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District 1 Short Term Rentals Survey
Statement from Councilmember Chad West:
For more than 5 years, the City of Dallas has attempted to draft short-term rental (STR) regulations. I recall at least 4 task forces working on this issue, including the most recent one, which I co-chaired. The efforts have been unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, including lack of political will and the complexity of the issue.
This is a politically divisive issue, compounded by the complexity of regulations available for STRs and numerous types of STR units on the market (multi-family, shared-rooms, back houses, corporate-owned single family STRs). There are loud and passionate voices across the city, and there are advocates seeking everything from a complete ban of STRs to zero regulations.
Thus, it is essential for me to understand the will of District 1’s constituents. Thank you in advance for taking the time necessary to participate in this survey and shed light on the will of our neighborhoods.
What is a Short-Term Rental (STR)?
There is no uniform definition for a short-term rental from city to city.
However, the definitions of STRs from one city to the next do share some characteristics. Those definitions tend to define an STR as a unit (or units) that are:
- One or more units rented out for fewer than 30-days at a time,
- May or may not be located in what would typically be considered a single family home,
- May or may not be, but typically listed for rental on an online platform such as Airbnb or VRBO.
The Dallas City Plan Commission (CPC) recently recommended that the City of Dallas define short-term rental lodging as:
A full or partial building – containing one or more kitchens, one or more bathrooms,
and one or more bedrooms -- that is rented to occupants for fewer than 30 consecutive days per rental period.
Procedural History
On June 15, 2022, the Dallas City Council tasked the CPC with determining where in the City short-term rentals could operate.
The CPC recently recommended that the City define STRs as a lodging use and limit them to areas where such uses are allowed, thereby prohibiting STRs from residentially zoned districts.
The CPC recommended the use of short-term rentals in the following districts:
- Moderate Office
- General Office
- Central Area (downtown)
- Mixed Use
- Multiple Commercial
- Urban Corridor
Timeline
The City Council’s Quality of Life Committee will pick up the STR regulations and zoning discussion in the coming months. I expect that the full City Council will consider this item to be considered by summer 2023, if not sooner.
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