Flat green Gulf Coastal Plain near Houston with a slow bayou, live oaks draped in Spanish moss, and cumulus building overhead.
Montgomery County No county building code

Barndominium Builders in Montgomery County, TX

Montgomery County is the biggest genuine acreage market in the Houston ring, and it is where the lazy version of the Texas story gets corrected. The Permit Department states in its own signed letter that building codes are not enforced for single-family residential structures here, that the county has no zoning, and that it issues no certificates of occupancy. The same letter then lists the permits it does require, and one catches every build: a development permit, $200 for a new residential structure over 200 square feet and $300 in the floodplain, expiring after 180 days. The county says on its own permit pages what that permit is for, and it is not the building. It enforces floodplain regulations under a county court order and FEMA, and nothing structural is reviewed or inspected under it. On the one design number the county does publish it is the stricter of the two jurisdictions here, at two feet above base flood elevation against Conroe's one.

Montgomery County at a glance

County
Montgomery County
Population
781,194
Where we build
Conroe, Houston, Liberty County, Grimes County

ZIPs 77301, 77302, 77303, 77304, 77306, 77316, 77318, 77354 and more

Site visits
On-site visits across Montgomery County, Conroe and the land beyond it
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Building conditions in Montgomery County

What actually changes from one Texas jurisdiction to the next: who issues the permit, whether the residential code is enforced there at all, what the structure has to be engineered to, and what the ground is like. These are the numbers your drawings have to satisfy.

Build conditions for Montgomery County , Texas . BUILD CONDITIONS MONTGOMERY COUNTY…Montgomery CountyNO COUNTY BUILDING…ADOPTED RESIDENTIAL CODENO COUNTY BUILDING…This jurisdiction publishes no design wind speed. It is settled in writing with the authority overyour parcel before the frame is ordered.ZONING ·The county's own letter states that Montgomery County does not havezoning regulations, and Local Government Code section 233.153(d)(2)…WHO ISSUES THE PERMITMontgomery County Permit Department501 N. Thompson, Suite 100, Conroe, TX 77301, (936) 539-7836, Mondayto Friday 8:00am to 3:00pm. Septic sits with Environmental Health…
Build conditions for Montgomery County, drawn from the sourced facts on this page. Every figure above is cited in the quick-facts panel below, with its source and vintage.
No residential building code, in the county's own words
Building codes are not enforced for single-family residential structures or multi-family complexes of fewer than four units, the county has no zoning regulations, and it issues no certificates of occupancy

Montgomery County Permit Department letter, T. Scott Nichols, Director, revised 14 May 2025

A development permit is still required for every structure
$200 for a new residential structure over 200 square feet, $300 in the floodplain, one permit per structure or addition, expiring 180 days after entry into the permitting system

Montgomery County Permitting Fee Schedule effective 2 June 2025, and the county's Residential Permitting page

What that permit is actually for
The county states that development permits exist to ensure the floodplain management regulations from its county court order and FEMA are met; those regulations open by citing Water Code section 16.315, the flood-loss delegation, not a building code

Montgomery County Permitting, standing notice on each residential permit page, and Montgomery County Flood Plain Management Regulations, Article I Section A

The county floodplain rule is stricter than the city's
Structures in or within 100 feet of the area of special flood hazard must be elevated at least two feet above base flood elevation, verified by an elevation certificate; the City of Conroe's ordinance requires one foot

Montgomery County Environmental Health permitting FAQ, and Conroe Code of Ordinances section 14-62, R403.1.7.3(c)

Four in five residents live outside every city limit
616,963 of the county's 781,194 residents were outside all sixteen incorporated places in 2025, and that balance grew by 117,644 people in five years

U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty population estimates, sub-est2025.csv

The biggest acreage market in the Houston ring
781,194 residents in 2025 against 625,369 in 2020, up 24.9 percent

U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 county population estimates, co-est2025-alldata.csv

Also worth knowing before you build in Montgomery County

Septic in the floodway is prohibited outright
Installing a new septic system, or repairing or replacing an existing one, in the floodway is strictly prohibited by the On-Site Sewage Facility Regulations of Montgomery County

Montgomery County Floodplain Administration page, citing the county's own OSSF regulations

