City planning staff presented ordinance updates for the single-family rental registration and inspection program and introduced draft short-term rental (STR) regulations at the North Richland Hills City Council work session on June 9, 2025.

Staff said the single-family rental ordinance changes aim to create a pathway for owners to self-certify or self-inspect units so city inspectors can focus on higher-priority inspections, while retaining tenant protections that allow city inspections in response to life-safety complaints. Staff also proposed exempting homes that received a primary certificate of occupancy within the preceding five years from a required city inspection.

Corey, the planning staff presenter, described the proposed short-term rental regulations as a separate ordinance process that will require public hearings. He said the proposed framework addresses common resident complaints about STRs — “noise, high occupancy, people having parties, parking congestion in the streets, trash and debris” — by setting maximum occupancies, requiring off-street parking and establishing registration and permitting requirements so the city can collect hotel-occupancy taxes and maintain a local contact for emergency or enforcement responses.

On local contacts, Corey explained the requirement and the response time the city would enforce: “Our requirement in the code is just that they have a local point of contact that can respond, and that would be if we have, a code enforcement complaint. ... The whole intent of that is just have somebody who can physically respond within 60 minutes.” He added that many STR owners live out of state and that a local property manager or on-call vendor typically serves that role.

Staff recommended limiting where STRs would be permitted. The draft maps and zoning approach in the packet propose allowing STRs in certain commercial districts (C-1 and C-2) and in Town Center subdistricts (Center and Core), and said language would make clear STRs must be limited to bona fide residential units even within commercial-zoned areas. For multifamily properties, staff proposed allowing STRs only up to a capped percentage of units in a building to avoid conversion of entire complexes into short-term rental operations, citing nearby Grapevine’s ordinance as a model for percentage limits.

Regarding enforcement, Corey told the council failure to register would be a violation of city ordinance handled through normal code-enforcement channels; persistent noncompliance could lead to civil action under Chapter 54 (an injunction) to stop operations. On permit revocation, staff said the ordinance would include authority to revoke a registration for repeated violations.

Staff asked the council for direction to post draft language and maps in advance of public hearings, with a tentative first public hearing as early as July and Planning & Zoning and council consideration in August. Corey told the council the registration fee would be set to help cover program administration costs.

Council members asked clarifying questions about grandfathering (properties already operating), enforcement steps, the definition of short-term rental (the draft would define short-term as rental periods under 30 days), and whether transit-oriented-development (TOD) areas would be considered. The city attorney indicated the council would need legal advice to resolve grandfathering and that the topic may be addressed in executive session.

No formal action was taken at the work session; staff was directed to proceed with drafting public-facing exhibits and to return a formal ordinance and public-hearing schedule for council consideration.