Short-Term Rentals Vex Dallas City Council

“The Dallas City Council is still struggling to find a solution to regulate short-term rentals in the city after years of complaints by constituents,” opens an editorial by the Dallas Morning News editorial board. “Because short-term rental properties are considered hotels under city code and state tax law, and property owners are required to pay hotel occupancy taxes, they only remove housing units from the market, infuriate residents, and further compound Dallas’ acute housing shortage,” the board writes.

“City council member Omar Narvaez said some short-term rentals in his district illegally host large commercial events and that investors recently acquired and converted eight of 10 properties in a new townhome community in his district into STRs, creating ‘a hotel inside the middle of this residential neighborhood.’” According to the article, “The city has stated that at least 1,174 short-term rental units pay hotel taxes. However, this does not include the estimated 5,000+ short-term rentals that operate under the radar and are paying no tax at all, nor does the city have a firm handle on all complaints regarding short-term rentals” And due to a “regulatory gap,” STRs are not prohibited in residential neighborhoods.

The article notes that City Manager T.C. Broadnax “has promised the council members that city staffers will present key elements of a new short-term rental ordinance in June, along with an option for the council to devise zoning requirements for short-term rentals.”