Houston reaches the same place as the other cities in this series by a route of its own. The definitions in Chapter 39 quietly put an unoccupied estate house outside city collection. Then the enforcement provisions reach back and make the record owner answerable for whatever appears at the curb — without needing to show intent, and with exactly one defence written into the section.
Occupied, Resident, Generated On the Premises
Three definitions in section 39-1 do the work, and each one turns on somebody living there.
- "Residential unit means any occupied structure within the city limits of the city devoted to single-family residential use" - including houses, duplexes, condominiums, townhouses, townhomes, trailer homes, manufactured homes and patio homes, and each apartment in a project of eight or fewer units, but not hotel, motel, boarding house or similar rental units
- "Residential unit customer means a resident of a residential unit that is eligible for basic garbage collection service" - a resident, not an owner and not a representative
- "Junk means any rubbish or trash generated upon the premises of a residential unit and of such size or weight that it cannot be containerized pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to, major appliances"
Follow them in order. An empty house is not an occupied structure, so it is not a residential unit. An executor is not a resident, so there is no residential unit customer. And material generated on premises that are not a residential unit is not junk within the definition. Section 39-48 then closes it: "the city shall provide garbage and rubbish collection service only to eligible residential units", and only within the city limits.
What does not disappear is the obligation. Section 39-98 places a duty on property owners generally: they "shall ensure that solid waste collection services are provided on a regularly scheduled basis to collect all solid waste generated or accumulated on their property", on a schedule that collects at least once per week, or more often "if required to prevent the creation of any hazard to public health or public nuisance."
That is the shape of the Houston problem for an estate. No city service, because nobody lives there — and a standing duty on the owner to make sure collection happens anyway, at least weekly.
Eight Cubic Yards, and the Friday Line
Where junk and tree waste service does apply, section 39-77 sets the terms, and they are worth knowing even when the route is a private hauler, because subsection (d) governs the curb itself.
- (a) Junk and tree waste are collected on separate days, on a schedule established and promulgated by the chief solid waste officer
- (b) Service is limited to authorised materials, and "no more than eight cubic yards (216 cubic feet) of material shall be collected from any one residential unit on any scheduled collection day"
- (c) Items must be at the curbline in an unobstructed location so the division's automated equipment can reach them - no service where items are obstructed by fire hydrants, trees or vegetation, parked cars or other objects
- (d) It is unlawful to place, "or to allow to remain", any materials at the curbline for junk or tree waste collection before 6:00 p.m. of the Friday next preceding the scheduled collection day for the site
Read subsection (d) twice, because of three words. The offence is not only placing material early; it is allowing it to remain. On an occupied house somebody notices. On an estate property that nobody visits between appointments, material left at the curbline keeps committing the offence by itself.
The Part That Decides Who Pays
Subsections (e) and (f) are the reason a fiduciary should read this section rather than hand it to a contractor.
Subsection (e): "When any property is found in violation of subsection (d) of this section, such fact shall be prima facie evidence that the current record owner or occupant of the property committed such offense. It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (d) of this section that the property owner or occupant can name and identify the person who committed the offense."
Subsection (f): "All persons have an affirmative duty to comply with all provisions of this section, and it shall not be a defense to prosecution of such persons that they were acting without a culpable mental state."
Put together: the condition of the kerb is presumptive evidence against the current record owner — during an administration, the estate — and good faith is irrelevant. The statute offers one way out, and it is a documentary one. The owner must be able to "name and identify the person who committed the offense."
That turns a practical preference into a legal one. A clearout performed by casual labour, a day crew nobody recorded, or an unnamed subcontractor leaves the estate with the presumption and without the defence. A clearout performed by an identified contractor, on a dated work order, with a named crew and a record of when material was placed and removed, leaves the representative able to meet subsection (e) on its own terms.
The exposure is not trivial. Section 39-4(a) sets the general penalty where none is specified: not less than $50.00 nor more than $2,000.00 on a first conviction, not less than $250.00 nor more than $2,000.00 on each subsequent conviction, and "Each day that any violation continues shall be punishable as a separate offense." Material left at a curbline for a fortnight is not one offence.
Texas Asks for Something Other Cities' Statutes Do Not
The probate layer in Texas is different in kind from Ohio's, and it changes what a clearout is for.
Estates Code § 351.101 states a standing duty with no application and no dollar gate: "An executor or administrator of an estate shall take care of estate property as a prudent person would take of that person's own property, and if any buildings belong to the estate, the executor or administrator shall keep those buildings in good repair, except for extraordinary casualties, unless directed by a court order not to do so." There is no Ohio-style hundred-dollar ceiling and no prior-order requirement on the face of it — the test is the prudent person, applied afterwards.
