City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Arlington, TX
How Arlington regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Rules here limit which homes may operate as short-term rentals, how many, where, or for how many nights a year.
- Whole-home STR excluded from general single-family residential zoning districts citywide — allowed only in a mapped STR Zone (Entertainment-District ring), RM-12/RMF-22, and non-residential/mixed-use districts (Ord. 19-014)
- Residential-zone exclusion upheld in court and in force
- An STR permit process operates within the eligible districts only
Based on: Arlington Ordinance No. 19-014 (zoning amendment establishing STR-eligible districts/STR Zone) and Ordinance No. 19-022
Summary of the rule
Standard single-family residential zoning districts outside the STR Zone are not STR-eligible; STR is confined to the mapped STR Zone plus RM-12/RMF-22/non-residential/mixed-use districts.
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Active litigation / open question
Homeowner/STR-operator constitutional challenge to Arlington's 2019 STR ordinance — Second District Court of Appeals (Fort Worth) dismissed challengers' claims and upheld the ordinance; ordinance remains in force as of assessed_date Source ↗
Reported as fact only, reflecting the code as currently in effect — not legal advice, and not a prediction of the outcome. Verify current status before relying on it.
Last reviewed Sep 16, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Arlington · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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City Watch tracks changes from public sources — council agendas, state bills, local news — not a complete legal compendium.
A city permit is not the whole picture — HOA, condominium, deed, or lease rules may be stricter.
City Watch provides good-faith summaries of publicly available information as of the review date shown. Rules, enforcement, and permit availability can change, and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Ratings describe the general regulatory environment; they do not establish whether a particular property or stay is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice. Before buying, listing, or hosting, verify applicable requirements with the responsible authorities and review any HOA, condominium, deed, or lease restrictions.