Case Closed
Service Request Resolved
If the damage to the sidewalk was not caused by a City crew doing work, the property owner of the abutting property is responsible for maintenance according to City Code Chapter 40, Article III Section 40-84. Please contact the responsible property owner if it is not yourself.

It is the City's responsibility to enforce its laws. Once the City has been notified of the damage to a sidewalk, any injuries resulting from their negligence to enforce is a tort.

Re-opening of a case only opens the SeeClickFix issue for comments on the website. It does not re-open the case within the City of Houston's 311 case management system. To follow the progress of an issue, refer to the Houston 311 case reference number when contacting the city. Only the original submitter can then re-close a re-opened case.

How does the city know if it did or didn't cause the damage?

If there are any reports in the City's data base showing the city to have done any recent work in area or if a concerned citizen reports damage at the time of the incident with any City vehicle information and information regarding work being done and damages caused.

As I said above, the City is responsible for enforcement. To say that homeowners are responsible for maintaining their sidewalks is the same as saying that drivers are responsible for maintaining the speed limit. Both are true, but in both cases the City is responsible for enforcement.