county real property records.

Compare the paths

Fix the violations or sell as it stands?

Fix the violations or sell as it stands?
FactorSell to Provenial as it standsFix the violations, then list
repairs and permitsProvenial takes the house with the open caseYou hire contractors and pull permits
city liensPaid from the sale at closingPaid before or at closing
inspectionsA walkthrough with ProvenialCity reinspection, then buyer inspection
feesSellers pay Provenial no fees or commissionsCommission set in the listing agreement
time on marketThe house stays off the marketRepair time plus time on the market
Texas market facts

Texas market data from primary sources

Property submission

Get a cash offer on a house with code violations

Send the address, the condition of the house, who lives there and who signs for the sale.

Submit a property