What are impact fees in New Braunfels?
They are charges on new development that help pay for the extra infrastructure growth needs. New Braunfels Utilities and the City’s 2026 Roadway Impact Fee Study both describe impact fees as charges on new development that help fund the infrastructure that growth makes necessary. For the City’s roadway fee, that means added road capacity.
Both describe the same idea in nearly the same words. NBU says it believes growth should pay for growth, and the City’s study describes its maximum fee as the amount that is equivalent for growth paying for growth.
Three fees, two agencies
When you look at a new build, it helps to keep straight who handles what, because the questions go to different places:
| Fee | Handled by | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Water impact fee | New Braunfels Utilities | NBU’s impact fees page |
| Wastewater impact fee | New Braunfels Utilities | NBU’s impact fees page |
| Roadway impact fee | City of New Braunfels | The City’s Roadway Impact Fees page and 2026 study |
The rest of this post leans on the roadway fee, because the City’s page and its 2026 study both spell out when it is charged. For the water and wastewater fees, NBU’s impact fees page is the place to start, and NBU is the place to ask about a specific lot.
I would treat impact fees like the lot premium when you compare two new homes. Find out who paid them and whether they are in the number you are looking at. A builder who can answer that cleanly is making your comparison easier.
My suggestion is to raise this on your first visit. When a builder walks you through the base price, the lot and the upgrades, ask whether impact fees are accounted for in that price. If a fee was missed or changes later, you would rather have that conversation before you sign.
When are impact fees charged on a new home?
Early in the building process. The City’s Roadway Impact Fees page says the roadway impact fee is assessed at the time of platting and paid at the time of each building permit application. The City’s 2026 study describes the timing a little differently: the fee is assessed when a final plat is approved and collected when a building permit is issued.
That means the roadway fee on a new build is tied to two steps, platting the lot and the building permit. Ask your builder where your lot stands on each step and how those charges were handled.
Questions I would ask on a new build
The builder holds most of these answers, so these questions go to the builder:
- Has the building permit for your lot been applied for or issued?
- Were the roadway, water and wastewater impact fees paid on your lot, and by whom?
- Are those fees included in your base price, or listed as a separate line?
- If the permit has not been issued yet, what happens to your price if fees change first?
- Does the price sheet or contract list any utility connection, meter or deposit costs you will pay yourself?
- If the lot sits outside city limits, which utility will serve it, and does that provider charge its own fees?
I would ask these on the first visit, not after you have picked a floor plan. The sales office may not know every answer on the spot, and that is fine. What you want is a written answer from the builder before you are under contract, so you are not guessing at closing.
Keep the answers with your contract. When you compare two builders, line the answers up side by side so you are comparing the same things. My new construction page is a good place to start comparing builds.
What about a resale home?
If you are buying an existing home, I would put the impact fee question to your plans. Are you thinking about adding a unit, converting a garage into living space or splitting a lot after you close? Ask NBU and the City’s planning staff whether that work would bring a permit, a new connection or an impact fee before you count on it in your budget.
Timing helps here. Write those plans down during the option period and get your questions in while you can still change course. Your agent can help you decide which answers you need before the option period ends.
How are roadway impact fee amounts set?
Through a study and a City Council decision. The City’s 2026 study determines a maximum roadway impact fee, and the collected fee the Council sets can be less than that maximum. The City’s Roadway Impact Fees page shows the Council setting collected fees as a percentage of the maximum assessable fees.
So the roadway fee on a lot comes from a Council decision, with the study’s maximum as the reference point. You do not need to read the whole study to buy well. It is enough to know that a change is a Council decision you can ask about. The City’s roadway program is organized by service areas: its 2026 study divides New Braunfels into service areas and includes a service area map, and the City’s Roadway Impact Fees page links a Service Area Map as well. Ask the builder which roadway service area your lot is in and what fee applied when the permit was pulled.
What to ask about the 2026 roadway study
The City has a new 2026 roadway impact fee study. If you are looking at a lot that is still waiting on a permit, ask the builder whether that study or any NBU fee change affects your home, and ask the builder to put the answer in your file.
A fee update is a reason to ask one more pricing question before you sign. If the builder tells you the fees for your lot were already paid, ask that the price sheet or contract say so. If the permit is still ahead, ask whether your contract lets the price change for fees, and read that language with your agent or a real estate attorney before you sign. Either answer is workable. What you want to avoid is finding out at the end that the two of you understood it differently. If a builder quotes you a price in the spring and your permit is not pulled until later in the year, that gap is worth a conversation about who carries any change.
What should you settle with NBU before move-in?
Starting service. NBU’s start service page and its Service Conditions Policy both describe applying for service, which is separate from the builder’s construction-period service. These are the questions I would bring to that call:
- What deposit applies to your address? Ask how the deposit is figured for your home and how it is billed.
- Do you qualify for any deposit waiver? Ask NBU what waivers it offers and what it needs from you.
- Who serves the address? Before you call NBU, confirm the home is in its service area. My posts on New Braunfels city limits or Comal County and New Braunfels water and wastewater service cover how to check.
If you are relocating to New Braunfels on military orders, make the NBU call part of your move checklist the same week you lock in a closing date. Getting the deposit and start date questions answered early leaves one less thing for move-in day, especially if you are still at your current duty station when you close.
On a new build, it also helps to keep a single folder, paper or digital, with the builder’s written answers on fees, the permit status for your lot, your contract and your NBU start-of-service notes. When something comes up at the final walkthrough or at closing, you will have the answer in front of you instead of trying to remember who said what in a model home months earlier.
When you are budgeting the rest of the purchase, my buyer closing costs guide walks through the line items you will see at closing.