The county's own form separates living area from structure area
On a shop with nobody living in it the county tells you to enter zero for square footage of living area while still reporting square footage of structure; on a barn it says the two figures are the same

Montgomery County Permitting, Shop - Residential and Barn permit instruction pages

Anything you rent out is permitted as commercial
Rental homes, model homes, apartments and any structure used for business purposes must go through the commercial permit office, where a new structure under 5,000 square feet costs $500 rather than $200

Montgomery County Residential Permitting page, and the Permitting Fee Schedule effective 2 June 2025

Twelve exemptions, and a house is not one of them
The county exempts barbed wire fence, limited clearing and fill outside the flood hazard area, storm debris, stored RVs, agricultural maintenance, and fences and swimming pools outside the flood hazard area, but no exemption covers building a dwelling

Montgomery County, Section D Exemptions From Development Permits, sheet dated 1 October 2025

No final inspection on a house outside the floodplain
The county states there are no final inspections on residential homes located outside the floodplain; final inspections are required only for septic and fire code, plus an elevation certificate in or within 100 feet of the flood hazard area

Montgomery County Environmental Health permitting FAQ

The Woodlands is not a city
The county's own jurisdiction test says a city listed on your appraisal district record means that city's jurisdiction, with the exception of The Woodlands Township, whose residents sit in unincorporated county for permitting purposes

Montgomery County Environmental Health permitting FAQ, jurisdiction question

Covenants do the work zoning does elsewhere
The Woodlands covenants require prior written approval from the Residential Design Review Committee for the placement, construction, alteration or repair of any structure on a lot with an existing single-family dwelling, under neighbourhood criteria that vary street by street

The Woodlands Township, Covenant Administration Permitting Process page

Septic is the county's own programme
Montgomery County Environmental Health Services is the TCEQ-authorised agent, under a county order adopted 8 December 2020 that TCEQ found at least equivalent to state standards; the development permit and the septic permit must be pulled together

TCEQ Order approving the Montgomery County OSSF Order, and the county's Septic Permit - Residential page

No percolation test in Texas
Texas classifies soil by texture class rather than percolation rate, with loading rates running from Class Ia sandy soils above 0.50 gallons per square foot per day down to Class IV clay at 0.10

30 Texas Administrative Code chapter 285, soil texture class loading rates

Ten acres does not exempt you
TCEQ recorded that its old wording had been misinterpreted as meaning single-family dwellings on ten acres or more were exempt from the entirety of chapter 285

TCEQ, stated basis for the 2023 amendment to 30 TAC section 285.3(f)(2)

This is not Blackland clay country
The county's most extensive soil, Conroe loamy fine sand at 77,161 acres, is kaolinitic with a subsoil linear extensibility of 4.5 percent, while 35,327 acres of Woodville are smectitic and Vertic at 50 percent clay and 7.5 percent

USDA NRCS Soil Data Access, survey area TX339 Montgomery County

A tenth of the county is forest or reservoir
47,609 acres of the Sam Houston National Forest lie in Montgomery County, and Lake Conroe covers about 19,640 acres at its conservation pool of 201 feet, across Montgomery and Walker counties

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Sam Houston National Forest WMA page, and Texas Water Development Board Lake Conroe reservoir page

No county permit for a roof, a sign or irrigation
The county requires no residential roof permit and no sign permit, and states that it does not permit or inspect irrigation systems and has no requirement for backflow devices

Montgomery County Environmental Health permitting FAQ

An excavator grading a compacted building pad on a cleared lot, with survey stakes and a drainage swale visible.
Below the slab

The expensive surprises are in the ground, not the building

What moves a Texas budget is usually below grade, and it is soil rather than rock: shrink-swell clay. The Blackland Prairie and the Gulf Coast clays move enough between a wet season and a dry one to drive the foundation design across the state's largest markets, which is why several DFW cities require an engineer's seal on the foundation of every new house. Those are the same conditions that decide whether a septic field passes its soil and site evaluation, so the grading plan, the foundation and the drainfield get resolved together rather than one at a time. We price the dirt before we price the building.

What we build in Montgomery County

All nine of our services — kits, custom plans, post-frame and steel construction, site preparation, permitting and engineering, through to turnkey builds — are available across Montgomery County. What a project costs depends far more on the parcel than on square footage, so we work from your land rather than from a rate card.

