Justin Home Sellers: Water Accounts, Yard Rules and Tax Liens

Opening, paying and losing a Justin water account

Article II of Chapter 48 of the Justin code governs water and sewer service. Section 48-23 makes it unlawful to connect to the city's mains without first applying to the city water and sewer department on its form and getting a permit, and section 48-24 requires every water customer to make an advance deposit set in the fee schedule.

Billing and shutoff steps in Chapter 48

Section	Rule
48-24	Bills are due and payable on the date of the bill and must be paid within ten days from that date.
48-27	Meters are read monthly; the due date is ten days after the bill is rendered, and after it the customer pays the standard charge. Not receiving a bill does not relieve the customer from liability.
48-28	Service may be discontinued if charges are not paid within 15 days after a notice of discontinuance, which must be sent at least 15 days in advance and state the reasons, the delinquent charges, and a time, place and means to cure or dispute them.
48-28(b)	Service is restored only after all charges, including the charges to discontinue and restore, are paid, or after arrangements satisfactory to the director of public works.

Meters, service pipes and a rental duplex

Several sections in the same article answer questions that come up when a house has a leak or more than one unit:

• Who fixes what. Section 48-32 reserves to the city water works the right to make all repairs and renewals of service pipes from the main to the meter; anyone else needs the water works' written consent first.
• Every gallon counts. Section 48-26 says all water that passes through the meter is charged for, whether used or not. If a meter fails to register correctly, the city may bill the average monthly consumption from any three-month period when it worked.
• Duplexes. Section 48-34 requires buildings used as flats, quadraplexes, apartment houses or duplexes to have a separate connection and meter for each unit, or a properly sized master meter provided by the owner.

If you own a duplex in Justin with tenants on separate accounts, line up the account holders and final readings for each meter before you sell.

Twelve inches, ten days and a Denton County lien

Section 28-58 of the nuisance article, adopted by Ordinance 703-21, makes it unlawful to let uncultivated grass, weeds or brush grow higher than 12 inches on property in the city, occupied or unoccupied, including along the sidewalk or street between the property line and the curb and on the adjacent parkway. The 12-inch limit does not apply to undeveloped land of two or more acres under common ownership when the growth is at least 50 feet from any adjacent street and from structures or improvements on neighboring property.

An old car left at a parent's house

If a parent's house comes with a car that has not run in a long time, check Justin's junked vehicle article first. It defines a junked vehicle to include a self-propelled vehicle with an expired license plate or invalid inspection certificate, one with no plate or certificate, one that is wrecked or dismantled, or one that has been inoperable for more than 30 consecutive days on private property. Section 28-52 declares a junked vehicle visible from a public place or right-of-way a public nuisance, with exceptions such as a vehicle completely enclosed in a building.

For a nuisance on private property, section 28-53 requires not less than ten days' notice to remove it and says a hearing request must be made before that period runs out; a hearing, if requested, is held before the municipal court. A vehicle removed under these procedures may not be reconstructed or made operable afterward.

County taxes follow the owner

• The January 1 lien. Tax Code section 32.01 attaches a tax lien to property on January 1 of each year, and section 32.07 makes the tax the personal obligation of whoever owns the property on January 1, even after that person no longer owns it. The Denton County tax office repeats both points in its property tax FAQ.
• A tax certificate. Denton County's tax certificate page describes a document showing the current status of taxes, penalties, interest and known costs on a property, for $10 per certificate.
• Your value. Denton Central Appraisal District's protest page sets the deadline at May 15 or 30 days after the notice was mailed, whichever is later; under Tax Code section 41.44 the protest is filed with the appraisal review board.
• Recorded documents. The county clerk's Recording Division keeps the real property records where a city lien would be filed.

Sell your Justin house to Cash Home Advisors

You can sell your Justin house as-is, without making repairs. We pay all closing costs and can close in 7–14 days. Request your offer, read how it works, or see selling an inherited house in Texas and our post on selling inherited property.

Local offices for this area

• Denton County Tax Certificates
• Denton County property tax FAQ
• Denton Central Appraisal District: the protest process
• Denton County Clerk: Recording Division

ZIP codes we buy in: 76247