A lower court’s decision that blocked the City of Dallas from enforcing an ordinance restricting short-term rentals was upheld in an appeals court.
The decision means that, for now, short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO can continue operating in areas that the ordinance covered, namely neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes.
Dallas has been grappling with short-term rental oversight for years. In 2023, the Dallas City Council voted to amend the City code to prohibit STRs in residential neighborhoods.
Legal challenges, however, have prevented the rules from being enforced. In October 2023, the Dallas Short Term Rental Alliance sued the City, arguing that the restrictions were unconstitutional and discriminated against STR owners and operators. District Court Judge Monica Purdy agreed in a December 2023 ruling.
The City appealed, arguing the trial court abused its discretion when permitting STR owners to continue renting their properties. The City also claimed the Short Term Rental Alliance likely failed to pay adequate hotel occupancy taxes. However, no evidence was presented to support the claim.
The appeals court ultimately upheld the trial court’s finding that STR operators who filed the suit have a “substantial risk of probable, imminent and irreparable injuries to plaintiffs because plaintiffs, and the vast majority of other STR owners in Dallas, will immediately lose the ability to lease their property for less than 30 days,” per WFAA.
Opponents of STRs point to problems around frequent disturbances, noise violations, and even violence. In one instance in a neighborhood on Valley Ridge Road, the Dallas Police Department responded to a shooting at a house party in 2023 where over one hundred people were in attendance.
On the other side, supporters, like District 1 Council Member Chad West, say STRs provide residents and the City a valuable source of income. City officials say roughly 2,000 active short-term rentals in Dallas generated $4 million in Hotel Occupancy Taxes between June 2023 and August 2024.