See what we build

What a build looks like

Three stages every Montgomery County project passes through, from a raw parcel to a finished home. Site work first, because that is where the budget is decided.

Aerial view of an undeveloped rural lot with cleared grass, a live oak and cedar elm treeline, and a pale gravel access track.
Stage one

The parcel

Zoning, setbacks, flood zone and utility access get checked before anything is drawn.

An excavator grading a compacted building pad on a cleared lot, with survey stakes and a drainage swale visible.
Stage two

Pad and permit

Clearing, grading and a compacted pad, while the submittal works through Montgomery County.

A finished barndominium at dusk with warm interior lighting glowing through its large windows.
Stage three

Frame to finish

Shell erected and dried in, then systems, insulation and interior finish through to CO.

Those are the rules for Montgomery County. Tell us what you want to build and we will draw it to them.

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Where we build around Montgomery County

Montgomery County and the rural land around it. The buildable acreage for a project this size usually sits outside the city limits, which is frequently what changes who issues your permit.

Our Montgomery County service area, covering Montgomery County and the surrounding rural acreage. This map marks the territory we serve, not a branch location.

Keep reading

The questions that usually come next once you know what Montgomery County allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and by size, with a calculator built on the same figures.

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Is It Legal in Texas?

Classification, zoning, the HOA gate, and why "nonresidential farm building" does not cover a home.

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How Long Does It Take?

Census build-duration data, and what actually sets the permit clock where you are building.

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Nearby areas we build in

Others we cover in this part of Texas. The permitting authority, the adopted design criteria and the zoning can all differ from one to the next.

Conroe

Montgomery County
Houston

Harris County
Liberty County

Liberty County
Grimes County

Grimes County

Building in Montgomery County: common questions

12 questions we get asked most often about building in Montgomery County. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

