Generally speaking, a seller of property located in a water district must provide a water-district notice to a buyer, if depending on how the water district is financed, the seller owes a tax or standby fee. Sellers who are unsure if they are required to provide such a notice should check with their particular water district.
There are three types of notices, and the one required depends on if the property is:
-Located in whole or in part within the corporate boundaries of a municipality
-Located in whole or in part in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of one or more home-rule municipalities and not within the corporate boundaries of a municipality
-Not located in whole or in part within the corporate boundaries of a municipality or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of one or more home-rule municipalities.
Water districts are required to file certain information with the appropriate county clerk and with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which has a list on its website of water districts in Texas and provides other useful resources.
Once the water district is identified, a seller can submit a written request for the right notice from the water district, which will provide the notice filled in with all the required information. The district may charge a fee for mailing the notice or allowing the requester to pick it up in person, but it cannot be more than $10. However, an alternative or faster method of delivery may require an additional fee.