Grand Prairie, TX Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Chapter 29, Article VII governs short-term rentals citywide. Section 29-183(a) makes it unlawful for any owner, operator, or person to rent, lease, advertise, or otherwise permit or allow any residential premises to be operated or used as an unpermitted short-term rental, with a narrow affirmative defense for a buyer occupying under a written post-closing occupancy agreement. Section 29-184(a) requires an owner or operator to hold a valid, active short-term rental permit from the city prior to using, allowing the use of, or advertising the use of the premises as a short-term rental, and specifies that each rentable unit must be permitted separately.

The director approves a permit if the application satisfies the article and the zoning ordinance, and may attach reasonable conditions. Each permit carries a unique number that must appear in every advertisement, including internet booking sites, and a copy of the permit must be posted just inside the front entrance. Owners already renting short-term before the article took effect had sixty days to obtain a permit. Section 29-186 lays out the application itself: a form listing the property address, bedroom count and occupancy limits, owner and operator contact information, a twenty-four-hour local contact person, verification of no delinquent hotel occupancy taxes, a site plan showing parking, a dimensioned floor plan with evacuation routes, proof of liability insurance up to $1,000,000 per occurrence, and a nonrefundable $480 application fee. Permits expire one year after issuance and require a renewal application and fee, also $480, filed within the thirty days before expiration.