The short answer to "can I have a tree removed from outside my house" is usually yes, if the tree is yours and it stands on your lot. The longer answer depends on three things: whether the tree is really on your property or on the public strip by the street, which city or township you live in, and what your neighborhood's deed restrictions say. Sorting that out takes a few minutes and can save you a fine, a dispute with the civic club, or a tree that has to be replaced.
Tree Service Houston TX is a free phone line, not a tree company and not a permit office. It cannot file permits or tell you whether one applies to your address. When you call (346) 680-8916, an automated assistant takes your details and transfers you to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which can look at the tree and the paperwork with you.
Step one: work out who owns the tree
Most homeowners assume the tree in the front yard is theirs. In much of Houston, the grass strip between the sidewalk and the curb is public right of way, and so is the median down the middle of a boulevard. A tree whose trunk sits there belongs to the City of Houston, even if your family planted it and has watered it for twenty years.
The trunk location is what usually decides ownership. The Texas State Law Library notes that the location of the trunk generally determines who owns a tree, with some exceptions. If the trunk straddles a fence line, the tree may belong to both neighbors.
Your survey, which came with your closing papers, shows the property line and any easements. If you cannot find it, the Harris County Clerk's office keeps recorded documents for the county.
Inside Houston city limits: the PRD1001 permit
The City of Houston's Tree Removal/Tree Trimming Permit is handled by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department's Urban Forestry group. These are the points the Houston Permitting Center lists for it.
- When it appliesRemoving any tree on city property, which includes rights of way, medians, parks and other city land, or on a setback.
- 10 business daysThe listed processing time after you file a written notice of intent.
- 20 days postedThe approved permit must be kept on site and posted publicly 20 days before the tree is removed or trimmed.
- Fees varyThe fee depends on the size and location of the tree. Plan review and inspection are required.
- 1 yearHow long the permit stays valid. Renewal is not required.
- 901 Bagby StreetWhere Parks and Recreation Urban Forestry handles the permit downtown.
What Chapter 33 protects
The rules behind that permit sit in Chapter 33 of the Houston Code of Ordinances, which covers trees, shrubs and screening fences. Its tree protection articles name several kinds of protected trees:
- Right of way trees along a public street.
- Corridor trees 20 inches or more in diameter in the building setback along a local street or major thoroughfare.
- Green corridor trees 15 inches or more in diameter along a stretch of major thoroughfare, at least a mile long, that City Council has designated.
- Designated trees that City Council has named for their historical significance.
Chapter 33 also sets planting rules for new building. Houston's Planning and Development Department says its tree and shrub requirements apply to new single-family construction as well as new commercial and multifamily projects, including street trees along the frontage. If you are tearing down and rebuilding, the trees by the street become part of the plan review, not a separate weekend job.
Urban Forestry asks residents who see trees being taken out of street easements to call 832-395-7100, a line it says is answered 24 hours a day, so staff can check for a permit. Do not count on a quiet removal going unnoticed.
A tree that is clearly on your own lot
Urban Forestry's own guidance is that its foresters only work on City of Houston property, and that residents should contact a professional arborist or tree service about trees on private property. For a tree in your back yard, well away from the street and any setback, the city permit is not the question. Your deed restrictions might be.
Before you book the work, it still helps to ask the company you are connected with to confirm where the tree stands in relation to the property line and the street. A good company will tell you if a tree looks like it is in the right of way or on a shared line, and will not start cutting a city tree without a permit in hand.
Deed restrictions, civic clubs and HOAs
Houston is not zoned. The City of Houston's Legal Department explains that, for that reason, the Legislature and City Council authorized the city to help enforce recorded deed restrictions. The city's Neighborhood Protection Division can enforce three types: residential use, setbacks, and lot size and the number of structures on a lot. Tree rules are not on that list, so if your restrictions mention trees, your civic club or homeowners association is the place to ask.
Deed restrictions follow subdivision lines, and sometimes vary by section or even by lot. The Legal Department gives Oak Forest and parts of the Heights as examples. To read the restrictions that apply to your lot, you can request a copy from the Harris County Clerk's office at 713.755.6405, or in person at the Harris County Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline, 3rd floor.
