Pasadena, Texas residential lease guide: occupancy licence, 78 °F cooling rule, 30 sirens

Pasadena’s lease is governed by a chapter most Texas cities do not have. Chapter 16½ of the Code of Ordinances adopts the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code as the city’s housing code (Ordinance 25-197, October 21, 2025) and then goes further: “It shall be unlawful for any person to lease space in a multiunit complex without a current and valid occupancy license having been issued for said duplex, triplex, or multifamily complex” (§16½-6); a fixed air-conditioning system “must be designed to cool to a twenty-degree differential between inside and outside temperatures, or at least seventy-eight (78) degrees Fahrenheit” (§16½-11); hot water is kept at a constant minimum of 120 °F; and occupancy is capped at two persons in an efficiency, three in a one-bedroom, five in a two-bedroom and seven in a three-bedroom (§16½-14). Outside, the city keeps 30 emergency sirens for chemical releases and tornadoes, tested every Saturday at noon (Warning sirens). CenterPoint delivers electricity for a provider the tenant chooses (CenterPoint); the city bills water and sewer to “the person in whose name the water meter is listed” (§37-36). Everything below was read in September 2026.

The occupancy licence: a precondition of the lease

A single-family house is outside the licence; a duplex, triplex or complex of four or more units is inside it. The licence is annual, expires December 31, is not transferable, must be renewed within 30 days of a change of ownership, and requires — among other things — evidence that the complex “has been sprayed and treated for insects, rodents, and vermin, within the preceding six (6) months by a person licensed under the Texas Structural Pest Control Act” (§16½-6). Fees on the city schedule: $50 per unit for a duplex or triplex including the inspection; for four or more units, $250 per complex plus $3.25 per unit (Fee schedule). A lease signed in an unlicensed building is a lease the city can end: “Failure to give notice or to obtain a current occupancy license can result in the tenant being required to vacate on demand of the code official” (§16½-20). Ask for the licence number before signing.

Three standards to write into the lease

PASADENA CHAPTER 16½ STANDARDS THAT SHAPE THE LEASE
Standard	Rule	Lease consequence	Source
Cooling	Fixed A/C cools to a 20 °F differential or to 78 °F; without A/C, insect screens on all windows and doors	A cooling failure in summer is a code violation and a §92.052 condition; the lease’s repair clause should say so	§16½-11
Hot water	Constant minimum 120 °F in each unit	Water-heater checks on the turnover list	§16½-11
Occupancy	2 / 3 / 5 / 7 persons for efficiency / 1 / 2 / 3 bedrooms, with fair-housing and family-violence exceptions	The occupancy clause copies the city’s numbers	§16½-14
Master meter	Posted notice of who pays the utility bills; non-payment causing interruption is an offence	Utilities clause names the payer and the posting	§16½-8
Records	Leases and a log of repairs over $200 available to the inspector	Keep the repair log per unit	§16½-6(h)

Electricity and water

Pasadena is in CenterPoint’s Houston-area delivery territory, where “customers choose their own retail electric provider” (CenterPoint); under Utilities Code §39.102 the lease says the tenant opens a retail electric account from the start date and reports outages to CenterPoint. Water and sewer are the city’s: charges are “levied and assessed against the person in whose name the water meter is listed in the city water department record,” and the deposit is $125 for an owner and $150 for a renter of a single-family dwelling, waived for customers aged 65 or over (§§37-36, 37-37); the Water Billing Office serves about 36,000 accounts, with sewer on the same bill (Water Billing). In a master-metered building, Water Code §13.5031 adds the allocation-method requirement.

Sirens and shelter-in-place: the sheet’s first line

“In the event of a chemical release or other hazardous materials incident where public health could be affected, emergency dispatchers sound the 30 sirens that are located throughout Pasadena”; the same sirens sound for a tornado, and “City of Pasadena Sirens are TESTED every Saturday at 12 NOON.” When a siren sounds outside a test, the instruction is to go inside, close and lock doors and windows, and “if a chemical release is involved, turn off any central air-conditioning or heating” (Warning sirens and sheltering in place). A tenant new to the city needs that on paper before the first Saturday. The lease’s welcome sheet should also point to ReadyPasadena, the city’s free alert service (ReadyPasadena).

Eviction venue and flood

Harris County has sixteen justice courts and a courthouse finder by address (Harris County Justice Courts); the suit is filed in the precinct where the property lies under Property Code §24.0041, and §24.005 now requires a notice to pay rent or vacate for a tenant who was not late before the month of the notice (Evictions). For the §92.0135 flood disclosure, Pasadena’s ordinance adopts the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Harris County dated May 2, 2019 with its maps (Chapter 9, Article IX); answer from the FEMA map. The Pasadena weather plan carries the hurricane and shelter sequence.

What changes in Pasadena

No duplex, triplex or apartment may be leased without a current city occupancy licence.
Cooling to a 20 °F differential or 78 °F, hot water at 120 °F and bedroom-based occupancy caps are ordinance, not preference.
Thirty sirens, tested Saturdays at noon, and a shelter-in-place rule that turns the air-conditioning off.
A $150 renter deposit for city water, billed to the name on the meter.
CenterPoint delivers; the tenant chooses the provider.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Pasadena apartment need a city licence?

Yes. Chapter 16½ makes it unlawful to lease space in a duplex, triplex or multifamily complex without a current occupancy licence, renewed annually by December 31 (Code §16½-6).

What temperature must a Pasadena rental’s air-conditioning reach?

A fixed system must cool to a 20-degree differential from outside or to at least 78 °F; a unit without A/C must have insect screens on all windows and doors (Code §16½-11).

How many people may occupy a Pasadena apartment?

Two in an efficiency, three in a one-bedroom, five in a two-bedroom and seven in a three-bedroom, with exceptions for fair-housing compliance and temporary family-violence sanctuary (Code §16½-14).

What do the Pasadena sirens mean?

A chemical release or a tornado: go indoors, close and lock doors and windows, turn off central air or heat if chemicals are involved, and wait for the all-clear. They are tested every Saturday at noon (City of Pasadena).

Sources

Rules change and the right answer can depend on the home, the city, the lease and the timing. These are the official pages this guide relies on; check them before signing, charging a fee, sending a notice or making a legal decision.

General information for U.S. landlords, with a Texas focus. This guide is not legal, tax or accounting advice. Consult a qualified professional for your situation. Written by the rentalfreelease.com Editorial Team; last reviewed September 19, 2026.