Then § 351.102(a), which is the provision most often overlooked on a cleanout: "Immediately after receiving letters testamentary or of administration, the personal representative of an estate shall collect and take possession of the estate's personal property, record books, title papers, and other business papers."
Personal property. The contents of the house are not an inconvenience standing between the representative and a saleable building; they are property the representative is required to collect and take possession of, immediately. A clearout in Texas is therefore a sorting exercise before it is a disposal exercise, and the order matters: identify, record and secure what belongs to the estate, then dispose of what does not. Discarding first and reconstructing later is how a representative ends up unable to answer a beneficiary about a missing item.
The full Texas provisions, and how the other six covered states answer the same question, are in an executor's duty to maintain estate property in Texas. Where the building itself has drawn the city's attention, the registration and securing obligations run separately: see the Houston vacant building ordinance.
Planning the Job Backwards
- Treat city junk collection as unavailable; occupancy is built into the definition of residential unit, and 39-98 still requires the owner to ensure collection happens at least weekly
- Engage a named, identifiable contractor on a dated work order - subsection (e)'s only defence is the ability to name and identify the person, and subsection (f) removes intent as an answer
- Never leave material at the curbline outside the window; the offence includes allowing it to remain, and each day is a separate offence under 39-4(a)
- Keep anything that is presented to the kerb within eight cubic yards and unobstructed, clear of hydrants, vegetation and parked cars, so automated equipment can reach it
- Sort before disposing: § 351.102(a) requires the representative to collect and take possession of the estate's personal property immediately, so the inventory comes before the skip
- Photograph contents and condition before anything moves, because § 351.101's prudent-person standard is applied after the fact
For the clearing work itself see what a trash-out is, and for the eviction version, the eviction property cleanout process. The same job runs on quite different rules in Cleveland, where staging at the tree lawn is itself the offence; Columbus, where bulk may only be scheduled at a dwelling unit with an occupant; Cincinnati, where a pile of small items is excluded from bulk refuse by definition; Pittsburgh, which takes the overflow at a published hourly rate; and Philadelphia, where a street dumpster is unlicensable across much of Center City. The statutory duties by state are collected at estates, probate and fiduciary.
Ethreon clears and maintains estate property in Houston and across Harris County as an identified contractor on a dated record: a named crew, contents and condition photographed before anything moves, and placement and removal times logged - the record a representative needs if the city ever asks who put something at the curb. See cleanout services, property services in Houston, or check coverage for the address.
Contact EthreonRelated Services
Ethreon delivers these services with full documentation and compliance reporting:
Frequently Asked Questions
1Does Houston collect from an empty estate house?
The definitions say no. Section 39-1 defines a residential unit as any occupied structure within the city limits devoted to single-family residential use, and section 39-48 provides that the city shall provide garbage and rubbish collection service only to eligible residential units. A residential unit customer is defined as a resident of a residential unit eligible for basic garbage collection service.
2Is the contents of a cleared house even junk under the code?
Not on the face of the definition. Section 39-1 defines junk as any rubbish or trash generated upon the premises of a residential unit and of such size or weight that it cannot be containerized, including major appliances. If the structure is not occupied it is not a residential unit, so what comes out of it is outside that definition.
3How much junk will the city take at once?
Section 39-77(b) limits service to materials authorised under the chief solid waste officer's rules, and provides that no more than eight cubic yards, which the section states as 216 cubic feet, shall be collected from any one residential unit on any scheduled collection day.
4When can material go to the curb?
Section 39-77(d) makes it unlawful to place, or to allow to remain, any materials at the curbline for junk or tree waste collection before 6:00 p.m. of the Friday next preceding the scheduled collection day for that site. Section 39-77(c) also requires items to be unobstructed so the division's automated equipment can reach them.
5Who is liable if material appears at the curb too early?
The record owner, presumptively. Section 39-77(e) provides that where property is found in violation of subsection (d), that fact is prima facie evidence that the current record owner or occupant committed the offence. The one defence the section gives is that the owner or occupant can name and identify the person who committed it.
6Does it matter that nobody intended to break the rule?
No. Section 39-77(f) states that all persons have an affirmative duty to comply with the section and that it shall not be a defence to prosecution that they were acting without a culpable mental state.
7What is the penalty?
Where no specific penalty is provided, section 39-4(a) sets a fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $2,000.00 on a first conviction, and not less than $250.00 nor more than $2,000.00 on each subsequent conviction, with each day a violation continues punishable as a separate offence.
8What does Texas require of the executor?
More than disposal. Estates Code § 351.101 requires an executor or administrator to take care of estate property as a prudent person would take of their own, and to keep estate buildings in good repair except for extraordinary casualties unless a court orders otherwise. Section 351.102(a) requires the representative, immediately after receiving letters, to collect and take possession of the estate's personal property - which is what is inside the house.