Short-term rentals are back in the news, with high program costs, serious enforcement struggles and declining hotel occupancy tax revenue for the city. Is anyone surprised?
In June 2023, the Dallas City Council passed a ban on short-term rentals in single-family neighborhoods, potentially putting more than 90% of all Dallas STRs out of business. That action was met with a lawsuit, subsequent injunction and appeal by the city. Meanwhile, STRs continue operating. What went wrong on our way to eliminating the few nuisance STRs that are out there?
The City Council approved a ban that was not supported by factual data nor by city staff. City-provided data in a 2021 report titled, “Short-Term Rental Data Analysis: An Analysis of the Impact of Short-term Rental Properties in the City of Dallas,” and two subsequent reports titled “Short Term Rental Impact Analysis Updates” show that 80% of short-term rentals have zero 311 or 911 calls, that “nuisance STRs are outliers” and that there is “no evidence of a city-wide impact”. City staff testified at City Council meetings against the ban.
Years of STR task forces had already produced a fair and sensible registration ordinance including full funding of the registration program for night and weekend enforcement by STR owners, and serious consequences for nuisance properties. We were on our way to addressing real issues.
But it didn’t last. Opponents of STRs are a vocal minority. Many also oppose ForwardDallas 2.0 and other city policy initiatives that would improve quality of life and affordability. They won the day in June 2023, but what did their advocacy accomplish?
It cost Dallas taxpayers $1.3 million to set up the STR code compliance program and it continues to cost them $650,000 annually to run it, according to testimony from Code Compliance Services Director Christopher Christian. Plus, there’s the cost of the lawsuit. Yet enforcement is no better than before the ban.
The number of STRs has increased slightly over the last year from 3,250 to 3,512, according to city staff briefings, but hotel occupancy tax revenue has dropped from $3.8 million last year to $2.7 million through this July.
How do we get things back on track? The ban is obviously not working. Dallas should get rid of it. Reinstate the original registration ordinance without amendments and negotiate agreements with STR platforms for direct collection of hotel occupancy taxes.
Short-term rentals aren’t going away. They are the preferred hospitality choice for travelers seeking an affordable, authentic experience. The FIFA World Cup is coming to Dallas in 2026. Where will guests stay while they generate millions of dollars of income for our city?
A small but vocal minority of naysayers should not be allowed to dictate city policy. Dallas has always been welcoming of entrepreneurs and diversity. Let’s get back to some fair and easy-to-enforce rules so we can get the few bad apples in line and allow the 80% of responsible STR owners to continue.
Lisa Sievers is a short-term rental owner and member of the Dallas Short-term Rental Alliance.
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Five men were arrested this month in connection to a $1 million cargo theft operation where tires, rims, more than $32,000, appliances and other merchandise was recovered, Dallas police said.
The five men, who were arrested Nov. 1, are accused of taking part in at least 10 cargo thefts across the Dallas-Fort Worth area that date back to 2022, Dallas police said in a news release this week.
Officers discovered the theft ring after being alerted Nov. 1 of a stolen trailer being pulled by a semi-truck into a repair shop in the 5200 block of University Hills Boulevard, police said.
Officers confirmed the trailer was the one reported stolen by the Benbrook Police Department, then detained the semi-truck driver and two other suspects, police said.
While speaking with the suspects, it was determined that the repair shop owner and manager, who were both there, were also involved in the theft operation, police said.
Further investigation revealed that the repair shop was being used to store stolen cargo, police said. Under a search warrant, police said they seized $32,553 and recovered approximately $1 million in stolen items, including:
Dallas police recovered tires, rims, $32,000, appliances, motor oil and other merchandise during a cargo theft operation bust, where five men were arrested at a repair shop in the 5200 block of University Hills Boulevard on November 1, 2025.
Dallas Police Department / Dallas Police Department
The five men arrested all face felony charges, according to police.
Johnny Veail, 39, faces an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge.
Abdullah Majeed, 39, Mohammad Husainy, 37, and Anthony Walker, 54, all face a theft of property greater than or equal to $300,000 charge.
Justin Kenney, 37, faces a theft of property greater than or equal to $300,000 and a Benbrook Police Department warrant hold for theft of property less than $150,000.
DALLAS — The shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers will play without another key player Sunday night. And it involves another point guard.
Starter Jrue Holiday has been ruled out against the Dallas Mavericks with right calf soreness, leaving the Blazers (6-6) without its top three point guards heading into the final game of a five-game trip.
Holiday was not listed on the team’s initial injury report, but the 6-foot-4 veteran awoke Sunday morning with a balky calf and the Blazers labeled him questionable Sunday afternoon. He tested it out during a pregame warmup at American Airlines Center and was later ruled out.
Multiple Blazers players were unaware of Holiday’s injury until about an hour and 15 minutes before tipoff, when news started spreading through the locker room that he would be sidelined.
Portland interim coach Tiago Splitter, who held a pregame interview with reporters before learning that Holiday had been ruled out, said he likely would start Jerami Grant in Holiday’s place. That would leave the Blazers without a true point guard in the lineup, forcing Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe to assume primary ball-handling responsibilities.
Holiday, who is averaging 16.7 points, 8.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, leads the Blazers in assists this season.
The Blazers are already playing without a pair of point guards — Scoot Henderson and Blake Wesley — who have played a combined six games this season. Henderson has been sidelined all season with a left hamstring injury, and Wesley has missed the last six games with a fracture in his right foot.
Holiday’s injury was harsh pregame news for a team that has stumbled to losses in four of its last six games, including three of four on its early-November trip to Miami, Orlando, New Orleans and Houston. The Blazers are coming off their most lopsided defeat of the season, a 140-116 loss at Houston on Friday night that prompted a players-only meeting afterward.
“Next man up is part of the NBA,” Splitter said, when asked about Holiday’s injury. “Everybody has got to be ready.”
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Dallas Trinity FC snapped its four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win on the road against Spokane Zephyr FC.
Prosper’s teenage phenom Sealey Strawn opened the scoring in the 29th minute, heading home Samar Guidry’s cross from the right wing.
Spokane had more of the possession (56.5%) and outshot Dallas 17 to eight. Despite that, Trinity made the most of its opportunities and converted both of its shots on target while goalkeeper Rylee Foster kept a clean sheet on the other end.
“We knew that they were going to put some pressure on us, so we were going to have to be really focused” head coach and general manager Chris Petrucelli said. “We’ve had some self-inflicted wounds here in the past few games. The whole thing was about just trying to stay focused and not give up a goal or make a mistake that leads to a goal.”
Rhea Moore became the second teenage goalscorer on the night with a score in second half stoppage time to seal the game for Dallas. Moore received a pass from Tamara Bolt just outside the box and dribbled into it, opening space to shoot and drilling a right footed shot into the near post from just beyond the penalty spot.
Trinity snapped out of a long funk with the win, picking up their first points since Sept. 20 and their first victory since Sept. 6. Things were especially dire for Dallas during the recent losing streak when the team was outscored 13-3.
Despite the difficult stretch, the win places Dallas just one point outside the playoffs with multiple games in hand. Trinity return to action when they host DC Power FC on Dec. 6 at the Cotton Bowl.
Find more Dallas Trinity FC coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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