Colo­nias Prevention

Colonias are substandard housing developments, often found along the Texas-Mexico border, where residents lack basic services such as drinking water, sewage treatment, and paved roads. The State of Texas has undertaken a number of programs to remedy the conditions in existing colonias and to prevent new colonias.

The Office of the Attorney General provides access to an extensive, historical database, the Colonia Geographic Database, for the border region. The database stores geographic and descriptive data on over 1,800 colonia areas in 29 border area counties.

Texas laws intended to prevent colonias take a variety of forms and apply in a variety of circumstances. The Texas Legislature has refined these laws during the past 15 years. Some of the major laws apply only in the border area or in "economically distressed" counties with high unemployment and low per capita income.

The laws have four major thrusts:

1. requiring subdividers to provide basic infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, and drainage) when creating (or "platting") new residential developments,
2. restricting the advertising and selling of lots that are not platted or that lack water and sewer,
3. limiting connections to utilities in substandard areas, and
4. mandating certain disclosures and protections when lots are sold through contracts for deeds.