Dallas City Council considers defining short-term rentals as lodging, banning them in most neighborhoods

DALLAS - Dallas residents packed city council chambers to speak for and against a proposal that could eliminate the vast majority of short-term rentals in the city.

The proposed ordinance would define them as "lodging." It means any home in a neighborhood zoned only for residential use can't be listed on Airbnb or sites like it. 

People wearing shirts reading "homes not hotels" packed Dallas City Council chambers Tuesday. 

Homeowners urged council members to adopt what is being dubbed the "KISS" or keep it simple solution. 

 In this photo illustration an Airbnb logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The proposal recommended by the city plan commission would make short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo illegal in areas zoned residential, but they would remain legal in areas zoned for hotels and similar lodging. 

Many homeowners, like Tim Sigler, who we spoke with two years ago shared nightmare experiences. 

"Over the past three years, I've been offered drugs and sexual services in my front yard with my kids around," he said. "I’ve called police, 311. No one ever comes out. 311 is always short-staffed."

Owners of short-term rentals defended themselves saying the badly run rentals should not ruin it for those who work hard to be good hosts. 

If Dallas does not ban short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, the city would consider regulating them. 

One council member asked Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia if his department has the resources to regulate an estimated 5,000 short-term rentals.

"If you are asking my opinion, no it's not a good use of resources where we are right now," he said.

A city analysis shows nearly 90% of all STRs have generated no calls.

And STR properties only represent about 1% of total residential properties in the city.

Five council members expressed interest in moving forward with a vote next week on the rezoning proposal. While others who said they were open to vote still wanted more information.