If you're buying a home with a Montgomery address outside the city limits, no government body can tell the owner of the next tract what to build on it. The only recorded rules on use are private ones: the deed restrictions attached to your subdivision. Under the standard Texas contract addendum for homes in a mandatory owners' association, your formal window to read them and walk away can be as short as three days.
On October 8, 2026, Montgomery County asked the Texas Legislature to change part of that. Until lawmakers act, the rules described below are the ones that apply.
What the County Asked Austin For on October 8
Montgomery County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to send a resolution to the county's state representatives and senators. It asks them to draft legislation giving the county limited authority to create ordinances on land use and development, as Community Impact reported. The county is 78% unincorporated, which means most residents don't live in a city or township and rely on the county for public safety and infrastructure.
The resolution says it directly: "The current pace and scale of growth are outstripping the county's ability to provide and expand infrastructure and public services." Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray framed it as protection for current owners and said the county's pro-business position isn't changing.
The vote didn't create zoning or any new land-use ordinance. As Dock Line Magazine noted, any real change requires state legislation, and the next regular session begins January 12, 2027. If you're buying this fall or winter, today's rules are the ones that apply.
What the County Controls Today, and Where Its Authority Stops
Under the Texas Local Government Code, counties can set some safety and drainage standards for developers. They cannot zone, and they cannot regulate where development occurs. The state zoning statute gives that power to municipal governing bodies. In practice, the county reviews how land is developed and has no say over what it becomes.
| Layer | What it can address | What it does not reach |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County | Subdivision plats, engineering review, drainage plans, road standards, development permits, septic lot guidance | What a tract is used for |
| City of Montgomery, in its ETJ | Platting and subdivision, signs, roads, groundwater | Building use, height or size; building permits and building codes |
| Recorded deed restrictions | Uses and improvements on the lots the declaration covers | Land outside that declaration |
Sources for the table: the county's Development Regulations, adopted March 4, 2025 and amended October 8, 2026; the county permit office FAQ; and the Texas Supreme Court's May 2025 opinion listing what cities may and may not do in the ETJ.
Even the county's lot-size rules are about sewage, not use. County septic guidance recommends at least 0.75 acre for a lot without a private well and 1.5 acres for a lot with one. The regulations also allow a platting exception. A tract can be split into five or fewer lots of at least two acres each, as long as road access, drainage, water and sewer are adequate.
What That Looks Like on FM 1097
This summer, Houston-based Gated Rentals began building a community of up to 300 small rental homes on FM 1097 near Pearson Road, the Houston Chronicle reported on July 2, 2026. Residents started a petition asking the county to review the project. It gathered almost 900 signatures, and the concern it raised was traffic safety at the Pearson Road intersection with FM 1097. County officials said the project was properly permitted and met building requirements. Precinct 2 Commissioner Robert Walker put it this way:
"They have met all the criteria for the county. The county is growing. It's everywhere. We can't stop any of that."
As of that report, dirt work was underway, and the project was expected to take about 12 months, weather permitting. This post takes no position on the project itself. It's useful because it shows the system working as designed: when a project meets the county's technical criteria, the county has no tool to weigh where it goes. A buyer looking at homes along FM 1097, SH 105 or FM 2854 is buying into that same system.
The Earliest Public Signal Is a Letter to a Commissioner
Since use can't be regulated, the first official notice of a large project comes through the engineering process. Under the county's Development Regulations, any development over five acres must send its commissioner's office a letter before it submits construction drawings or drainage reports. That includes residential subdivisions, commercial development, commercial RV parks, mobile or modular home communities, and unsubdivided multifamily rental communities. The packet names the developer, describes the tract and its phases, gives any marketing name, maps the access points, and shows the planned construction-traffic route.
The same October 8 meeting also changed this step. If the commissioner's office doesn't provide written acknowledgment within 30 calendar days of a complete submittal, and the applicant gives the County Engineer satisfactory documentation of the date the complete request was delivered, the engineering department will accept the drainage or construction plans for review without it. The notice step stays in place, but it now has a set time limit. If you're weighing a home next to open acreage, the precinct commissioner's office is where a large project shows up first.
Near the City, the Rules Shift but Don't Become Zoning
The small, historic City of Montgomery has its own development rules. Its Development Handbook asks applicants to say whether a site is inside city limits or in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. Even in the ETJ, a Texas city's reach is narrow. It covers platting, signs, roads and groundwater. It doesn't extend to building use, height or size, building permits or building codes.
That narrow reach can shrink further. SB 2038, passed in 2023, lets qualifying landowners petition to remove their property from a city's ETJ. A State Bar of Texas article describes removal within about 45 days, after which the land falls under the county's more limited rules. In its May 2025 opinion, the Texas Supreme Court treated the law as in force. It also said release happens automatically if a city misses the statutory deadline. A parcel shown in the ETJ on an older map may now be outside it, so check its current status with the city.
Inside the Subdivision, the Declaration Governs
With no zoning above them, recorded deed restrictions carry all the weight inside a subdivision. Chapter 202 of the Texas Property Code applies to restrictive covenants whenever they were created. It tells courts to read them liberally so they serve their purpose. An association's discretionary covenant decisions are presumed reasonable unless they're arbitrary, capricious or discriminatory. Associations can sue, and civil damages can reach $200 for each day of a violation. A dedicatory instrument only takes effect once it's filed in the county's real property records.
Lake Conroe's older communities have been governed this way for decades. Bentwater's property owners association says it was formed in 1987 to carry out the duties and powers in its Declaration. These protections end at the boundary of the land the declaration covers. A tract across the road, outside that declaration, answers to the county rules in the table above.
The Three Days That Matter
For a resale home in a mandatory owners' association, the paperwork follows a set path. Under Chapter 207, an association that levies assessments must provide, on written request, its current restrictions, bylaws and rules, plus a resale certificate, within 10 business days. The certificate covers assessments, unpaid amounts, known covenant violations, litigation, budgets, insurance and transfer fees.
TREC's Form 36-11, promulgated May 4, 2026, sets the timing. A buyer who receives the subdivision information can terminate within three days or before closing, whichever comes first. If the seller is responsible for delivering it and doesn't, the buyer can terminate before closing. The form also allows the buyer to waive delivery entirely.
Those three days are when you can review the rules for your own lot. A practical reading order:
- The use and improvement sections of the declaration, which say what can be built and done on lots in the subdivision.
- The amendment provisions, which say how those rules can change. The vote required varies by statute and by document.
- The resale certificate's sections on known violations and pending litigation.
- A map check of which neighboring parcels fall outside the declaration. For any of those that are large, the county's five-acre notice process is the place to watch.
Quick Answers
Does the October 8 resolution change anything for a sale closing this year? No. It's a request to state lawmakers, and the next regular session begins January 12, 2027.
Who decides whether a large project goes on open land near a home? In unincorporated areas, the county reviews plats, drainage, roads and permits against technical standards. It has no authority over use.
Is a property inside the City of Montgomery handled differently? Yes. Zoning authority belongs to cities, and the city's development handbook separates sites inside city limits from those in the ETJ. Confirm a parcel's current status with city staff.
If you're considering a home outside Montgomery's city limits, Jenny Hill can help you plan the subdivision document review before your contract clock starts and identify the open land near the property that the deed restrictions don't cover. Schedule a consultation and bring the addresses you're considering.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
