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New Braunfels short-term rental ordinance upheld by federal appeals court

By
FOX Local
New Braunfels
Published July 2, 2026 4:30 PM CDT
Published July 2, 2026 4:30 PM CDT
article

The Brief

    • The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court's ruling that New Braunfels could enact an ordinance prohibiting short-term rentals in residential areas.
    • While the homeowners argued that it was a constitutional right to be allowed to rent their properties, the court said the city was allowed to preserve "residential character."
    • The court said, that while there were some instances where short-term rentals had been allowed after an ordinance, those cases involved owners who were already renting before the ordinance was in effect.

A federal appeals court has upheld a New Braunfels ordinance regulating short-term rentals within its residential areas.

The city enacted ordinances concerning short-term rentals in 2006 and 2011. Under those ordinances, rentals of less than 30 days were prohibited in districts that were zoned residential.

A group of homeowners challenged the ordinance, saying it violated their rights under the U.S. and Texas constitutions. A district court found in favor of the city and its ordinance, so the plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a June 18 opinion, the Fifth Circuit upheld the district court's ruling.

What they're saying:

The plaintiffs argued that they had an "inherent liberty" and a "right to lease" their properties, arguing that such provisions have been upheld previously in Texas courts.

The court disagreed, saying Texas courts have allowed the "continued engagement in short-term rentals" when they were occurring prior to an ordinance being enacted, but have not found "vested property interest" in allowing short-term rentals.

The court pointed to recent decisions from state appeals courts that preserved ordinances restricting short-term rentals and, in the case of a similar challenge in Fort Worth, "the city's ordinances were rationally related to legitimate government interests in preserving the character of single-family residential neighborhoods."

The plaintiffs also argued that the ordinance violated equal protections because, while a 29-day rental was prohibited, a 30-day rental was allowed. They claimed a shorter rental time caused no more nuisance problems than a longer rental.

Again, the court found that the city's goal of "preserving residential character" gave New Braunfels a "rational basis" for enacting regulation.

The Source: Information in this article comes from an order from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

New BraunfelsHousing