Sober living in Texas: what it is, what it costs and how to choose a home

Still drinking or using, or in withdrawal? A sober home isn't the place to detox. Start with treatment: see alcohol detox in Texas. In a crisis, call or text 988. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357, is free and open 24/7.

What sober living is

Texas law describes a recovery house as a shared living environment that supports sustained recovery, centered on peer support, free from alcohol and drug use, and connected to support and services in the community (Health and Safety Code chapter 469). In practice:

• You live there and pay rent, usually sharing a house with others in recovery.
• You stay sober, follow house rules, and often take drug tests and go to support meetings.
• You keep your life going: work, school, family and outpatient treatment.
• It isn't treatment. A home that provides substance use treatment needs an HHSC treatment facility license, and licensed treatment facilities can't be accredited as recovery houses.

Sober living vs rehab vs a halfway house

	Sober living home	Residential rehab	Halfway house
What it is	Housing with peer support	Licensed 24-hour treatment	A term often used for transitional housing tied to a court, corrections or a treatment program
Licensed by Texas?	No; accreditation is voluntary	Yes, by HHSC	Depends on who runs it; ask
Insurance pays?	Health plans generally pay for treatment, not housing; expect to pay rent yourself	Usually, when medically necessary	Depends on the program
How long	Often no set length; Oxford Houses have none	Days to weeks, as your plan and coverage allow	Set by the program

Many people move into sober living after residential treatment, or while in IOP or outpatient care: see inpatient vs outpatient rehab.

The four levels of support

The National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) describes four levels, and Texas certifiers use them:

Level	How it's run
Level I: peer-run	Run democratically by the residents, with no paid staff in the home. Oxford Houses are the best-known example.
Level II: monitored	A house manager or senior resident oversees the house and its rules.
Level III: supervised	Paid staff, more structure and life-skills work.
Level IV: service provider	Adds clinical services in an organizational setting, usually from a licensed provider.

More structure usually means higher rent. Ask a home which level it is.

What sober living costs

• Oxford Houses: residents split the house's costs equally. Oxford House of Texas puts the usual cost at about $120 to $140 a week, bills paid.
• Other homes set their own rent, and what's included varies (utilities, food, transport, drug tests). Ask for every fee in writing: deposit, weekly or monthly rent, what's included, late fees, refunds and what happens to a balance when you move out.
• State money: since September 1, 2025, a Texas recovery house that isn't accredited can't receive state money (Health and Safety Code 469.009). If you're getting help paying through a state-funded program, it will be at an accredited home.
• Be wary of free rent tied to a program. Paying or receiving anything of value for referrals to recovery homes or treatment is a federal crime (EKRA, 18 U.S.C. 220), and Texas's Patient Solicitation Act bans it too. A home that offers free rent if you attend a particular treatment program is a warning sign. You choose your own treatment.

Texas law and TROHN certification

• Voluntary. HB 299 (2023) added chapter 469 to the Health and Safety Code: voluntary accreditation for recovery houses, with minimum standards HHSC sets based on NARR's and Oxford House's. HHSC's rule says a recovery house is encouraged to seek accreditation but isn't required to be accredited to operate (26 TAC 571.4).
• Who accredits. HHSC may approve only NARR and Oxford House, Inc. TROHN, the Texas Recovery Oriented Housing Network, is NARR's Texas affiliate and certifies all four levels; Oxford House charters peer-run homes.
• Check it. Ask the home for its TROHN certificate or Oxford House charter, and check with TROHN or Oxford House directly.

How to choose a home

1. Who it's for: men, women, or women with children; age; whether it fits where you are in recovery.
2. The rules: curfew, guests, chores, meetings, phones and cars, and what happens if someone breaks one. Ask for a copy.
3. Drug testing and relapse: how often, who observes, and what happens after a positive test. A good policy leads to help, such as a referral to treatment or a safe place to go, not just an eviction.
4. Medication: if you take buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone, ask before you move in whether the home accepts residents on medication and how it stores medicines. NARR has published guidance supporting residents on medication.
5. Safety: working smoke alarms, naloxone in the house, and residents who know how to use it.
6. Money: fees in writing, receipts for every payment, and no strings tied to a treatment program.
7. Accreditation: TROHN certified or an Oxford House charter.
8. Visit and ask residents how long they've lived there and how the house runs.

Your rights

The Fair Housing Act generally protects people in recovery who aren't currently using illegal drugs 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. People taking prescribed medication for opioid use disorder are also protected under the ADA, the Justice Department says.

Sober living homes by city

Cima Find Care's sober living listings come from Oxford House's own list of Texas houses: each one is a chartered Oxford House, with who it's for, its beds and its phone number. Openings change daily, so each listing links to Oxford House's live list. The number is the homes in that city.

• Austin 48
• San Antonio 40
• Dallas 39
• Fort Worth 36
• Houston 28
• Richardson 20
• Corpus Christi 19
• Garland 12
• Lubbock 11
• Abilene 9
• Round Rock 8
• Plano 7
• New Braunfels 6
• Tyler 6
• Burleson 5
• Denton 5
• Midland 5
• Odessa 4
• Waco 4
• Arlington 3
• Lewisville 3
• Seguin 3
• Bryan 2
• College Station 2
• Haltom City 2
• Irving 2
• North Richland Hills 2
• Sherman 2
• Bedford 1
• Carrollton 1
• Carrolton 1
• Cedar Park 1
• Converse 1
• Coppell 1
• Denison 1
• Dickinson 1
• Edgecliff Village 1
• Flower Mound 1
• Friendswood 1
• Humble 1
• Hurst 1
• League City 1
• Longview 1
• Mesquite 1
• Pasadena 1
• Pflugerville 1
• Rosenberg 1
• Texas City 1
• Watagua 1
• Wichita Falls 1

Want support from someone with lived experience too? Recovery coaches: Houston and Dallas. Still choosing treatment? See addiction treatment in Texas, by city, or answer four quick questions.