HOUSTON – Big changes could be coming to the City of Houston and how it handles short-term rental properties.
City officials are considering a detailed ordinance aimed at regulating these popular vacation rentals to address concerns over safety, noise, and community impact.
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Short-term rentals like Airbnb have surged in popularity, offering convenient lodging options for visitors. But city leaders say the rapid growth of these rentals has created challenges for neighborhoods. That’s why they’re proposing an ordinance to tighten oversight, ensuring these properties are safe and operated responsibly.
Under the draft ordinance, property owners would be required to register their short-term rentals with the city. The process includes providing proof of ownership, detailed floor plans, and insurance coverage of at least $1 million. Operators would also need to post emergency contact information and adhere to strict rules on noise, parking, and occupancy limits.
The city says violations could result in fines of up to $500 per day and repeat offenders could lose their rental license entirely. Platforms like Airbnb would also face new requirements, including listing only rentals with valid city registration numbers.
City officials argue the ordinance is necessary to address issues like loud parties, illegal activities, and strain on neighborhood resources.
“What we want is a way to get at the owners of these properties who continue to support these activities, because lots of times the folks who rent these places will rent it for a night, and then they’re gone. And so it’s difficult to get at the tenants, but it’s the owners, a few of them in number, who enable this type of behavior, and we want to do something about that,” council member Julian Ramirez said.
The council’s Quality of Life Committee heard from the community on the proposed ordinance on Monday afternoon.
“This is proposing onerous requirements that will be difficult for a lot of hosts to comply with and it also makes us responsible for the criminal, potential criminal activity, of guests. There are things in the ordinance that are vague, there are requirements that the city is imposing that they’re not adequately educated on, and there are things about the ordinance that we just simply cannot comply with and there are a lot of loopholes,” Airbnb host Noel Freeman said, noting that some of the issues neighbors are concerned about are already illegal and simply need to be enforced.
Houston homeowners whose neighborhoods have been plagued by people using them for parties or means other than lodging, have become fed up. Back in April, KPRC 2 digital producer Ahmed Humble spoke with District F Council Member Tiffany Thomas, who has been a strong advocate in helping residents get the legal tools necessary to fight back. Even Airbnb has enforced stricter protocols to curb such actions.
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By regulating short-term rentals Julian Ramirez, who represents Houston City Council At-Large Position 1, says it should address accountability concerns residents have had for years.
“We’ve had hundreds of complaints, most of them centered around noise, a lot of them centered around illegal activity, including prostitution behavior out in public that. Is not legal,” Ramirez told KPRC 2’s Robin Freese. “Gunshots, violence, even human trafficking -- and so this ordinance is an attempt to prevent those things from happening and enhance the quality of life for Houston residents without removing completely the option of short-term rentals.”
A victim of some of the short-term rental chaos spoke to the committee on Monday and KPRC 2 after.
“The first thing I dealt with was 20 bullets into my house, six penetrating my walls, causing $7,000 worth of damage. I will say Airbnb was very gracious and worked with me there, and that property is permanently banned and it’s been on best behavior, but I’ve had somebody vomit in my driveway, a host denied it, I had to clean it up myself. I’ve had loud parties, fights, 8-10 people outside fighting, screaming, waking us up,” she said, asking not to be named.
Part of the drafted regulations will focus on cracking down on notorious properties and assisting those who rely on short-term rentals as a source of income.
“One of the provisions will say if you’ve got two citations and convictions for violating the noise ordinance, then your permit can be pulled and you can be prohibited from listing on the platforms to rent your unit,” Ramirez explained. “We don’t want to ban short-term rentals because that would be illegal and unconstitutional...What we want to do is get at the bad actors, the folks who are not following the rules, who are allowing tenants to disrupt the lives of others in the neighborhood who are conducting illegal activities out of the short-term rentals.”
In a recent report, Airbnb said hosts in the greater Houston metro area contributed an estimated $1.6 billion in local economic activity in 2023 and welcomed over 1.8 million guests.
Airbnb says its platform supported an estimated 20,000 jobs, generating more than $1 billion in income for local workers. Additionally, Houston Airbnb hosts earned a median supplemental income of $8,700 last year, with more than half using the funds to manage rising living costs.
The report also emphasizes Airbnb’s commitment to responsible tourism, citing a global 50% decrease in party reports since implementing anti-party measures in 2020. Locally, the platform deterred 700 potential party bookings in Houston during Halloween weekend this year.
A spokesperson also shared data (from the City of Houston) showing no correlation between increased community disturbances and short-term rentals. In their presentation, Houston city staff noted, “In terms of both HPD and 311 service calls…the average is still well below one call per STR per year and the percentage of calls regarding serious offenses (priority 1 or 2) is exactly the same as non-STR residential properties.”
Compared with Austin, city officials acknowledged to a federal district court that STRs did not receive a disproportionate number of complaints from neighbors — they noted, in fact, that short-term rental properties have significantly fewer 311 and 911 calls than other single-family properties.
While Airbnb acknowledges the need for regulations, the company has expressed concerns about certain provisions in the draft ordinance. These include the $1 million insurance requirement, strict emergency contact rules, and permit revocation based on citations that may lack due process. Airbnb says these measures could harm residents who rely on hosting to make ends meet.
A policy director for Expedia and VRBO told the council committee the proposed ordinance is a good starting point and lines up with what they see in other cities across the country, but the company still had small remaining concerns.
The ordinance is still in the draft phase, and city leaders are encouraging public feedback before making any final decisions. If passed, it could take effect as early as next year.