# Short-term rental rules in Dallas, TX - Status: **LIGHTLY REGULATED** - Last verified: 2026-07-17 (every legal claim checked against the official sources listed below) - Canonical page: https://strwatch.ai/dallas-tx/ ## Summary Dallas passed two short-term rental (STR) ordinances on June 14, 2023: a ZONING ordinance (amending Chapters 51/51A of the Dallas Development Code) that makes STR lodging a permitted use only in multifamily, mixed-use, central-area, office, commercial and urban-corridor districts and effectively bans it from single-family residential neighborhoods; and a REGISTRATION ordinance (new City Code Chapter 42B) requiring annual registration ($404/yr, reinspection $234), inspection, a 24/7 local responsible party, a 2-night minimum stay, occupancy of 3 persons per bedroom capped at 12, and one STR per rentable unit. However, BOTH ordinances are currently UNENFORCEABLE: a Dallas County district court entered a temporary injunction on December 6, 2023 barring enforcement, and the Fifth Court of Appeals affirmed that injunction in a memorandum opinion issued July 18, 2025 (No. 05-23-01309-CV, disposition reversed-and-affirmed-in-part), finding the challengers likely to succeed on their constitutional/due-course-of-law claims. The City filed a petition for review with the Texas Supreme Court on October 16, 2025 (pending as of 2026-07-17), seeking to enforce the ban before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. So TODAY a host may legally operate an STR anywhere in Dallas, including single-family neighborhoods, without STR-specific registration; the only rules actually enforced are the City's pre-existing hotel occupancy tax (7% City + 6% State), minimum property standards, noise, and nuisance codes (per the City's own Code Compliance page). If the injunction is lifted, the on-books de facto ban and Chapter 42B registration regime would spring back into effect. ## At a glance - Unhosted whole-home rental: Yes - Hosted rental (host present): Yes - Primary residence required: No - Guest cap: 12 guests - Rules apply to stays under: 30 days Notes: ENFORCEABLE TODAY: STRs may operate in any zoning district, including single-family, because enforcement of both 2023 STR ordinances is enjoined (temporary injunction 12/6/2023, affirmed by Fifth Court of Appeals 7/18/2025, No. 05-23-01309-CV; City's petition for review pending at Texas Supreme Court, filed 10/16/2025). ON THE BOOKS BUT ENJOINED: the zoning ordinance (Ch. 51/51A amendment, passed 6/14/2023) permits STR lodging by-right only in multifamily (MF-1 through MF-4), mixed-use (MU-1/2/3), central-area (CA-1/2), office (MO/GO), commercial and urban-corridor districts and bans it from single-family districts; the registration ordinance (Ch. 42B, passed 6/14/2023) caps occupancy at 3 persons per bedroom / 12 total, sets a 2-night minimum stay, limits one STR per rentable unit, and requires one off-street parking space per STR bedroom. Neither ordinance imposes a primary-residence requirement. STR is defined as renting for fewer than 30 consecutive days (or one month, whichever is less). ## Requirements ### Hotel Occupancy Tax registration (STRs treated as hotels) (registration) - Authority: City of Dallas, City Controller's Office - Special Collections Unit (Hotel Occupancy Tax) - Cost: No stated registration fee; tax is 7% of net room receipts - Renewal: Registration form kept on file; updated on ownership/management/name change - Official source: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/controllersoffice/DCH%20Documents/pdf/PDF-Short%20Term%20Rental.pdf - Notes: CURRENTLY ENFORCED (not part of the enjoined 2023 ordinances). Every STR must register and remit HOT via dallas.munirevs.com. City Code Article V, Hotel Occupancy Tax governs. Registered STRs must also obtain a state HOT number (Texas Comptroller). ### Short-Term Rental Registration (City Code Chapter 42B) (registration) - Authority: City of Dallas, Code Compliance Services - Cost: $404.00 per year (annual registration fee; initial inspection included) - Renewal: Annual; reinspection fee $234.00 if property must be reinspected - Official source: http://citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com/resolutions/2023/06-14-23/23-0833.pdf - Notes: ENJOINED / NOT CURRENTLY ENFORCED per the City's Code Compliance STR page (temporary injunction 12/6/2023). Chapter 42B (added by ordinance passed 6/14/2023) requires: complete application, proof of ownership, certificate of occupancy, HOT registration number, a