Updated on August 25, 2025
UPDATE: The Texas Court of Appeals on Aug. 19, 2025, dismissed the City of Dallas’s motion for reconsideration of a February ruling that upheld a temporary injunction that stopped the city from enforcing its 2023 short-term rental ban and related restrictions. The city had requested an “en banc” review, which is when all the justices of the appeals court are asked to reconsider a case, rather than just the three-judge panel that originally heard it.
By dismissing the motion, the court upheld its previous rulings, which blocked the city from enforcing the ban.
“While pleased with this order, the Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance’s goal has always been to work with the City to craft a fair and sensible short-term rental ordinance,” Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance President Lisa Sievers said in a statement. “We would welcome moving past lawsuits and getting to the serious business of putting a reasonable ordinance in place that represents the interests of our membership as well as the neighborhoods in which we live. Meanwhile, we are busy preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and are concentrating on rolling out the red carpet for our international guests and showcasing Dallas to the world.”
The city has 45 days to file an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court.
July 18, 2025
A Texas appeals court has, for a second time, upheld a lower court’s order blocking the City of Dallas from enforcing its short-rental ban. The decision means vacation rentals in Dallas can continue operating while the court considers a broader legal challenge.
In the July 18, 2025, ruling, the Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed most of a temporary injunction issued by the lower court that stopped the city from enforcing two controversial ordinances passed in 2023. One ordinance bans STRs from single-family residential neighborhoods, while the other imposes new registration and occupancy restrictions on short-term rentals outside residential zones.
The court found that STR owners who sued the city, including members of the Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance and several individual operators, had shown they were likely to succeed in proving the ordinances violated their constitutional property rights.
“[They] presented evidence tending to show that the City would deny them those rights by enforcing the zoning ordinance,” the court wrote, referencing the long-standing right of Texas property owners to lease their homes.
While the opinion favors STR operators, the legal fight is still afoot. The City had appealed the injunction, and this new opinion replaces the earlier one issued in February 2025. But the court has not yet ruled on the City’s formal motion for reconsideration.
“The next step will be determined by the City of Dallas, as they brought the appeal,” said Lisa Sievers, President of the Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance.
While celebrating the court’s opinion, Lisa emphasized that litigation isn’t the STR alliance’s endgame.
“While pleased with the opinion, the Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance’s goal has always been to work with the City to craft a fair and sensible short-term rental ordinance,” she said. “We would welcome moving past the lawsuit and getting to the serious business of putting a reasonable ordinance in place that represents the interests of our membership as well as the neighborhoods in which we live.”
Lisa hopes that this most recent opinion and Dallas’s role as a host location during the FIFA World Cup in 2026 will encourage City officials to end litigation and embrace short-term rentals as part of their lodging mix. She plans to request meetings with some City Council members to negotiate a truce.
It remains to be seen whether the City will pursue further legal action or return to the negotiating table. For now, Dallas STR operators can continue to welcome guests, at least until the courts say otherwise.
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