Dallas short-term rental dispute in court Wednesday – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

The Dallas short-term rental dispute had its day in court Wednesday morning.

Most Airbnbs and VRBOs throughout the city of Dallas have been banned for over a year, but this ordinance has not been enforced.

The battle over short-term rentals began in June 2023 when the Dallas City Council passed a ban on short-term rentals in single-family neighborhoods, potentially taking more than 90% of all short-term rentals in Dallas out of circulation.

The city of Dallas passed two ordinances last June to regulate short-term rentals, limiting the number of people per bedroom to three, the number of guests to 12, limiting noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and establishing a minimum stay of two Persons limited nights.

The Dallas short-term rental dispute continues in court Wednesday. NBC 5's Evan Anderson has the details.

This regulation was later challenged in court by short-term rental operators who argued that it did not allow for grandfathering of existing operators. In December 2023, a court issued a preliminary injunction preventing the city from enforcing the ordinance while potential legal remedies were still pending.

Due to the pending legal dispute, the short-term rental operation continued.

The trial to determine whether Dallas can ban short-term rentals is set for Wednesday.

NBC 5 spoke with Dallas City Councilman Chad West in September, who said he was still getting calls about issues with short-term rentals in his district, which includes parts of Oak Cliff and Bishop Arts.

The STR code compliance program cost Dallas taxpayers $1.3 million to establish and continues to cost them $650,000 per year to operate, according to testimony from the code compliance services director.