How to open a sober living home in Texas

What a recovery residence is, and isn't

Texas law describes a recovery house as a shared living environment that supports sustained recovery, is centered on peer support, is free from alcohol and drug use, and connects residents to supports and services in the community (Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 469, added by HB 299 in 2023).

• Texas doesn't license recovery residences. Certification is voluntary, through an approved accrediting organization (see TROHN certification below).
• It isn't treatment. If you'll provide substance use treatment, that's a program that needs an HHSC chemical dependency treatment facility license, and licensed treatment facilities can't be accredited as recovery houses. Accredited houses also don't provide personal care services.
• Many cities still have their own rules for group living. More on that below.

1. Choose the house model

Decide who the house is for, how many beds, and how it's run. The National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) describes four levels, and certifiers use them (NARR levels of support):

Level	How it's run
Level I: peer-run	Democratically run by the residents, with peer support. Oxford Houses are the best-known example.
Level II: monitored	Peer support plus a house manager or senior resident who monitors the house and its rules.
Level III: supervised	Paid staff, more structure, and life-skills work.
Level IV: service provider	Adds clinical services, usually from a licensed provider; state licensing rules may apply.

2. Budget and rent

• List every opening cost: deposit or down payment, furniture and beds, alarms and extinguishers, locking storage, insurance, software, and a house manager's pay before the first resident moves in.
• Then the monthly cost to run and the occupancy you need to break even. Plan for empty beds; a house is rarely full every week.
• Write the rent policy: weekly or monthly rent, deposits, what's included, late fees, refunds and move-out balances. Track each resident's charges and payments with receipts; clear records protect you if a balance is disputed.
• Never waive or discount rent in exchange for a resident attending a particular treatment program. See money and referrals.

3. Form and insure the business

• Recovery homes are often run as an LLC; choose the entity with your attorney or CPA. A Texas LLC files a certificate of formation (Form 205) with the Texas Secretary of State; the filing fee is $300.
• Get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account, and calendar the Texas franchise tax report (usually due May 15).
• Insure the house: property or renter's coverage and general liability, plus professional liability if staff provide any services. Ask for a policy written for recovery residences, because standard landlord policies may exclude them.

4. City rules and fair housing

• Ask the city in writing what rules apply to the house: zoning for group living, occupancy limits, parking or registration. Get the answer before you sign a lease or buy.
• Know the Fair Housing Act. People in recovery who aren't currently using illegal drugs are generally protected as people with disabilities. HUD and the Justice Department have said that local rules treating groups of unrelated people with disabilities less favorably than similar groups without disabilities violate the Act, and that cities must consider reasonable accommodation requests (HUD and DOJ joint statement).
• It binds you too. Screen and treat every applicant the same way, using written criteria.
• If a city pushes back, call your attorney before you argue. These disputes turn on the facts and the local code.
• Be a good neighbor: rules on parking, noise, smoking areas, trash and visitors, and a name and number neighbors can call. Meet them before you open.

5. Get the house ready and safe

• The property: bedrooms that meet fire and occupancy rules for your bed count. If you lease, the owner must agree in writing to the sober-living use; have your attorney read the lease.
• Fire safety: working smoke alarms in every bedroom and hallway, carbon monoxide alarms if there's gas, an extinguisher on each floor and in the kitchen, clear exits from every bedroom, and a posted evacuation plan. Check your city's fire code too.
• Naloxone where everyone can reach it, every resident and the house manager trained, and the steps posted: call 911, give naloxone, support breathing, stay until help arrives.
• Locking storage for each resident and a lockbox for residents' medications. Inspect the house every month and write down what you found and fixed.

6. House rules and the resident agreement

• House rules: sobriety, curfew, guests, chores, weekly house meetings, support meetings, medications, phones and vehicles, and what happens when a rule is broken. Short enough to remember; a copy for every resident.
• Resident agreement: fees, rules, drug testing, searches, what happens on a relapse, how someone leaves, and what happens to belongings left behind. It's written as a residence agreement, not a lease, but Texas landlord-tenant law may still apply, so your attorney reviews it before use.
• Intake screening: who the house can safely serve (for example, medically stable and not needing detox), what you ask, and when you refer someone to treatment instead. The same screening for everyone, in writing.
• Records and privacy: each resident's agreement, intake, test results, incidents, payments and move-out in a locked file or secure software. Share details only with the resident's written permission.

