How do you list new apartments by flood zone?
You want flood facts before you sign, and we want you to have them in plain words. On Oct 25, 2026, we checked all 140 tracked buildings against the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
Here’s what we found:
| FEMA zone | What it means | Tracked buildings |
|---|---|---|
| Zone X | Outside the mapped 1% annual-chance floodplain | 128 |
| Shaded Zone X | 0.2% annual-chance area, or behind a levee | 9 |
| Zone AE | Inside the 1% annual-chance floodplain, with a base flood elevation | 3 |
Every card on the board shows its zone and the date we checked. We list the zone as a fact. We never call a building safe or unsafe, because a map zone isn’t a promise about any one storm.
Which buildings are in Zone AE, and what’s pending?
Three tracked buildings sit in Zone AE (Oct 25, 2026):
- Asher Towne Lake. LOMR-F letters are pending. A LOMR-F is a FEMA letter that can remove a structure built on fill from the mapped floodplain.
- Sycamore Heights. LOMR-F letters are also pending.
- The Cove at GYB. It has an 11-foot base flood elevation (BFE), and we’ve asked for its elevation certificate.
None of the three is inside the City of Houston, so the city’s Chapter 19 floodplain rules don’t apply to them. We update each building’s card when a letter or certificate comes in.
What a zone does and doesn’t tell you
A FEMA zone describes mapped flood chance for an area. It doesn’t cover street flooding, drainage near a specific door, or whether a garage entrance sits low. We ask about those too.
What’s the Texas flood notice?
Texas Property Code §92.0135 took effect Jan 1, 2022. Your landlord gives you a written notice at or before signing. It says whether the unit is in the 100-year floodplain and whether it flooded in the last five years.
If the notice is missing and a flood destroys 50% or more of your belongings’ value, you may end the lease within 30 days. Under SB 2349, effective Sept 1, 2025, both parties sign the notice. Leases under 30 days are exempt.
We ask each community for the notice before you apply, and we read it with you before you sign.
Could a building’s flood zone change?
It could. Harris County’s MAAPnext project has released draft maps that may redraw some zones. The current FIRM is still what governs today. We show the current zone, note where drafts differ, and date every check.
The Harris County Flood Control District posts flood warning data and bayou levels. We point you to those tools so you can look up an address yourself.
What about power after a storm?
Hurricane Beryl caused 2.265 million outages in July 2024. Texas law doesn’t require apartment buildings to have backup power. So we ask what each generator covers:
- Elevators, especially in mid-rise and high-rise buildings
- Hallway and stair lighting
- Water pumps on upper floors
- Garage gates and controlled-access doors
We share the written answers before you sign. If a building won’t answer, we tell you that too.
How do I get flood facts for my shortlist?
Send us your move date and the buildings you like. We’ll pull the FEMA record, ask for the §92.0135 notice and the five-year flood answer, and ask what the generator covers. It’s free to you, and your rent is the same either way.