designated Local Responsible Party contactable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, passing a property inspection, and posting the registration and certificate of occupancy. Operational limits: max occupancy 3 persons/bedroom capped at 12 total; minimum allowable rental period 2 nights; no more than one STR per rentable unit. Two-strikes provision (two or more citations in the preceding year). Fee figure ($404/$234) is from the enacted 2023 ordinance PDF; the currently codified amount on the amLegal code library may have been amended (see needs_review). ### Zoning / land-use compliance for STR lodging (Chapters 51 & 51A, Dallas Development Code) (permit) - Authority: City of Dallas, Planning & Urban Design / Planning & Development - Cost: not verified - Official source: http://citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com/resolutions/2023/06-14-23/23-0844.pdf - Notes: ENJOINED / NOT CURRENTLY ENFORCED. Ordinance passed 6/14/2023 amending Chapter 51 (Ord. 10962) and Chapter 51A (Ord. 19455) to create a 'Short-term rental lodging' use permitted by-right only in MF-1 through MF-4 multifamily, MU-1/2/3 mixed-use, CA-1/2 central-area, MO/GO office, commercial and urban-corridor districts, and NOT in single-family residential districts (effectively a ban there). Requires a certificate of occupancy in a district where the use is permitted and one off-street parking space per STR bedroom. Penalty up to $2,000. Because of the injunction, STRs currently operate in single-family districts notwithstanding this ordinance. ## Taxes - **City of Dallas Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT)**: 7% of net room receipts — applies to Short-term rentals (defined as hotels for HOT purposes) rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days; platform collects: not verified. Source: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/controllersoffice/DCH%20Documents/pdf/PDF-Short%20Term%20Rental.pdf - **Texas State Hotel Occupancy Tax**: 6% of the cost of a room — applies to Short-term rentals / hotels statewide (stays under 30 days); platform collects: yes. Source: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/hotel/ ## Enforcement - Penalties: On the books but ENJOINED: Chapter 42B (registration) violations are punishable by a fine not to exceed $500; the zoning ordinance (Ch. 51/51A) carries a penalty not to exceed $2,000. Enforcement of both STR ordinances has been barred since the 12/6/2023 temporary injunction. Currently enforceable: HOT tax liabilities, fines, penalties and interest for non-payment; minimum property standards (Chapter 27); disturbing-noise and private-nuisance ordinances; and habitual-nuisance-property designation under Chapter 27. - Platform liability: The enjoined Chapter 42B names hosting platforms among regulated parties, but no STR-specific platform liability is enforceable today due to the injunction. Platforms do collect the 6% Texas state HOT. - Notes: Per the City of Dallas Code Compliance short-term rentals page (Wayback snapshot 2026-07-03): 'On December 6, 2023, a temporary injunction was filed prohibiting the enforcement of the two short-term rental ordinances. In the meantime, the City will continue enforcement of its existing ordinances.' The Fifth Court of Appeals affirmed the injunction (memorandum opinion 7/18/2025, No. 05-23-01309-CV); City filed a petition for review with the Texas Supreme Court on 10/16/2025 (pending). ## Pending changes - City of Dallas v. Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance (No. 05-23-01309-CV): Fifth Court of Appeals affirmed the temporary injunction barring enforcement of both 2023 STR ordinances in a memorandum opinion issued 7/18/2025 (disposition reversed-and-affirmed-in-part). The City filed a Petition for Review in the Texas Supreme Court on 10/16/2025, which remains pending. If the Supreme Court lifts the injunction, the single-family-district ban and Chapter 42B registration regime would become enforceable. (effective-date-pending, 2025-10-16) — https://search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=05-23-01309-CV&coa=coa05 - City leaders are pushing to reinstate and enforce the 2023 STR ban ahead of the June 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing the need for enforcement authority; the Texas Supreme Court had not ruled as of mid-2026. (proposed, 2025-10-22) — https://www.keranews.org/business-economy/2025-10-22/dallas-wants-scotx-to-lift-a-block-on-its-short-term-rentals-ban-before-2026-fifa-world-cup ## Not yet verified (we say so instead of guessing) - Registration fee: the enacted 2023 ordinance PDF (City Secretary item 23-0833) states $404.00/yr and a $234.00 reinspection fee. Secondary summaries of the currently codified Chapter 42B (amLegal) report a lower figure ($248 / $144 reinspection), suggesting a possible post-2023 fee amendment. The amLegal code library is Cloudflare-gated and could not be directly fetched to confirm the current codified fee. Moot while the ordinance is enjoined, but verify against amLegal 42B-5 before publishing. - City Code Compliance STR page was read via an Internet Archive capture (snapshot 2026-07-03) of the official URL because the live dallascityhall.com pages timed out / had TLS errors during this task. The injunction-notice text was verbatim from that snapshot. - Fifth Court of Appeals 7/18/2025 memorandum opinion disposition is 'reversed and affirmed in part' per the official txcourts.gov docket; the exact portion reversed vs. affirmed was not read from the opinion PDF. News sources characterize the net result as the temporary injunction being affirmed (STRs continue operating). The opinion PDF itself was not fetched. - City of Dallas 7% HOT: whether Airbnb/Vrbo collect and remit the City (local) HOT on behalf of Dallas STR hosts was not confirmed on an official source (set to null). State 6% HOT platform collection is set true based on the Comptroller's general guidance that third-party rental companies may be responsible; the specific Airbnb/Vrbo state-collection arrangement was not confirmed on an official page in this task. - Specific assigned ordinance numbers for the two 6/14/2023 ordinances were not confirmed from the official PDFs (headers were OCR-garbled); cited by City Secretary agenda item numbers (23-0833 registration/Ch.42B, 23-0844 zoning/Ch.51-51A) and effective date instead. - Zoning: any per-structure density cap on STR units within multifamily/mixed-use buildings (secondary sources mention a ~3% or 20-unit threshold) was not verified from the official ordinance text; the ordinance references a density limit but the exact percentage was not confirmed. ## Sources - City of Dallas Code Compliance - Short-Term Rentals (injunction notice; Wayback snapshot 2026-07-03 of official page) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://dallascityhall.com/departments/codecompliance/short-term-rentals/Pages/default.aspx - Enacted ordinance adding City Code Chapter 42B, Short-Term Rentals (passed 6/14/2023) - City Secretary PDF (official, accessed 2026-07-17): http://citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com/resolutions/2023/06-14-23/23-0833.pdf - Enacted ordinance amending Chapters 51 & 51A (STR lodging zoning; passed 6/14/2023) - City Secretary PDF (official, accessed 2026-07-17): http://citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com/resolutions/2023/06-14-23/23-0844.pdf - City of Dallas Controller's Office - Short-Term Rentals (Hotel Occupancy Tax), 7% City HOT (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://dallascityhall.com/departments/controllersoffice/DCH%20Documents/pdf/PDF-Short%20Term%20Rental.pdf - Texas Comptroller - Hotel Occupancy Tax (6% state rate) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/hotel/ - Texas Courts docket - City of Dallas v. Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance, No. 05-23-01309-CV (opinion 7/18/2025; petition for review filed 10/16/2025) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=05-23-01309-CV&coa=coa05 - Dallas City Code Chapter 42B (Short-Term Rentals) - American Legal Publishing code library (Cloudflare-gated; not directly fetched) (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-130547 - KERA News - Dallas wants SCOTX to lift block on short-term rental ban before 2026 FIFA World Cup (news, accessed 2026-07-17): https://www.keranews.org/business-economy/2025-10-22/dallas-wants-scotx-to-lift-a-block-on-its-short-term-rentals-ban-before-2026-fifa-world-cup - Spectrum News - Dallas short-term rental battle goes to Texas Supreme Court (news, accessed 2026-07-17): https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2025/11/17/dallas-short-term-rental-battle- - Dallas Observer - Dallas Short-Term Rental Owners Win in Court Again, Keep Operating (news, accessed 2026-07-17): https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-short-term-rental-owners-win-again-keep-operating-21728205/ --- Educational information, not legal advice. Published by STRWatch (Laniakea Technologies LLC).