City staff on May 4 provided a briefing to Dallas City Council on multiple approaches to managing short-term rentals in the city. Recommendations from a short-term rental task force were shared alongside a summary of the process for a zoning code amendment.
A short-term rental includes rooms, whole houses, condominiums and apartments that rent daily or weekly for less than 30 days, according to the city. Providers such as Airbnb and Vrbo allow tourists to book lodging online.
“Short-term rentals have grown in popularity. They represent additional, potential city revenue for our city,” said Andres Espinoza, interim director of code compliance services. “It reinforces the thought that folks can come visit Dallas and have a choice besides a formal hotel.”
Dallas does not have a formal short-term rental registration ordinance, according to the presentation. As of April 14, there are 1,174 active short-term rentals paying hotel-occupancy taxes.
Espinoza said the city has had challenges identifying all short-term rentals in Dallas, adding that there could potentially be around 1,200 unregistered short-term rentals.
Since October 2020, a total of 112 complaints at 69 locations were received regarding short-term rentals in Dallas. However, Espinoza said more complaints related to short-term rentals could exist.
Recommendations from the task force to amend city code include those listed below.
- Identify a person who can respond within one hour to contact occupants about complaints.
- Provide guests with a local contact person, safety plan and “good neighbor” requirements.
- Require annual notification to property owners within 100 feet of a short-term rental and 24/7 contact information for short-term rentals.
- Establish an online annual permit fee and require registration prior to advertisement on a short-term rental platform.
- Require permit number that will be in all ads and be posted publicly in the rental unit.
- Set occupancy limits to no more than three people per bedroom.
- The short-term rental owner must reside in Dallas County.
- Set strict noise limits after 10 p.m. and prohibit amplified sound at any hour.
- Prohibit events, such as parties, weddings and catered events.
- Apply the “habitual” nuisance ordinance standards (occupancy, noise and other code violations) for problem properties.
- Seek agreements with major short-term rental listing platforms to comply with hotel occupancy tax requirements.
- Prohibit on-premise advertising as a short-term rental.
Zoning code amendments to limit where short-term rentals can exist were also discussed. That process could take up to two years for a single amendment, according to the presentation, but City Manager TC Broadnax said the process could be expedited to six months.
Most comments from council members indicated the desire for regulations. Suggested changes to the recommendations included allowing short-term rental owners to reside in other counties within Dallas city limits. Several questions were fielded to city staff for hours over how the city currently manages short-term rentals.
“I’d like a fast track ... to hold everybody accountable, including the platforms and the operators,” District 9 City Council Member Paula Blackmon said.
Airbnb sent a letter to Mayor Eric Johnson and City Council ahead of the May 4 meeting underscoring a commitment to work with the city on quality of life concerns.
Among Airbnb goals listed in the letter were collaboration with Dallas on a simplified city registration system to provide “much needed information” to deter bad actors from continuing to operate. Dallas currently offers an online portal for short-term rental owners to register their property.
The company also said it can collect hotel-occupancy taxes at the point of sale to ensure all necessary taxes are paid. Airbnb said that process is working well in other cities across Texas.
“We remain as committed as ever to working with you to balance the property rights of those who choose to short-term rent their property with the quality of life concerns of neighbors,” said Luis Briones, Airbnb public policy lead, in the letter. “We encourage you to take sensible action that reflects the hard work that has gone into this topic.”
City staff will continue to collect feedback from council members and begin drafting a short-term rental ordinance, according to the presentation.
“We can focus on this as long as there’s some consideration about staffing, but ... other projects in the pipeline may be delayed,” Broadnax said. “Council’s will is where we bend, and we will do what we have to do.”
