Dallas has received 160 complaints about short-term rentals this year
DALLAS - Short-term rentals in Dallas continue to upend once-peaceful neighborhoods.
On Monday, Dallas City Council members learned the city has received 160 complaints about rentals in the year after Dallas passed an ordinance aimed to end the rentals in most single-family neighborhoods.
That ordinance is currently on hold because of a lawsuit.
Massive party at West Dallas home raises concerns about short-term rentals
Video shows a seemingly endless stream of people leaving them home on Ivanhoe Lane after police arrived on Saturday night.
"There's very much still open drug use, noise at all hours of the day and night, people coming up to neighbors homes trying to get in the front door, disrupting their children from their sleep, etc. So this problem persists," said Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis.
Willis says there is a new problem in her district, short-term rentals being used as illegal event centers.
The city says its main recourse right now is to send letters to the owners urging them to register, which would require them to pay hotel occupancy taxes.
"Currently, we just continue to send the notices and that's really all that we're doing," said a member of Dallas city staff.
Dallas City Councilman Adam Bazaldua questioned if things will get better if the city is allowed to enforce its new ordinance, known as Chapter 42B.
Staff members say it would allow them to add some teeth behind enforcement for nuisance behaviors like trash accumulation and parking violations.
Without the court injunction, that would also include issuing citations to the property owner and the renter.
"Code compliance would have the authority to do that itself. It wouldn't need to require DPD's presence or for them to be there for us to be able to issue those citations," said the city staff member.
Councilman Chad West questioned if the city should bring the ordinance back for reconsideration.
"This current ordinance that we passed, it punishes everybody, the good operators and the bad ones. It's put several small business owners in my district out of business, including housekeepers and folks of that nature. And that piece is never discussed. We just talk about the problems," West said.
The city is appealing the temporary injunction and waiting for oral arguments to be set.
It is possible the city will be able to make its case to a judge next month.