A Dallas County judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the city's regulations on short-term rentals.
In her order, Judge Monica Purdy sided with STR operators who say the new rules — set to be enforced next week — “blatantly violate the state constitution.”
After months of discussions, the City of Dallas approved regulations in June blocking STRs like VRBO and AirBnb from single-family neighborhoods. The operators must also register listings with the city, obtain a property inspection and certificate of occupancy and pay fees.
The Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance and other plaintiffs say the ordinance would ban 90% of rentals and “punitively regulat[e] the few that may remain.”
The city argued in a brief last month that Dallas “has been inundated in recent years by the rapid proliferation of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.”
“As investors rushed into the STR market, Dallas experienced a rapid influx of STRs in single-family neighborhoods, which effectively converted long-term housing into mini hotels lodging transient occupants.”
Some residents who supported the ban say the rentals were a nuisance in their neighborhoods.
But Judge Purdy said the city’s regulations would cause “irreparable harm” to the plaintiffs.
“They have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, excluding mortgages which exceed millions of dollars, into the STR industry in Dallas,” Purdy wrote in her order. “…The right to conduct STR activity is a vested right in Texas that is a component of home ownership.”
The city told KERA in a written statement that its considering its options regarding the judge's order.
"In the meantime, the City will continue enforcement of its existing ordinances governing minimum property standards, disturbing noises, and private nuisances," said the statement.
A trial to hear the case is scheduled for June 3, 2024.
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