Dallas Plan Commission Approves ‘Keep it Simple Solution’ to Ban Short-Term Rentals From Neighborhoods

Members of the Dallas City Plan Commission decided in a split vote Thursday to define short-term rentals as a lodging use and limit them to areas where such uses are allowed, thereby prohibiting short-term rentals from residential areas. 

Over the course of the nine-hour meeting, there was talk of enforcing regulations against “bad actors,” allowing STRs by right, allowing them by specific use permit, or outright banning them in single-family neighborhoods. The commission heard from dozens of residents on both sides of the issue. 

CPC Vice Chair Brent Rubin attempted to amend the motion to allow STRs in some multi-family districts, but it failed.

Plan Commissioner Joanna Hampton made the motion to approve what’s been referred to as the “Keep it Simple Solution,” seconded by Deborah Carpenter. Commissioners voting against the motion included Rubin, Brandy Treadway, Tony Shidid, and Tipton Housewright.

“We’ve had due deliberation,” Hampton said. “We’ve received hundreds of letters. We’ve heard testimony today with overwhelming support for defining short-term rental as a lodging use and removing them from our residential districts.”

Short-Term Rental Policy is an Ongoing Debate

The matter of short-term rentals has been widely debated for three years in Dallas and other U.S. cities. 

The CPC is a recommending body. The matter will ultimately go before the Dallas City Council, however, the council most often accepts the recommendation of the plan commission. 

Plan commissioners held a lengthy public hearing Nov. 17 and determined then to carry forward the matter to a day-long workshop, which is what happened Thursday.

Several measures are already in place to monitor STRs but those who don’t want them in their neighborhoods say the code is not enforced in a timely manner.

STR operators are required to register with the city and pay hotel occupancy taxes. The Airbnb platform bans party houses, and Assistant City Attorney Casey Burgess said Thursday the city does not allow STR operators to rent homes to more than four unrelated adults in a single-family district. Those violating the city code can be fined up to $2,000 or prosecuted in municipal court, Burgess said. 

Dallas Zoning Committee Directs Staff to Gather More Information For Short-Term Rental Code

Short-Term Rentals in Dallas

It’s a complex matter with passionate people on both sides of the issue — taxpaying citizens who are running proper rentals and have no complaints, and longtime residents who have concerns about a brothel or sex-trafficking den operating in their neighborhood. Lodgify has a thorough breakdown of STR use in Texas, restrictions by city, and lawsuits on the matter. 

About 2,628 STRs are operating within the Dallas city limits, representing less than 1 percent of the city’s housing stock, according to data prepared by city staff at the request of City Manager T.C. Broadnax. 

Plan commissioners discussed Thursday how another dataset shows that the number of STRs in Dallas is closer to 6,000. City officials said they used the MUNIRevs vendor for its data because a contract with the city is already in place. 

More than 88 percent of STRs generated no 311 or 911 calls during 2022, city officials said. Plan commissioners pointed out that due to high response times and lack of enforcement, numerous nuisances, such as on-street parking or noise, are not reported. 

“We did look at other ordinances,” Hampton said. “We looked at other cities. We looked at other approaches. The proposed zonings as we’ve heard do not prohibit STRs. They simply define where they can operate and they give everyone certainty on how they will be utilized. They’re generally within our mixed-use commercial downtown districts. There will be [planned developments] where they will be allowed. There are multiple areas where they will be allowed. Most importantly, we honor the purpose of our residential zoning districts.”