Before the work
- Read your recorded deed restrictions and HOA rules for anything about trees
- Ask the HOA in writing if approval is needed, and keep the reply
- Check your survey for the property line, setbacks and easements
- Talk to the neighbor if the tree is near a shared fence
Avoid
- Removing a tree in the strip by the street without checking for a permit
- Assuming a suburb follows Houston's rules
- Going onto a neighbor's lot to cut without their permission
- Letting anyone work near a power line except the utility
Outside Houston: each city sets its own rules
Greater Houston is dozens of separate cities, villages and townships. A few examples show how much the rules differ, so always check the one that covers your address.
| Place | What its own rules say |
|---|---|
| West University Place | Outside of construction, a permit is needed for any tree 12 inches or more in diameter anywhere in the city, or 10 inches or more in a front yard setback, a corner side yard setback or the right of way. Applications go to Development Services at 3826 Amherst, and city staff inspect the tree first. |
| The Woodlands | The Township's Residential Development Standards say no living tree more than 6 inches in diameter, measured 2 feet above natural grade, may be removed without prior written approval. Replacement trees may be required. |
| Sugar Land | The city says it has no ordinance for removing trees on private property, but certain HOAs have deed restrictions about trees, so check with yours first. |
| Memorial Villages | Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village and Piney Point Village each publish their own tree permit forms. Check the current form with the village before work starts. |
Unincorporated parts of Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria and Galveston counties, and the other cities in the area, may have different rules again. When in doubt, call the city hall or township office for your address.
Texas law on tree mitigation fees
Some Texas cities charge a tree mitigation fee when a protected tree comes out. In 2017 the Legislature passed House Bill 7, which added Section 212.905 to the Texas Local Government Code. Under it:
- A planting credit must be offeredA city that charges a tree mitigation fee for removing a tree on a person's property must let that person apply for a credit for planting trees to offset the fee.
- Full credit at your own homeThe credit equals 100 percent of the fee when the property is an existing one- or two-family home that is the person's residence. It is at least 50 percent for residential property being built or renovated for someone else, and at least 40 percent for other property.
- No fee for smaller trees at homeA city may not charge a mitigation fee for a tree on a person's own one- or two-family residence when the tree is under 10 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground.
- Credit trees have a minimum sizeA tree planted for credit must be at least 2 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground, planted on the same property or on land the city and owner agree on.
The law limits fees. It does not do away with permits, deed restrictions or the city's control of its own right of way trees.
Branches from a neighbor's tree
Texas has no statute that spells out tree rights between neighbors. The rules come from court decisions. The Texas State Law Library summarizes them this way: you may trim limbs that hang over your side to the property line, as long as the trimming does not damage or threaten the health of the tree, and you may not go onto the neighbor's land to do it without permission. You can be sued if you injure the tree or other property in the process.
Big limbs over a roof are not a job for a ladder and a saw. Ask the neighbor first, then let a qualified company handle the cutting. If a limb is near a power line, call CenterPoint Energy at 713-207-2222 and keep everyone away. Who pays when a neighbor's tree actually falls is covered in the who pays guide.
Hiring the company that does the removal
Whatever the permit answer, the company you hire carries the risk of the work. Ask it to confirm the rules for your address in writing, to say on the quote who is getting any permit, and to show proof of insurance before anyone climbs.
Check the company yourself. Texas has no state license for tree trimming or tree removal, so a business card proves very little. Ask the company for a certificate of general liability insurance sent by its insurance agent, proof of workers' compensation coverage, and the ISA certification number of its arborist. A company that sprays or injects trees for hire needs a pesticide license from the Texas Department of Agriculture or its Structural Pest Control Service. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Have a tree you want gone? Call and describe where it stands. The company you are put through to can look at it, talk through the permit question and quote its own price.
More help before the work
How this line works: Tree Service Houston TX is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Houston area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Houston TX a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.