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.