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Austin's building landscape in 2026

Austin's HOME code amendments changed what you can build on a single-family lot. Phase 1, adopted in December 2023 and taking applications since February 2024, allows up to three dwelling units on lots zoned SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3. Phase 2, effective November 2024, allows a single home on a lot as small as 1,800 square feet. More homeowners are now adding second units, splitting lots, or building larger additions.

Building is still harder here than in much of Texas. Austin protects large trees, and protected trees (19 inches in diameter or more, measured 4.5 feet above grade) need a permit to remove. Heritage trees (24 inches or more, of listed species such as oaks, pecans, cedar elms and bald cypress) can't be removed without an approved variance. Homes in mapped wildfire-risk areas fall under the City's Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) code, adopted in April 2020 and in effect since January 1, 2021.

Climate and soils

• Long, hot summers make HVAC sizing, attic insulation and shade critical
• Expansive clay east of MoPac and limestone in the west cause different foundation problems
• Hail and the occasional hard freeze, like Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, which burst pipes across the city