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Building and fire code

Can a two-story house be an assisted living facility in Texas?

Yes, Texas does not prohibit a two-story assisted living facility. But start with the residents, not the building. A Type A resident must be able to evacuate without physical assistance, and a Type B resident may be unable to evacuate without staff help at all, which is why 26 TAC 553.213 and 553.223 are titled Means of Escape. Those rules provide that a new small facility providing spaces for residents on any floor other than the ground floor must have at least two separate approved stairs, and neither stair may require passing through another room, including a bedroom or bathroom. Most suburban houses have one staircase, so a second is structural work. The practical and safer answer is to house every resident on the ground floor and use the second floor for staff, office, medication room, laundry and storage. Then the rule never applies. This is general information, not legal advice, and your fire marshal decides your building.

Written by Erika Crossley, senior living operator — not an attorney · Information last verified July 2026

This is general information, not legal advice. Erika Crossley is not an attorney. Texas law here turns on your specific property, your recorded deed restrictions, your city, and your individual residents — and municipal ordinances change without notice. Every document she prepares is a first draft for review and signature by your own licensed Texas attorney before it is used with a resident. No outcome, including license approval or permit approval, is guaranteed. Do not buy a property in reliance on this page. Take it to a Texas attorney first.

The rule, exactly as written

26 TAC 553.213 and 553.223 use the same language for Type A and Type B: a new small assisted living facility providing spaces for use by residents on floors other than the ground floor must provide at least two separate approved stairs. Each stair must meet NFPA 101 Section 32.2.2.6, must be arranged so that it is not necessary to pass through another room, including a bedroom or bathroom, to reach it, and must have handrails and normal lighting.

A regulator does not write a two-stair rule for a building type it forbids. The rule exists because multi-story small facilities are contemplated. What the rule does is make putting residents upstairs expensive.

The move that makes a two-story house work

The requirement is triggered only by providing spaces for use by residents above the ground floor. House every resident on the ground floor and the trigger never fires.

The second floor then becomes staff quarters, the office, the medication room, laundry and storage, all of which a care home genuinely needs. You avoid the one cost nobody can price in advance, which is cutting a second code-compliant staircase into a finished house.

What you still have to pay for either way

  • —Sprinklers. 26 TAC 553.215 (Type A) and 553.225 (Type B) require a fire sprinkler system in every new small assisted living facility. There is no exception, and it is not triggered by the number of stories. A single-story house needs them too.
  • —Protection of vertical openings. The stairwell itself must be protected under NFPA 101 Chapter 32, and the sprinkler system must protect the whole building, including the upper floor.
  • —A commercial fire alarm system, addressable and supervised.
  • —Local fire marshal approval, and a Life Safety Code survey that must be passed before a single resident moves in.

The floodplain rule that disqualifies houses outright

Under 26 TAC 553.103(h), a facility that applies for an initial license or is initially licensed on or after December 6, 2022 must not be located in a 100-year floodplain if the facility is in a county of more than 3.3 million residents. The rule is written as a population threshold, not by name, and at present Harris County is the only Texas county above it. That covers Cypress, Spring and the Harris County side of Katy. Sugar Land sits in Fort Bend County and is not caught by it today.

Note the trigger is the application date, not the license date. This disqualifies otherwise perfect houses. Check the floodplain before you check anything else, because it is the cheapest way to kill a bad deal.

And a trap for anyone buying a home that already had a license

Under 26 TAC 553.100(e)(2), a facility only counts as existing if it was initially licensed before August 31, 2021 and has been continually operated under an assisted living license without interruption since then. A home whose license lapsed, or that sat closed, does not qualify.

Buy that home and you are treated as a new facility. The sprinklers, the two-stair rule and the floodplain rule all apply to you, even though the building has been a care home for twenty years.

Where to register to get paid

The official Texas and federal sign-up pages — verified June 2026. You don’t have to hunt for them.

These are the official portals. Approval and contracting still take real paperwork — that’s the part we help you through.

Have Erika read your property before you buy →

Common questions

Does Texas allow assisted living residents on the second floor?

Texas does not prohibit it, but a new small facility providing resident spaces above the ground floor must have at least two separate approved stairs under 26 TAC 553.213 and 553.223, and neither stair may require passing through another room to reach it. Evacuation capability comes first: a Type B resident may be unable to evacuate without staff assistance. Housing every resident on the ground floor avoids the rule entirely and is the safer design. General information, not legal advice.

Do I need sprinklers in a small Texas assisted living facility?

A NEW small assisted living facility does. 26 TAC 553.215(b) and 553.225(b) require a fire sprinkler system meeting NFPA 13, 13R, or 13D, with no exception. NFPA 13D is the residential-grade option and the least expensive path. Under 26 TAC 553.100(e), a facility initially licensed on or after August 31, 2021 is new, and so is any new building or addition built on or after that date. Existing facilities licensed before then and operated continuously without interruption sit under different rules.

Can I put a care home in a house in a floodplain in Houston?

Not a new licensed one. Under 26 TAC 553.103(h), a facility that applies for an initial license or is initially licensed on or after December 6, 2022 must not be located in a 100-year floodplain if it is in a county of more than 3.3 million residents. The rule is written as a population threshold, and currently Harris County is the only Texas county above it.

Does a lapsed license mean I inherit the old building rules?

No, and this catches buyers. Under 26 TAC 553.100(e)(2), a facility is only "existing" if it was initially licensed before August 31, 2021 AND has been continually operated under an assisted living license without interruption since then. Buy a shuttered or lapsed-license home and you are treated as new: sprinklers, the two-stair rule, and the floodplain rule all apply.

Related license types

Type A ALF →Type B ALF →

More answers