Appeals court allows short-term rentals in Dallas until legal battle is decided

DALLAS - Short-term rental operators can continue to operate in Dallas residential neighborhoods after a court of appeals ruled in their favor.

Dallas short-term rental ban blocked again

What's new:

On Friday, the state court of appeals upheld a temporary injunction granted by a lower court.

That means Airbnbs and other short-term rental homes are still allowed in Dallas neighborhoods despite a 2023 city ordinance banning them.

Dallas short-term rental debate

The backstory:

In 2023, the city of Dallas passed an ordinance banning short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods like Jason Wanderscheid’s neighborhood in West Dallas.

"You know, your windows rattle. I’ve also got a dog. She’s not too terribly happy with that as well. I mean, it’s impossible to sleep," he told FOX 4 after police broke up a Labor Day party. "Especially during the holidays, you hold your breath, hoping that there’s not going to be another party."

Big picture view:

Attorney David Coale represents the Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance and argues the city’s ordinance is too sweeping.

"Ninety plus percent of short-term rentals were just going to end, and that is a big impact on a lot of people that just doesn’t match up with the evidence that they have in this record about the problems," he said.

The other side:

The Texas Neighborhood Coalition argues the bigger impact is on people forced to live next to the rentals.

"No sensible person would argue that hotels and motels have the right to invade residential neighborhoods," said David Schwarte, the organization’s co-founder. "And in fact, they’re worse than hotels because they’re unstaffed. And they have no one on site to check bad behavior before it gets out of control."

Schwarte helped the city of Arlington craft an ordinance restricting short-term rentals that has withstood court challenges.

"The parties are just the tip of the iceberg. The real problem is the destruction of the fabric of the neighborhood as long-term residents that folks knew and trusted are replaced by a revolving door of strangers," he said.

The legal battle continues

What's next:

Coale said the ball is now in the city’s court.

Dallas can choose to appeal the ruling to the Texas Supreme Court or focus on going to trial for the ordinance itself.

Schwarte emphasized this ruling against Dallas is specific to the temporary injunction, and not whether the ordinance itself is legal.

He predicts that at trial, the Short-Term Rental Alliance will have "an extraordinary burden" to prove Dallas’s ordinance had no rational basis.

"We think that the city has more than ample evidence to win this case at trial, and we would urge them to move forward, post haste, and throw all the resources at it that they need," he said.

The city of Dallas would not comment on the ruling because of the pending litigation.