Dallas County does not require short-term rentals to be primary residences. Texas counties lack the detailed residential-use zoning authority cities have, and no Texas statute imposes a statewide primary-residence STR rule. City-level rules in Dallas, Irving, and Plano vary; some are paused by litigation.
Primary-residence-only rules limit STRs to homes the operator actually lives in, banning whole-home investor STRs. Dallas County government has no such ordinance for unincorporated areas, which represent a small footprint within this densely incorporated county. TX Local Government Code Chapter 232 limits county authority to plat approval and certain subdivision standards, not residential-use zoning. The City of Dallas adopted Chapter 42B in 2023 with zoning that effectively pushed whole-home STRs toward primary residences; that ordinance was partly enjoined by a Dallas County district court in 2024. Cities like Plano and Grapevine have their own STR rules. The Texas Legislature has considered preemption bills limiting city STR authority, but none has fully passed.
Not applicable at the county level. Investor-owned STRs in unincorporated areas face no county primary-residence requirement. City violations are enforced by each municipality's code compliance staff under municipal STR ordinances.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Richardson, TX
Under Sec. 5-9(6), it is unlawful to allow an animal to unreasonably bark, howl, crow, or make other loud noise unprovoked for at least 15 minutes or in spor...
Richardson, TX
Richardson Code Ch. 13, Art. III, Div. 2 prohibits unreasonably loud noise at all hours. Sec. 13-72 makes it unlawful to create noise offensive to ordinary s...
Richardson, TX
Under Sec. 13-75(9), construction noise near residential areas is unrestricted 7 AM to 6 PM weekdays. Before 7 AM, after 6 PM, and on weekends, construction ...
Richardson, TX
Junked vehicles that are wrecked, dismantled, or inoperable without current registration or safety inspection may not be kept in public view. Richardson Code...
Richardson, TX
Richardson regulates commercial vehicle parking in residential areas through its zoning ordinance and Code Enforcement. Oversized commercial vehicles and pro...
Richardson, TX
Richardson does not recognize 'dibs' or reserved parking on public streets. Residents may not block public parking spaces with cones, chairs, or other items,...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Dallas County.
See how Richardson's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
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