The City of Dallas has asked for a local judge’s injunction against the City’s short-term rental ban to be overturned.
Last week, the City requested that the Fifth District Court of Appeals for the State of Texas review the case, as The Dallas Morning News reported.
In early December, a Dallas County judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the City from enforcing its ban on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, as previously covered by The Dallas Express. The City had intended to begin enforcement on December 13.
District Judge Monica Purdy scheduled a non-jury trial for June 3, 2024, but the City is now asking that her decision be reviewed and potentially overturned.
“The city of Dallas hereby gives notice of its desire to appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas the temporary injunction order signed by the court on December 6, 2023,” the City’s notice read.
City of Dallas spokesperson Jennifer Brown told The Dallas Express the City could not comment on the matter, citing pending litigation.
In June, the City passed an ordinance prohibiting short-term rentals from operating in single-family residential neighborhoods, but Judge Purdy cited the risk of “irreparable injuries” to STR owners in her decision to block the measure.
Local STR owners support the judge’s decision.
Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance board member Lisa Sievers told the DMN this week that they “look forward to showing the court of appeals the compelling record that supports the injunction against these overreaching ordinances.”
“And as we have stated many times, we stand ready to come to the table with the city to discuss fair and sensible regulations that [rein] in the few bad apples and allow the rest of us to continue to operate,” Sievers added.
Purdy argued in her order that STR owners “have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, excluding mortgages which exceed millions of dollars, into the STR industry in Dallas.”
“STR Ordinances are likely unconstitutionally oppressive in light of the alleged government interests,” Sievers continued. “The right to conduct STR activity is a vested right in Texas that is a component of home ownership.”
However, those in favor of stricter regulations on STRs have argued that STRs bring unwanted parties and crowds to otherwise peaceful neighborhoods, along with violence and drug use.
Furthermore, some argue that the City’s ordinance is perfectly legal under Texas law.
David Schwarte, attorney and co-founder of the Texas Neighborhood Coalition, was involved in the STR fight in Arlington that resulted in that municipality passing an ordinance against them in 2019, similar to Dallas’ measure.
Schwarte said Arlington’s ordinance “has withstood challenges in the trial court, in the Court of Appeals, and the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal,” per Fox 4 KDFW.
“The assumption that there was a constitutional right to a short-term rental home in a residential neighborhood, no higher court has ever held that,” Schwarte said.
