TX Attorney General Opinion: COVID and 2nd homes

Question 1: Can local emergency orders include blocking property owners from accessing their 2nd homes?

Answer 1: No, unless a court determines that the local government is legitimately using its police power

Question 2: Can local emergency orders limit the use of 2nd homes by property owners?

Answer 2: No, and the Governor’s Executive Order states it supersedes local authority with this line: “any conflicting order issued by local officials in response to the COVID-19 disaster, but only to the extent that such a local order restricts essential services or reopened services allowed by this executive order . . .”

KP-0308 (2020)