STRWATCH.AI / TX / Dallas
Is a short-term rental legal in Dallas, TX?
LIGHTLY REGULATED
Dallas’s current STR guidance says the City is not enforcing its June 2023 registration and zoning ordinances because of a temporary injunction.
Sources checked7 open items listed below
The live City STR page defines an STR as a full or partial rentable unit rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days or one month, whichever is less, and states that enforcement of the two STR ordinances is prohibited by a temporary injunction. Ordinance 32473's occupancy limit (three people per bedroom, 12 total) and two-night minimum, and Ordinance 32482's zoning limits, are therefore on-book but enjoined rather than current operating limits. No primary-residence condition appears in either fetched ordinance. These reported injunction conditions do not establish permission under every generally applicable rule or a private lease/HOA restriction.
Permits and requirements
Hotel Occupancy Tax registration
Free
City of Dallas Controller's Office
Renewal: Report and pay monthly by the 15th of the following month; next business day when the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday. Zero-tax reports are still required.
Request a City account number and activation code, register through the City’s lodging-tax portal, and wait for registration approval before filing online. Submit a new or updated registration after an ownership, management or name change. Free tax registration is separate from the enjoined STR permit. Online zero-tax returns must complete zero-cost checkout. The current City page lists a 2% credit-card payment fee and no e-check fee; keep supporting tax records for audit. The precise retention period remains unresolved.
STR registration under Chapter 42B (enjoined)
$248 annual registration; $144 reinspection (codified fees in the enjoined regime, not an active payment instruction)
City of Dallas Code Compliance
Renewal: Expires one year after registration or upon ownership change
The City currently says this regime is not enforced. The April 2026 code shows $248 annual registration and $144 reinspection, superseding the original $404/$234 figures. Registration is separate for each rental, nonrefundable and not prorated or transferable to another property; initial inspection is included. Section 42B-6 requires owner/host/entity and responsible-party information, a City HOT number and written owner permission for a non-owner host. Application completeness is reviewed within 10 business days, with 10 business days to cure identified deficiencies. Inspection and correction precede approval; renewal inspection is waived if no Code violations were found during the prior 12 months. Application information changes must be reported within 10 days. The local responsible party must be available 24/7 and arrive within one hour of City or emergency-personnel notice; emergency contact changes require immediate notice. These provisions remain distinguished from generally enforceable property and safety rules.
STR lodging zoning compliance under Ordinance 32482 (enjoined)
Cost not verified
City of Dallas Planning and Development
The City currently says this zoning ordinance is not enforced. Its 2023 text permits STR lodging by right in MO/GO, multiple-family and central-area districts under Chapter 51, and MO(A)/GO(A), multifamily, central-area, mixed-use, multiple-commercial and urban-corridor districts under Chapter 51A; single-family districts are excluded. It requires one off-street parking space per STR bedroom and prohibits STRs in specified density-bonus multifamily structures. Chapter 42B’s related enjoined limits are one STR per rentable unit; three people per bedroom and 12 total; 3% of units in qualifying multifamily-zoned structures over 20 units, 20% in nonresidential-zoned structures over 20 units, and zero in multitenant structures of 20 units or fewer. The enjoined regime sets two-night stays, caps guest vehicles at available off-street spaces and prohibits amplified sound audible beyond the property line from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Ads must disclose registration, occupancy, sound, vehicle, parking and stay limits. Other commercial uses require their own permitted zoning and certificate of occupancy. Do not treat these suspended limits as a substitute for current parcel review.
The full picture
Dallas’s current STR guidance says the City is not enforcing its June 2023 registration and zoning ordinances because of a temporary injunction. Existing property-standard, noise and nuisance rules and hotel-tax obligations still apply. The Texas Supreme Court docket shows merits briefing continuing, with a reply due September 14, 2026; no final disposition is shown in the docket reviewed September 7. The 2023 ordinance details below describe the suspended regime, not an active STR permit application process.
