Attorneys with the Texas Public Policy Foundation have filed an amicus brief urging the Texas Supreme Court to clarify how courts review local restrictions on private property use.
In a Friday release, TPPF said it filed the brief in City of Dallas v. Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance, et al., supporting the respondents challenging Dallas’ short-term rental ordinance.
The ordinance prohibits leasing residential dwellings for fewer than 30 days.
A lower court issued a preliminary injunction against the restriction, and the City of Dallas petitioned the Texas Supreme Court for review. TPPF is asking the high court to take the case and affirm the injunction.
TPPF argues the case raises broader questions of whether land-use restrictions are subject to meaningful judicial review under Article I, Section 19 of the Texas Constitution, which protects Texans from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process.
Restrictions on how property owners can use their land create conflicts between individual property rights and local governments’ efforts to regulate development and neighborhood activity. The case before the Texas Supreme Court could help clarify how courts evaluate those disputes under the state constitution.
According to TPPF, recent lower court decisions have adopted interpretations of the state constitution that make it increasingly difficult for property owners to successfully challenge restrictions on how their land can be used.
The organization argues that such restrictions should be subject to at least rational basis review, a legal standard used to determine whether government actions are reasonably related to a legitimate government purpose.
TPPF is also asking the court to clarify whether judges can consider evidence when evaluating the government’s justification for property restrictions.
Under the organization’s proposed approach, courts would be permitted to examine evidence that contradicts government claims rather than automatically accepting those claims as sufficient justification.
Although the underlying dispute concerns short-term rentals, TPPF maintains that the court’s decision could have broader implications for Texas property owners seeking to challenge government regulations affecting their land.
The filing comes from TPPF’s Center for the American Future, which pursues legal challenges against government actions it considers unconstitutional.
The Texas Supreme Court has been asked to review the case, but has not agreed to hear it.