7. Drug testing and relapse

Write down when residents are tested, who observes, what counts as a positive, and what happens next: a safety check, a plan, a referral to treatment, or a move-out with somewhere safe to go. Write it so a relapse leads to help, and apply it the same way to everyone. If you send samples to a lab, never accept money, gifts or services from the lab in return; EKRA covers labs as well as recovery homes.

8. The house manager

The house manager enforces the rules fairly, handles intake and testing, keeps records and responds to emergencies. Train them in CPR, naloxone, the house rules and de-escalation. Decide with your CPA whether they're an employee; if so, set up payroll, a Texas Workforce Commission unemployment tax account and a workers' compensation decision before they start, and run background checks on every hire as your policy requires.

9. TROHN certification

• Who certifies: Texas's 2023 law has HHSC set minimum standards consistent with NARR's and Oxford House's, and lets HHSC approve only NARR or Oxford House as accrediting organizations. TROHN, the Texas Recovery Oriented Housing Network, is the Texas NARR affiliate and can certify all levels; Oxford House charters mostly Level I homes.
• Why bother if it's voluntary: it shows families and referral sources that the house meets national standards; some funders and programs refer only to certified homes; and the Texas Tribune reported that a house that hasn't taken part in accreditation can't receive state money.
• Cost: the Texas Tribune reported in 2025 that applying cost $500 per application plus $10 per bed. Check TROHN's current fees and process before you budget.
• When: apply once the house runs the way the standards describe, with rules, agreements, drills and inspections on file. Renew on the certifier's schedule and keep those records current.

10. Money and referrals

This is where recovery homes get into the most trouble, so it's worth being blunt:

• EKRA (18 U.S.C. 220) makes it a federal crime to pay or receive anything of value for referrals to recovery homes, treatment facilities or labs, whoever pays for the care. No payments, gifts or free rent for referrals to or from treatment programs, and no free or discounted rent tied to attending a particular program.
• The Texas Patient Solicitation Act (Texas Occupations Code chapter 102) bans offering or accepting anything of value for securing patients for a licensed provider.
• Residents choose their own treatment. Build relationships with programs, courts and community groups on how well residents do, not on money. Run any marketing deal, lead service or partnership past your attorney.

How long it takes

On our Texas roadmap, a house can open in about 11 weeks, with certification following once it's running.

Step	Typical timing
Kickoff and your dated roadmap	Week 1
House rules and drug-testing policy written	Weeks 2–3
Business formed with the Texas Secretary of State (you or your attorney file)	Week 4
House leased or bought, with the owner's written OK	Weeks 4–9
House furnished and fire-safe	Weeks 9–11
TROHN certification application	Months 3–5
The house opens: first resident moves in	Week 11

From the kickoff, on the earliest path through our 46-step Texas roadmap. Agencies and insurance plans set their own pace, so treat these as typical, not promised.

Planning more than housing? A recovery home can't provide treatment on site without a facility license, so owners who want clinical services usually open a licensed outpatient program next door or partner with one: see how to start an IOP or PHP in Texas and the IOP / PHP Program Launch. Every engagement runs through a client portal with a dated roadmap, and you can compare all launch packages or book a free 30-minute call to talk it through.

Or book a free 30-minute call.

Sources

• Texas Legislature, HB 299 (2023) bill analysis, adding Health and Safety Code chapter 469
• National Alliance for Recovery Residences, Levels of support; TROHN
• The Texas Tribune, Obstacles slow Texas' effort to improve conditions at substance abuse recovery homes (March 7, 2025)
• U.S. Department of Justice and HUD, Joint statement on state and local land use laws and the Fair Housing Act
• Texas Legislature, Occupations Code chapter 102; 18 U.S.C. 220 (EKRA)
• Texas Secretary of State, sos.texas.gov; IRS, Get an EIN