The court announced Friday that it will hear arguments on Dec. 3, the latest development in a long fight over the city’s ability to push rentals out of single-family neighborhoods.
Over three years ago, the Dallas City Council approved short-term rental regulations after waves of residents raised concerns about limited housing stock, shootings and noise from large parties in Dallas.
Short-term rental operators pushed back, saying the city’s rules were far more punitive than they expected and violated their property rights. They said the nuisance cases used to build a case against short-term rentals represent a fraction of the businesses.
Operators sued the city to pause enforcement. They said the rules don’t just limit their operations but shutter most of them. A lower court sided with them.
The city then escalated the fight to the Supreme Court and has asked judges to lift the stay placed on the city while the legal fight continues.
The city’s main argument is its rules do not ban operators altogether, just ones in single-family residential areas.
City officials have said their inability to enforce the law has also made it harder for them to register operators to collect hotel occupancy taxes. The taxes pay for arts and tourism, and courts should not protect operators who don’t contribute, they said.