STRs Can Keep Operating in Dallas, Appeals Court Says

2/12/2025

An appeals court has ruled that Dallas cannot enforce two ordinances banning the operation short-term rentals (STRs) in some parts of the city, affirming a trials court’s decision last year. The court found that the plaintiffs — a group of STR operators in Dallas — would face “irreparable injury" if the city went ahead with enforcing the ordinances, which would ban rentals in single-family residential neighborhoods. Writing an accompanying opinion for the Fifth Court of Appeals, Judge Yvonne Rodriguez pointed to the plain language of the ordinances, which state they "take effect immediately” — in possible violation of the plaintiffs’ property rights while the case moved forward. “This evidence supports the trial court’s finding that without injunctive relief, appellees would suffer probable, imminent, and irreparable injury to their vested property rights,” Rodriguez wrote in the opinion.

KERA News (02/10/25) Penelope Rivera