By: Beckley H.B. No. 1960
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to regulation of short-term rental units by
municipalities; authorizing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 7, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 219 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 219. REGULATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL UNITS
Sec. 219.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Short-term rental unit" means a dwelling that is:
(A) used or designed to be used as the home of a
person, family, or household, including a single-family dwelling or
a unit in a multi-unit building, including an apartment,
condominium, cooperative, or timeshare; and
(B) rented wholly or partly for a fee and for a
period of less than 30 consecutive days.
(2) "Short-term rental unit listing service" means a
person who facilitates, including by listing short-term rental
units on an Internet website, the rental of a short-term rental
unit.
Sec. 219.0002. AUTHORIZED MUNICIPAL LAWS. (a) In regard to
a short-term rental unit, a municipality may prohibit:
(1) the use of the unit to promote activities that are
illegal under municipal or other law;
(2) the provision or management of the unit by a
registered sex offender or any person having been convicted of a
felony;
(3) the serving of food to a tenant unless the serving
of food at the unit is otherwise authorized by municipal law;
(4) the rental of the unit to a person younger than 18
years of age; or
(5) the rental of the unit for less than 24 hours.
(b) In regard to a short-term rental unit, a municipality
may require:
(1) a unit provider to:
(A) register the unit;
(B) designate an emergency contact responsible
for responding to complaints regarding the unit;
(C) have the unit inspected on an annual basis by
the local building code department or fire marshal, as applicable,
to verify that the unit meets state and municipal requirements; and
(D) post the number of a permit issued by the
municipality for the unit on every listing advertising the unit on a
short-term rental unit listing service; and
(2) either:
(A) a unit provider or property manager on the
provider's behalf to maintain property and liability insurance for
the unit in an amount required by the municipality; or
(B) the unit provider to provide proof that the
short-term rental unit listing service that lists the unit is
maintaining property and liability insurance for the unit in an
amount required by the municipality.
Sec. 219.0003. MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY LIMITS. (a) In this
section, "bedroom" means an area of a residential dwelling intended
and used as sleeping quarters. The term does not include a kitchen,
dining room, bathroom, living room, utility room, closet, or
storage area.
(b) A municipality may limit the maximum occupancy of
individuals 18 years of age or older in a unit to a number that is
not less than two individuals multiplied by the number of bedrooms
in the unit plus two additional individuals.
Sec. 219.0004. PROHIBITED MUNICIPAL LAWS. Except as
provided by this chapter, a municipality may not:
(1) adopt or enforce an ordinance, rule, or other
measure that:
(A) prohibits or limits the use of property as a
short-term rental unit; or
(B) is applicable solely to short-term rental
units, or short-term rental unit providers, short-term rental unit
tenants, or other persons associated with short-term rental units;
or
(2) apply a municipal law, including a noise
restriction, parking requirement, or building code requirement, or
other law to short-term rental units or short-term rental unit
providers, short-term rental unit tenants, or other persons
associated with short-term rental units in a manner that is more
restrictive or otherwise inconsistent with the application of the
law to other similarly situated property or persons.
Sec. 219.0005. LIMITATIONS ON REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) A municipality that adopts a registration requirement under
Section 219.0002(b)(1)(A):
(1) shall approve or deny a registration application
not later than the 45th calendar day after the date the municipality
receives the application;
(2) if the municipality approves a registration
application, shall issue a permit valid for at least one year
following the date of the issuance of the permit;
(3) may suspend a permit issued under this section
only in accordance with Section 219.0006;
(4) may not charge a registration fee in an amount
greater than the lesser of:
(A) the amount to cover the administrative costs
of enforcing the registration requirement; or
(B) $450;
(5) may require the short-term rental unit provider to
affirm that the unit does not violate any rules or bylaws of any
condominium, cooperative, property owners' association, or other
similar entity that has jurisdiction over the property in which the
unit is located;
(6) may maintain an Internet website or telephone
hotline that enables a member of the public to file a complaint
regarding a short-term rental unit;
(7) may deny renewal of a permit if the short-term
rental unit provider did not provide the municipality with a
renewal application before midnight on the date in which the permit
expires;
(8) may prohibit transfer of registration permits;
(9) may not restrict the number of permits issued for
short-term rental units, including units in multi-family
dwellings, located in a commercial area or another area outside of a
residential area of the municipality regardless of whether a unit
is the primary residence of the unit owner;
(10) may not restrict the number of permits issued for
short-term rental units that are:
(A) located within a residential area of the
municipality; and
(B) the primary residence of the unit owner; and
(11) may restrict the number of permits issued for
short-term rental units that are located in a residential area and
not the primary residence of the owner if the municipality:
(A) finds that active enforcement of the
municipality's noise restrictions, parking requirements, building
code requirements, or other laws is insufficient to protect the
health and safety of municipal residents in the residential area;
and
(B) does not prohibit more than 12.5 percent of
the total number of residential properties in the municipality from
being eligible for a permit.
(b) If a municipality fails to approve or deny a
registration application in accordance with Subsection (a)(1), the
registration is considered approved.
(c) A registration requirement adopted by a municipality
that is more stringent than requirements in effect immediately
before the new requirement takes effect applies only to a permit
issued or renewed on or after the effective date of the new
requirement.
Sec. 219.0006. ENFORCEMENT OF REGISTRATION LAWS; CIVIL
PENALTY. (a) A municipality may suspend the registration of a
short-term rental unit for a period not to exceed one year if:
(1) as a direct result of the operation of the unit,
the unit has been in violation of a municipal law related to noise,
parking, or habitability standards at least three times during one
calendar year;
(2) the unit provider is delinquent in the remittance
of a local hotel occupancy tax by more than 90 days and the
municipality has provided sufficient notice and opportunity for the
provider to remit the tax; or
(3) the unit provider is in violation of a municipal
requirement enacted in accordance with this chapter.
(b) To suspend a permit under Subsection (a)(1), the
municipality has the burden of proof of demonstrating that:
(1) the violation was a direct result of the
short-term rental unit's operation; and
(2) the unit provider failed to make reasonable
attempts to abate the violation.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), in addition to any
penalty provided for an underlying offense or violation, a
municipality may assess a civil penalty against a unit provider not
to exceed $200 per day for a violation of this chapter.
(d) If a short-term rental unit provider knowingly
tolerates a violation of this chapter, fails to make reasonable
attempts to abate a violation, and has violated a municipal law
related to unsanitary conditions, noise, over-occupancy, parking,
or solid waste five times or more in a calendar year, the
municipality may assess a civil penalty against the unit provider
in an amount not to exceed $2,000 per day for the violation.
Sec. 219.0007. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. (a) This chapter
does not prohibit:
(1) a condominium, cooperative, property owners'
association, or other similar entity from prohibiting or otherwise
restricting an owner of property within the entity's jurisdiction
from using the property as a short-term rental unit;
(2) a lessor, through the terms of a lease agreement,
from restricting the use of the leased property as a short-term
rental unit; or
(3) a property owner from placing a restrictive
covenant or easement on the property that restricts the future use
of the property as a short-term rental unit.
(b) This chapter does not require a municipality to regulate
a short-term rental unit but does require a municipality that
elects to regulate a unit to comply with this chapter.
(c) This chapter does not prohibit a municipality from
contracting with a third party to provide services that assist in
ensuring compliance with municipal requirements imposed in
accordance with this chapter. The third party may be a short-term
rental unit listing service.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.