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Is there a building code on unincorporated land in Montgomery County?
Not for a house. The county Permit Department's own letter, revised 14 May 2025 and signed by its director, states that building codes are not enforced for single-family residential structures, or for multi-family complexes of fewer than four units, in unincorporated Montgomery County. The same letter says the county has no zoning regulations, issues no certificates of occupancy, and that no codes at all were enforced before 1 January 2008. That answer covers most of the county: 616,963 of its 781,194 residents live outside every city limit.
Then why does the county say a permit is required?
Because a development permit is not a building permit, and the county says as much itself. The notice standing at the top of each of its residential permit pages reads that development permits are necessary to ensure the floodplain management regulations from the county court order and FEMA are met. Those regulations open by citing Water Code section 16.315, the provision delegating flood-loss regulation to local government. Development is defined broadly enough to catch grading, clearing, filling and putting up a building, so every barndominium needs one. Nothing structural is reviewed under it.
What does the development permit cost and how long does it last?
The county's fee schedule effective 2 June 2025 lists $200 for a new residential structure over 200 square feet outside the floodplain and $300 inside it, with $50 and $100 respectively for a structure of 200 square feet or less with no plumbing. A floodplain determination is free. A separate permit is required for each structure or addition, which the county defines as anything with a roof and at least one wall, or a carport, so a house and a detached shop are two permits. Permits expire 180 days from entry into the permitting system regardless of review status, and once construction stops the permit expires.
How high does the county make me build in the floodplain?
Two feet above base flood elevation, and the rule reaches past the mapped line: it applies to structures placed or built in or within 100 feet of the area of special flood hazard, verified by an elevation certificate from a licensed surveyor or engineer. That is a foot stricter than the City of Conroe, whose own ordinance requires one foot above base flood elevation inside the city limits. The county with no building code is the more demanding of the two on the one design number both of them publish.
Will anyone inspect the house?
Not the structure. The county states there are no final inspections on the construction of residential homes located outside the floodplain, and that final inspections are required for septic and fire code only. If the home is in or within 100 feet of the flood hazard area, a final elevation certificate has to be submitted to Floodplain Administration on completion. That is the whole of it, which is why the framing, the slab and the connections rest on the builder and on whatever independent inspector you choose to engage rather than on a county plan reviewer.
How is the septic system sized on a barndominium?
At state level capacity keys off bedrooms or living area rather than the total footprint, so a shop bay does not count against you, and the county's own application asks for the two figures in separate boxes. Its instructions for a shop tell you to enter zero for square footage of living area if nobody will be living in it, while its instructions for a barn say the two figures are the same. Texas uses no percolation test at all: soil is classified by texture class, and the drainfield area is the daily flow divided by that class's loading rate. Montgomery County is the authorised agent under its own order adopted 8 December 2020, and an agent may be stricter than the state, so confirm with Environmental Health on (936) 539-7839 how a loft or an attached shop apartment is treated before sizing anything.
Is there land here where septic simply will not work?
Yes, and it is worth checking before you buy. The county's on-site sewage facility regulations strictly prohibit installing a new septic system, or repairing or replacing an existing one, in the floodway. Outside the floodway the constraints are soil class and land area: half an acre on a public water supply and one acre on a private well under the state rules for lots in subdivisions created after those rules took effect. And ten acres does not buy you out of the standards, only potentially the paperwork, as TCEQ itself pointed out when it corrected the wording people had been misreading.
Do I need an engineered foundation on Montgomery County soil?
It depends on the tract, and this county is genuinely mixed. It is not Blackland clay country: the most extensive soil, Conroe loamy fine sand at 77,161 acres, is kaolinitic with a subsoil linear extensibility of 4.5 percent, and Splendora fine sandy loam is under 2 percent. But 35,327 acres of Woodville fine sandy loam are smectitic and formally Vertic, at 50 percent clay and 7.5 percent. So the answer sits in the soil report for your parcel rather than on a county map, and unlike much of North Texas there is no local ordinance imposing an engineer on every foundation here, because there is no local building ordinance at all.
Does the answer change if I rent the building out?
It can, and this catches people. The county's residential permitting page states that rental homes, model homes, apartments and anything used for business purposes must be permitted through the commercial permit office. The no-code letter covers single-family residential structures, while the same letter says the Fire Marshal enforces the 2024 IFC, IBC and NFPA for relevant commercial structures from 14 May 2025. The fee schedule prices the tracks differently too, $500 for a new commercial structure under 5,000 square feet against $200 residential. If the plan involves a rental or a let guest unit, ask the Permit Department on (936) 539-7836 which track your build sits on before you design it.
Does any of this change inside a city, or in The Woodlands?
Inside a city, completely. Conroe, Willis, Magnolia, Montgomery, Splendora, Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah and the county's other incorporated places run their own building codes and their own permit counters, and a Texas municipality may amend the code it adopts, including by deleting requirements. The Woodlands is the exception that proves the rule: it is not a city but a township, and the county's own jurisdiction test carves it out by name, so its land is unincorporated county for permitting. What governs there instead is private. The covenants require prior written approval from the Residential Design Review Committee for any structure on a lot with an existing single-family dwelling, under neighbourhood criteria that vary street by street.
What controls what I can build if there is no zoning?
Recorded deed restrictions, and they do real work. Section 233.153(d)(2) of the Local Government Code does not authorise a commissioners court to adopt zoning even where a county has opted into Subchapter F, and Montgomery County states plainly that it has none. What fills the gap is the covenant recorded against your tract, which Texas courts enforce, and which is entirely capable of banning metal siding, setting a minimum square footage or prohibiting a detached shop. Read the title commitment and the recorded restrictions before you buy the land, not after.
Where in the county is the buildable acreage?
North and east of Conroe, mostly. Close to a tenth of Montgomery County is not for sale at all: 47,609 acres of the Sam Houston National Forest sit inside the county, and Lake Conroe covers around 19,640 acres at its conservation pool of 201 feet above sea level, shared with Walker County. The south of the county is The Woodlands and the Houston edge, where lots are suburban and covenants are tight. That pushes the real frontier toward Willis, Montgomery, New Caney, Splendora and the ring around Conroe. Worth knowing that Conroe's extraterritorial jurisdiction reaches five miles into that ring, where a city can require a plat and set street and drainage specifications even though Texas courts have held it needs legislative authorisation to enforce its building code beyond its limits.

Building in Montgomery County?

Start with the plan. Tell us what you want to build and we will draw it, then confirm what Montgomery County will actually let you put on the parcel and what wind load it has to meet. That conversation costs nothing.

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