The maximum number of short-term rentals allowed in Lewisville has been set at 130 while city officials continue to gather public feedback and research potential regulations.

What you need to know

Lewisville City Council members approved the cap during a March 3 meeting, a day before the city’s year-long interim ban on new short-term rentals is scheduled to lift. After council action, up to 40 new short-term rentals can apply for an operational permit with the city.

There are currently 90 permitted short-term rentals that are operating in Lewisville, according to a staff memo. The new cap aims to maintain a balanced growth rate and prevent oversaturation, the memo states.

The ordinance passed by council took effect immediately on March 3.

By the numbers

As of Feb. 25, 71% of the 743 people responding to a city survey supported limiting the number of short-term rental permits issued in Lewisville. The survey was open through Feb. 28 after city officials launched it earlier in the month.

The number of short-term rentals allowed in Lewisville represents 0.5% of all residential parcels in city limits. The majority of them are located in residential zoning districts, according to a staff presentation.City officials began tracking short-term rentals in 2020. Between January 2020 and June 2024, short-term rentals had increased from 51 to 121, according to the staff memo. That number fell to 90 after council passed new regulations in January 2024 requiring a short-term rental operator to acquire a permit.

Over the last year, city staff have identified 37 properties that began operating as short-term rentals in violation of the interim ban, according to the staff memo. Without the ban, the number of short-term rentals in Lewisville could have increased from 90 to 127 properties.

Stay tuned

Staff are expected to continue researching additional short-term rentals for the council to consider. Council members discussed three types of density-based regulations during a Feb. 21 retreat.

Density-based regulations can come in the form of minimum distance requirements between each permitted short-term rental or a cap on the number of permitted short-term rentals within a single block.

City staff presented three types of density regulations with examples of how that could look in Lewisville:

• Per block (practiced by Euless and San Marcos)
• Per block face (practiced by Corpus Christi and San Antonio)
• Minimum distance (practiced by Austin and Denton)

Each regulation type received some interest from at least one council member.

City staff are expected to undergo a public input process that can take four to five months before the results are brought to council.