Foundation work in Houston
Houston's Structural Inspections page lists a foundation inspection, made to confirm the foundation's structural integrity, among the checks that need a structural inspector. All work that requires a building permit has to be inspected and approved by one before the project is finalized. The Foundation Only Permit on the same page is a commercial permit, meant for building the foundation of a commercial building. Applications are completed in person, by email or through the iPermits portal at the Houston Permitting Center, 1002 Washington Ave., 1st Floor, and the center assigns a project number once one is in.
The counter is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and its line is 832.394.8899. The city's 2026 fee notice prints no foundation repair row. What it does print, effective January 1, 2026, is a $91.06 minimum that applies to most Building Code Enforcement permits. For code editions there's only an undated handout, Residential Permitting 101, which names the 2015 International Residential Code with Houston amendments. Houston housing has a 1982 median build year in the Census survey.
If you hire a home inspector holding a Texas Real Estate Commission license to look at the foundation, 16 TAC section 535.228(a) requires a written opinion on how it's performing. That opinion rests on what the inspector can see, since thermal imaging and elevation readings aren't required. Ask the repair company for the project number the Permitting Center gave its application.
What foundation work costs near Houston
No one has sent us a quote for Houston, so there's no city price here. The Texas page lists the estimates beside what the trades are paid, which is a wage and isn't a price ($23.69 an hour in the BLS wage data), and the permit fees some cities print. How we estimate costs. Whoever you call, ask for an itemized written price.
Permits for foundation repair work in Houston
TDLR has no foundation repair license, so Houston's building office, not the state, decides what a foundation job needs. Elsewhere in Texas, Fort Worth and Denton require a permit for every residential foundation repair, and San Antonio, Garland, Grand Prairie and Denton want an engineer's letter or plan with the application.
Foundation jobs in Houston
Sources for Houston
- Houston Permitting Center: Structural Inspections Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Houston Permitting Center: Permits Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Houston Permitting Center: 2026 fee increase notice Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Houston Permitting Center: Residential Permitting 101 Read Oct 23, 2026. Confirm it with the source itself before relying on it.
- ACS 5-year B25035 Median Year Structure Built Confirm it with the source itself before relying on it.
- TREC: Rendering an Opinion of Foundation Performance Read Oct 23, 2026.