Taxes on guests & hosts
| Tax | Rate | Applies to | Platform collects | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Dallas Hotel Occupancy Tax | 9% of net room receipts | Dallas lodging, including STRs: 9% of room consideration, including cleaning and readying the space, excluding food and unrelated personal services and other governments’ room taxes. A permanent-resident exemption requires at least 30 consecutive days without interrupted payment and a letter of intent. Some Texas state exemptions do not exempt City HOT; qualifying certificate exemptions require the state certificate and City eligibility. Timely reports/payments qualify for the City page’s 1% tax discount. The City expressly reports no collection agreement with any platform, including Airbnb or Vrbo; owners/operators/managers must register and pay. | No | source |
| Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax | 6% of room cost | Taxable sleeping accommodations costing $15 or more per day, including houses and apartments. Permanent-resident exemption requires at least 30 consecutive days; advance written notice allows exemption from notification, while without notice the first 30 days remain taxable. An interruption defeats the exemption. | Not verified | source |
Enforcement
PenaltiesDallas’s current public guidance says enforcement of the two 2023 STR ordinances remains prohibited. Their original texts provide fine ceilings of $500 for registration-ordinance violations and $2,000 for zoning-ordinance violations, not current instructions to pay a permit-related fine. Existing minimum-property-standard, disturbing-noise and private-nuisance rules remain enforced. For City HOT, the current tax page states that from February 1, 2026, delinquency accrues 10% annual interest from the day after the due date and a 15% penalty after three months; it says these charges cannot be waived. Generally applicable nuisance/property fines and tax-record retention duration remain unresolved.
Platform liabilityIn the Chapter 42B regime the City describes as enjoined, platforms must register annually; both platform and rental registration are prerequisites to collecting booking fees. Ancillary-service fees for unregistered rentals are prohibited, and monthly electronic listing reports identify location and room-versus-whole-unit rentals. Revocation includes notice and appeal rights, with appeal staying revocation, and a one-year reapplication bar. Separately, the active City tax page reports no platform collection agreement; owners/operators/managers must pay City HOT. State collection depends on a platform’s agreement with the owner and is not confirmed for a named platform here.
NotesThe July 18, 2025 rehearing opinion withdrew the earlier February opinion, reversed the temporary injunction only as to Danielle Lindsey, and affirmed it in all other respects. This was review of temporary relief, not a final merits ruling that the ordinances are invalid. The court did not decide HB 2127 preemption because it was unnecessary to that review. Supreme Court case 25-0748 shows merits briefing ordered March 27, 2026, the City’s brief filed June 10, respondents’ brief filed August 28, and the City’s reply due September 14 under the July 16 extension. The docket reviewed September 7 shows no final Supreme Court disposition. Latest trial-court scheduling and property-specific rights remain unresolved.
What we could not verify (7)
- Official appellate dockets and the July 18, 2025 opinion were read September 7. Supreme Court case 25-0748 remains at the merits-briefing stage shown on its docket, with reply due September 14; latest trial-court scheduling and any subsequent orders must still be checked. No final invalidation or general operating-right guarantee is asserted.
- No official source fetched in this pass established whether any booking platform currently collects or remits Texas state hotel occupancy tax for Dallas listings.
- The interaction of Dallas regulations with Dallas County or special-district hotel occupancy taxes at a particular address was not established.
- No official source fetched established a statewide preemption rule that presently invalidates or authorizes Dallas's STR ordinances.
- No official source fetched established how private HOA declarations, condominium rules, mortgages, or leases affect a particular property.
- Generally applicable noise, nuisance and property-standard rules remain enforceable, but their precise current operational limits, safety-inspection duties and fines are not comprehensively established here. Current tax-record retention duration is also unresolved.
- The enjoined Chapter 42B does not establish a current general insurance exemption. Insurance obligations outside that regime, including private coverage requirements, are unresolved. No active zoning-permit fee or renewal period is established here.
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Sources
- City of Dallas Short-Term Rentals home page
- Ordinance 32473 / City Secretary item 23-0833
- Ordinance 32482 / City Secretary item 23-0844
- June 14, 2023 Dallas City Council agenda and actions
- Dallas short-term-rental hotel occupancy tax guidance
- Current Dallas STR hotel occupancy tax page
- Dallas Financial Transparency STR registration page
- Texas Comptroller hotel occupancy tax
- Dallas City Council minutes, March 4, 2026
- Texas Comptroller HOT FAQs — conditional permanent-resident exemption
- Fifth Court of Appeals — Dallas STR appeal docket
- Supreme Court of Texas — Dallas STR petition, case25-0748
- Fifth Court of Appeals — July18,2025 rehearing opinion and judgment
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-1 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-4 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-5 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-6 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-7 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-8 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-9 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-10 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-11 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-12 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-13 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-14 (regime described as enjoined by City)
- Dallas current code — Section 42B-15 (regime described as enjoined by City)
A markdown mirror of this page lives at /dallas-tx.md for AI tools and researchers.
STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, checked against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between the times we check it. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.