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Court ruling won’t affect city

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

A recent Texas Supreme Court opinion involving short-term rentals will not affect San Marcos’ newly adopted Home Share Rental Ordinance, the city attorney says.

Last month, the state supreme court handed down an opinion on the case of Tarr vs. Timberwood Park Owners Association. In that case, a homeowners association told Tarr, a property owner, that making his home available for short-term renters violated two deed restrictions. According to the opinion, the restrictions read that “all tracts shall be used solely for residential purposes” and that “no building, other than a single family residence … shall be erected or constructed on any residential tract in Timberwood Park Unit III.” The association argued that short-term rentals did not adhere to the “single family residence” restriction and made the home a “commercial rental property.”

Tarr leased the whole home, rather than individual rooms, and no business office or other business activity exists at the home, according to the arguments in the case. The court’s opinion states that the Timberwood deed covenants “fail to address leasing, use as a vacation home, short-term rentals, minimum-occupancy durations, or the like. They do not require owner occupancy or occupancy by a tenant who uses the home as his domicile.” Ultimately, the court decided that if the people renting Tarr’s home are using it for a residential purpose, for however short a time, the rental does not violate the Timberwood deed covenants and Tarr’s use of the house as a rental property does not constitute commercial use.

Speculation arose after the Texas Supreme Court decision about how cities’ short-term rental regulations might be affected. However, City Attorney Michael Cosentino said the court’s decision will have no bearing on local ordinances.

“The court determined that the wording used in a set of restrictive covenants was not specific enough to prohibit a homeowner from using his house for short term rentals. The opinion did not relate to a municipal short term rental ordinance,” Cosentino said.

San Marcos’ recently adopted short-term rental ordinance requires property owners or long-term renters to register with the city in order to conduct short-term rentals. The total application fee is $61, and those who rent out all or part of their homes short-term must pay Hotel Occupancy Taxes, publish their city registration number on any advertisements and adhere to other standards. An FAQ on the city’s short-term rental ordinance can be found at: https://bit.ly/2sZVt5W.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666