AUSTIN— Today, the Third District Court of Appeals published its opinion declaring the City of Austin’s Short Term Rental Ordinance unconstitutional.
“Today’s opinion is a big win for both the constitutionally protected right to assemble and protection of private property rights,” said TPPF’s General Counsel Robert Henneke. “In striking down the Austin ordinance ban on short-term rental use and the restrictions on guest activities within a private residential setting, the Third Court of Appeals stopped the overreach by the City of Austin. Noting that the city still has nuisance laws to address actual public disturbances, the opinion highlighted the lack of data from the city justifying any restriction, let alone the manner this ordinance infringes upon fundamental rights. Today’s opinion is good news for the rights of persons to assemble, and a sharp rebuke to the city for its unconstitutional ordinance.”
The Third Court of Appeals found the City of Austin’s Short Term Rental Ordinance unconstitutional for retroactively banning Type II “non-owner occupied vacation rentals” and by violating the fundamental right to assembly guaranteed under the Texas Constitution.
To read the Third Court of Appeals opinion in full, please visit:
https://www.texaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/STR-Opinion.pdf