City of Dallas still struggling to develop regulations for short-term rentals

DALLAS - The city of Dallas is still trying to develop regulations for short-term rentals like Airbnbs. 

City leaders have been working on this issue for years following resident complaints about party houses causing noise issues and, at times, even involving shootings. 

Currently, there’s still no formal registration or enforcement process in place for short-term rentals, which continue to go on largely unregulated. 

The city of Dallas still can’t seem to find a solution to a problem that’s been brewing between frustrated residents and short-term rental operators and owners.  

Still no agreement made from Dallas City Council on how to regulate short-term rentals

"This is not an anti-this or anti-that. This is to fix a problem that seems to have been going on for three years," said Councilwoman Paula Blackmon.

The issue has been a point of contention for years as residents complain about noise and party houses. 

"There’s a reason we do not allow for you to have a hotel in the middle of your single-family neighborhood," said Councilman Omar Narvaez.

City leaders are considering whether to continue allowing short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.

According to some council members, residents who’ve given input have been overwhelmingly against the idea. But short-term rental owners and operators say they shouldn’t be punished for a few bad actors. 

Since October 2020, city employees say they’ve received almost 80 311 complaints about 50 addresses. Although, some city council members say the number of complaints is much higher in the hundreds.

Dallas short-term rentals recommendations coming despite concerns of some council members

"When you have 99.9% of residents in the city of Dallas that are saying they do not want these in their single-family neighborhood, I’m going to stand with the neighbors and the residents of the city of Dallas," Narvaez said. 

And there are other issues to consider, including the process of revoking a license, considering if current short-term rentals should be grandfathered in and concerns about enforcement.

"We just don’t have the code presence to be able to police 5000 STRs," Councilman Paul Ridley said. "The platforms do, and they’re a more effective mechanism for collecting contacts."

Tuesday. the committee tabled the idea of having a moratorium on registering new short-term rentals as the city continues to work on possible regulations. 

"They’re getting worse every day," said Mayor Pro-Tem Chad West. "We’re getting more and more complaints, and we cannot afford to just keep delaying this indefinitely." 

The issue will go to the full city council for a briefing and discussion at a later date.