Does a small assisted living home in Texas need a fire sprinkler system?

Step by step

1. 1

   Know which rule you are under

   The HHSC rule applies to homes licensed under Health and Safety Code Chapter 247. A house that only gives lodging, meals and reminders about medication, and no hands-on personal care, is a boarding home under Chapter 260, which is permitted by the city or county, not HHSC. The sprinkler rule below is the HHSC rule for licensed homes. If you are not licensed, your city or county sets the rule, and the only way to know it is to call them.

2. 2

   Small Type B: a sprinkler system is required statewide

   26 TAC 553.125(b) says an existing small Type B home must provide a sprinkler system meeting NFPA 13, NFPA 13R or NFPA 13D, following the extinguishment requirements in NFPA 101 Chapter 33 (existing residential board and care). 26 TAC 553.225(b) says the same for a new small Type B home under NFPA 101 Chapter 32. Type B is the license most 6 to 16 bed homes hold, because it is the one that lets you keep a resident who needs help to get out in an emergency or needs someone up at night.

3. 3

   Small Type A: required if new, optional if existing

   26 TAC 553.215(b) says a new small Type A home must provide a sprinkler system. 26 TAC 553.115(b) says an existing small Type A home may provide one. Type A only works if every resident can leave the building without help from a caregiver and can follow directions in an emergency, so a home that plans to keep residents as they decline usually ends up Type B anyway.

4. 4

   The system must be supervised, maintained and the attic protected

   The same sections require the sprinkler system to be supervised under NFPA 101 section 9.7.2, and 26 TAC 553.104 requires it to be inspected, tested and maintained under NFPA 25 by a company you hire. Existing small Type B homes with sprinklers must have the attic protected under NFPA 101 33.2.3.5.7 by August 31, 2026 under the current rule text. Keep the inspection reports; the State asks for them.

5. 5

   Pass the HHSC Life Safety Code inspection, then the yearly fire marshal visit

   HHSC inspects the building for Life Safety Code compliance before it issues the license. If you fail that inspection twice and ask for a third, 26 TAC 553.47(h) charges $25 per bed with a $1,000 minimum for the third and every later visit. After you open, 26 TAC 553.104(a) requires an inspection at least once every 12 months by the local fire marshal (or the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office where there is no local one), and you must keep the paperwork from the most recent one at the home.

6. 6

   Call your city fire marshal and write down what they say

   Fire codes and permits are local, and Health and Safety Code 247.026(e) says a city's health and safety standards apply to an assisted living home only when they specifically say they apply to assisted living homes, which is exactly why the answer differs from one city to the next. Inside Houston city limits the Houston Fire Marshal Office is at 832-394-6900. No Houston-specific resident threshold is stated on this page because the City of Houston does not publish one on the fire marshal page read on October 7, 2026; ask them directly and get the answer in writing.

7. 7

   Hire a company the State Fire Marshal licenses

   In Texas, companies and individuals who install, service or certify fire sprinkler systems are registered and licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance's State Fire Marshal's Office. Look up any contractor before you sign at appscenter.tdi.texas.gov/reports/p/sfmo. Cost is not published by any agency, so any number you hear is a bid, not a rule.

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