What is an ETJ in Texas?

An ETJ is a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction: unincorporated land just outside the city limits where the city keeps some regulatory authority under Texas Local Government Code chapter 42. Property there is not inside the city and not on the city's property tax roll, but some city rules still reach it. Boerne's short-term rental ordinance does.

The three-bucket picture

Texas property outside a city is not one thing. For a buyer in the Hill Country it is usually one of three:

Inside the city limits. The city's full set of powers applies. The property is on the city's tax roll.
In the city's ETJ. Unincorporated land adjacent to the city. The city retains some authority under Texas Local Government Code chapter 42 — subdivision platting is the classic one — but the parcel is not in the city.
Unincorporated county, outside any city's ETJ. Neither city limits nor ETJ. County authority applies, and Texas counties have narrower ordinance-making power than cities.

Buyers collapse buckets 2 and 3 constantly. "It's outside the city" is not an answer. A property can be outside the city, pay no city property tax, and still be subject to a city ordinance.

What the ETJ is for

The ETJ exists so that a city has a say in how land right outside its edge gets subdivided and developed. Growth does not stop at a city limit line. Streets, drainage and lot layouts built to no standard on the city's doorstep become the city's problem eventually, and the ETJ gives the city a role in that before it happens.

The practical result is that in the ETJ, subdividing land, platting lots and the development process typically run through the city, even though the city does not collect property tax on the parcel.

Which specific powers reach a given city's ETJ is set by statute, and the details vary — including whether an owner's parcel is in the ETJ at all, since ETJ boundaries change as a city grows and as state law changes. Do not infer it from a map screenshot or a listing remark. Confirm the jurisdiction for a specific address with the city's planning department. In Boerne, that is the Boerne Planning Department, (830) 248-1501.

The concrete Boerne example

Boerne's short-term rental regulation is the cleanest illustration of how an ETJ actually behaves, because it draws the line in two places at once.

Under Ordinance No. 2023-09, Boerne's short-term rental rules apply to the city limits and the ETJ (City of Boerne). An STR operator on an ETJ parcel is inside the ordinance: registration, permit term, insurance minimums, hotel occupancy tax.

But the safety inspection requirement applies to properties inside the city limits and does not apply to ETJ properties (Short-Term Rental Ordinance 2023-09).

That is the shape of the thing in one ordinance. The city's rule reaches into the ETJ. One specific piece of it stops at the city limit. You cannot predict which is which from first principles — you read the ordinance, or you call the department.

Two more Boerne-specific points that follow from the same logic:

Boerne is in Kendall County, not Bexar County, and Boerne is not San Antonio. San Antonio's ordinances have no force in Boerne or Boerne's ETJ. Investors who research San Antonio rules and then buy near Boerne are reading the wrong rulebook.
Unincorporated Kendall County outside Boerne's city limits and ETJ is not covered by the Boerne ordinance at all. What the county itself requires is a question for Kendall County, and Texas counties have limited ordinance-making power compared with cities.

Taxes in the ETJ

An ETJ parcel is not in the city, so the city's property tax rate is not on its bill. The other entities still are — the county, the school district, and any special district covering the parcel.

The entity list for a Kendall County parcel comes from Kendall Appraisal District, which is the appraisal district for Boerne and Kendall County — not Bexar CAD (Kendall AD). Rate documents the county publishes are at Kendall County tax rate information.

Note that the hotel occupancy tax question is separate from the property tax question. Boerne's STR ordinance requires hotel occupancy tax for all STRs it covers, and the combined rate in Boerne is 13% — state 6% plus city 7% (City of Boerne current tax rates). Being outside the city property tax roll and being inside a city ordinance are two different facts about the same parcel.

What to check before buying an ETJ property

Confirm the jurisdiction in writing for the specific address: city limits, ETJ, or neither. Ask the City of Boerne Planning Department, not a neighbor.
Ask which city regulations apply out there for what you actually intend to do — build, subdivide, add a second dwelling, operate a short-term rental.
Ask about platting. If you plan to split the tract, the process likely runs through the city.
Confirm utilities. Whether the parcel is on a city water or sewer connection, or on a private well and an on-site septic system, is a property-by-property fact, and it drives inspections and due diligence.
Ask the city about annexation — whether the parcel could come into the city, and under what process. The rules around Texas annexation have changed over time, so get the current answer from the city rather than from an older article.
Check emergency services, address and school attendance for the parcel rather than assuming they follow the city.

Where the line is

An agent can tell you which bucket a property sits in and hand you the ordinance. Questions about how a regulation applies to your specific plan go to the City of Boerne Planning Department. Questions about deed restrictions, plat notes or enforceability go to a Texas real estate attorney. Tax consequences go to a CPA.

Ordinances change. Confirm current terms with the City of Boerne before you buy on the strength of what any page, including this one, says today.

Questions about a specific property?

Call or text 830-446-3847 · Email heath.shepard@kw.com

This page explains what a Texas ETJ is. It is not legal advice. For whether a specific address is in the ETJ and which regulations apply to your plans, contact the City of Boerne Planning Department; for deed restrictions or enforceability, talk with a Texas real estate attorney.