2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB517
HB517 stops a property owners' association from assessing certain vegetation or turf fines while a home is under a qualifying drought watering restriction, and before the 60th day after that restriction is lifted.
Official caption: Relating to the authority of a property owners' association to assess a fine for discolored vegetation or turf during a period of residential watering restriction.
Official report lists House author(s): Harris Davila, Isaac, Troxclair, Button, Luther. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB517 stops a property owners' association from assessing certain vegetation or turf fines while a home is under a qualifying drought watering restriction, and before the 60th day after that restriction is lifted.
- The restriction must be a temporary, mandatory limit on residential irrigation imposed by a municipality, water utility or other wholesale/retail water supplier as part of drought conservation.
What does it do?
HB517 stops a property owners’ association from assessing certain vegetation or turf fines while a home is under a qualifying drought watering restriction, and before the 60th day after that restriction is lifted. It covers covenants requiring an owner to plant or install grass or turf, maintain green vegetation or turf, or avoid discolored or brown vegetation or turf. The governor signed it May 26, 2025; it took effect September 1, 2025. Final law; history.
The restriction must be a temporary, mandatory limit on residential irrigation imposed by a municipality, water utility or other wholesale/retail water supplier as part of drought conservation. The owner’s property must be subject to a restriction under which browning or discoloration could reasonably result. A voluntary request to conserve water, by itself, does not meet that definition. This is a targeted limit on fines, not a repeal of every landscaping covenant or a ban on all association enforcement. Property Code Chapter 202’s association definition includes qualifying condominium and townhouse associations as well as residential subdivisions. Definitions and scope.
What changed along the way?
The introduced bill protected owners for a “reasonable period” after restrictions ended. The House substitute replaced that open-ended phrase with a deadline before the 30th day. Two House floor amendments were adopted April 23: Troxclair changed “30th” to “60th”; Isaac added covenants requiring owners to “plant or install grass or turf.” Both changes appear in the engrossed, Senate committee and final texts. The Senate passed the bill without further amendments. Introduced; House substitute; amendment index; Troxclair amendment; Isaac amendment.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
Owners subject to qualifying restrictions gain protection from these particular fines while conserving water and during the specified recovery period. Associations must adjust fine decisions to the restriction and timing rules. The law does not reimburse an owner’s landscaping costs or promise that all dead or discolored vegetation is exempt regardless of the circumstances.
The latest indexed Legislative Budget Board fiscal note anticipates no state or local-government fiscal implication. It does not estimate private association administrative costs, individual fine savings or water conserved. Engrossed fiscal note, May 1, 2025.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.