Last week, a Texas appellate court ruled that certain provisions of Austin’s short-term rental (STR) regulations were unconstitutional. Those regulations, which were passed in 2015, intended to outlaw full-time STRs by 2022. In its ruling, the court correctly noted that existing nuisance laws are sufficient to deal with the few problems caused by STRs.
The opponents of STRs frequently talk about “party houses”–STRs that disrupt neighborhoods with loud music, excessive traffic, and littering. But rather than deal with those guilty of such infractions, they prefer to simply ban all STRs. They want to punish the innocent.
Certainly, some STRs are a problem. But the number is far smaller than the opponents of STRs claim. And even if the number of “party houses” equals the claims, the solution isn’t a wholesale ban. The solution is to punish the guilty.
A rational person would recognize the injustice of punishing all men because some are abusive to women. It is irrational and unjust to treat all members of a group on the basis of the actions of a few members of that group. Just as it is irrational and unjust to punish all men for the actions of a small percentage of men, it is irrational and unjust to punish all STR owners for the actions of a small percentage of STR owners.
Operating an STR does not violate anybody’s rights. Operating a “party house” does if loud music and excessive traffic disrupt a neighborhood. Justice demands that we punish the operators of “party houses” and not the responsible owners of STRs.