Fort Worth Can Keep Its Short-Term Rental Ban, Court Rules
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From Staff Reports
Fort Worth has scored a legal victory in the battle over short-term rentals like Airbnb or Vrbo, with a district court upholding the city’s authority to ban them on Tuesday.
The Fort Worth Report reported that a district court has ruled in favor of the City of Fort Worth in a February 2023 lawsuit challenging its short-term rental regulations. Unlike Dallas, where a court-issued injunction has temporarily blocked enforcement of its June 2023 short-term rental ban, Fort Worth has largely kept them out of residential neighborhoods. This decision comes as cities across North Texas continue grappling with the impact of short-term rentals and the legality of banning them.
The natural question here is why Fort Worth has been successful in banning STRs when Dallas hasn’t. That’s a question we’ll seek to answer in follow-up reporting, but the short answer is that the short-term rental ban was structured differently and faced less legal vulnerability.
Fort Worth’s STR ban was built into its zoning code, making it a land-use regulation. Courts have historically upheld cities’ zoning rights. In contrast, Dallas relied on a licensing or registration approach, which was more susceptible to legal challenges under state property rights laws.
When the City of Dallas passed two ordinances banning short-term rentals in June 2023, STR proponents sued and won a temporary injunction, which is still being litigated today.
While STR proponents argue they provide income opportunities for homeowners and tax revenue for the city, opponents — often longtime homeowners — cite “party houses” that elicit noise complaints, parking issues, and a revolving door of guests disrupting their communities. The court’s ruling in Fort Worth suggests that, at least for now, residential neighborhoods will remain off-limits to short-term rental operators.
The city’s zoning ordinance doesn’t allow STRs in single-family areas, and in 2023, the Fort Worth City Council passed a registration requirement for legal short-term rentals operating in multi-family, commercial, and industrial zones. The recent court ruling backs up those policies, effectively shutting down any lingering hope among STR owners looking to operate in residential neighborhoods.
The Fort Worth Short Term Rental Alliance says it will push back with legal appeals. But for now, this ruling apparently draws a firm line in the sand that short-term rentals are not welcome in neighborhoods.
