Richardson City Council is considering a temporary prohibition on new short-term rentals in the city in order to collect data for potential future regulations.

Council approved amendments to improve the city’s enforcement of STR regulations in March, but city staff said further information is needed to introduce additional regulations.

The details

The 90-day prohibition would pause new registrations of short-term rentals—residential properties that are rented either in whole or in part for a period of no more than 30 consecutive days, such as properties found on sites like Airbnb or Vrbo.

City attorney Joe Gorfida said the prohibition would allow staff to use new software to collect data on STRs in Richardson, including an inventory of all registered and unregistered properties as well as information on the locations and distance between STRs.

“From what I’ve seen, a lot of the [STRs] that are causing problems are the ones that aren’t registered, so this will help us get a handle on [them],” council member Dan Barrios said.

The study would also identify if clusters of STRs exist in certain areas of the city.

The temporary ban would only pause new registrations—existing, registered STRs will continue operating as usual. Gorfida said there would be a 30-day grace period prior to implementing the temporary ban to allow existing STRs to register with the city.

“The key is taking the 90 days, collecting the data [to] determine where are these located and what are the issues that we have as it relates to the health, safety and welfare of the city,” Gorfida said.

Gorfida said the city could potentially extend the temporary prohibition if further study is needed.

Some context

At the March 5 council meeting, Gorfida said broad restrictions on short-term rentals are likely to be challenged in court. Successful restrictions would require documented public input and demonstrated effects on the city, Gorfida said, which the study could provide.

Gorfida said the city could justify future prohibitions if the study identifies substantial complaints about STR clustering, finds that STRs negatively impact “the integrity of neighborhoods” and determines that regulations are necessary to prevent that clustering.

“Adopting this prohibition allows us to look forward and adopt responsible regulations that respect property rights, while also being responsive to all the residents that have come to us with concerns,” council member Joe Corcoran said.

How we got here

At the March meeting, Lindsay Turman, Richardson’s director of community services, said 92 single-family properties in Richardson were currently registered as short-term rentals and 43 were pending registration at the time. There is also an unknown number of unregistered short-term rentals operating in the city.

Residents voiced concerns at the meeting about trash, parking, noise and safety issues caused by STRs in their neighborhoods, with several mentioning multiple STRs located near their homes.

Council approved amendments to the city’s short-term rental ordinance March 23 to improve enforcement of regulations, including expanding the grounds for the city to revoke registration permits as well as outlining the offenses that the city can enforce.

What’s next

Council is set to vote on the temporary prohibition next week.

If passed, the prohibition would likely go into effect this summer. Gorfida said the data collection software would be implemented in June or July, with data ready for consideration in September.