Article on Texas Homesteads

J. Thomas Oldham (John Freeman Professor, University of Houston Law School) recently published his article entitled Can a Texas Homestead That is Initially Rural Become Urban?, 4 Est. Plan. & Community Prop. L.J. 293 (2012).  The introduction to the article is below: 

During the past sixty years, many Texas cities have grown dramatically in both population and size. As a result, many properties that were once far out of town and used for typically rural purposes have, over time, become surrounded by the expanding city.

The growth of Texas cities presents many legal and policy issues. One such question relates to Texas homestead law. For example, if a young family moves onto a property when it is clearly rural, and stays there while the city gradually surrounds it, does this affect the family’s homestead? This question is particularly significant because in Texas a family can protect up to 200 acres of rural homestead, while urban homesteads are limited to ten acres. 

The traditional answer was that the nature of a family’s homestead could change if the use of the adjacent property changed. This traditional rule may have been changed by amendments to the Texas Property Code. This article will discuss the traditional Texas rule and the amendments to the Property Code that may have changed that rule, followed by an evaluation of whether this would be a sensible change in Texas law.