Bulletin - Argyle, TX News Today
A draft rewrite of Argyle's short-term rental ordinance would limit rentals to five commercial zoning districts and give residential operators 90 days to close with no grandfathering, pending a town attorney review of existing rentals
Argyle Weighs Residential Short-Term Rental Ban, $500 Permits and Daily Fines as Planning Commission Delays Vote to November
A draft rewrite of Argyle's short-term rental ordinance would limit rentals to five commercial zoning districts and give residential operators 90 days to close with no grandfathering, pending a town attorney review of existing rentals
Photo from https://www.argyletx.com/
Argyle's Planning and Zoning Commission on October 7 tabled a proposed rewrite of the town's short-term rental ordinance that would ban short-term rentals in every residential zoning district, raise the annual permit fee from $100 to $500 and require existing residential operators to shut down within 90 days. The commission moved the item to its November 4 meeting so the town attorney can research existing rentals.
Official agenda for Argyle’s October 7, 2026, Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, listing proposed short-term rental ordinance amendments for consideration and public hearing. | Source: https://argyletx.new.swagit.com/
What the Ordinance Would Change
Argyle's current rules, adopted as Ordinance 2023-27 on August 21, 2023, require a $100 annual registration and payment of the town's 7% hotel occupancy tax but set no limits on where rentals can operate. In his staff report to the commission, Community Development Director Harrison Wicks wrote that the program has worked for tax collection while leaving location unregulated and that complaints about a rental on Sam Davis Road prompted the review the commission began at an August 5 workshop.
The draft ordinance would repeal and replace the town's existing Article 4.07 and classify short-term rentals as a commercial lodging use. Rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days would be allowed only in the Office Retail, Local Retail, Community Retail, Old Town 1 and Business Park districts which closes the agricultural, single-family, multifamily and manufactured home districts to them. A companion zoning amendment heard at a public hearing the same night would add the use to the town's zoning use chart as permitted in those five districts only.
Permits, Fines and Enforcement
Much of the enforcement framework would carry over from the 2023 rules which already bar advertising a rental before it is registered require a management contact reachable 24 hours a day who can be cited for violations and set fines of up to $500 per offense with each day counted separately.
Draft ordinance proposing amendments to Argyle’s short-term rental regulations including restrictions on residential rentals, registration requirements, and penalties for violations. | Source: https://www.argyletx.com/
The rewrite would turn registration into a permit and raise its cost to $500 which lifts the late renewal charge of twice the fee to $1,000. It would also subject residential and unpermitted operation to immediate enforcement, prohibit using a rental as a special event venue and allow the town to seek injunctions. The ordinance would take effect once it passes and its caption is published.
Who Is Affected
Town staff told commissioners that six registered rentals sit in residential areas, out of fewer than 10 properties registered since 2023. Several operators spoke against the proposal and said their guests are more often local families between homes than tourists.
Texas Legal Backdrop
In 2019, a Texas appeals court struck down Austin's phase-out of non-owner-occupied rentals in residential zones and when Argyle first studied the issue in 2023, town staff said the town attorney had advised that short-term rentals could not be regulated through land-use rules.
Government Websites by CivicPlus®
⦾ Case: TDS-26-014, amending Article 4.07 and the zoning use chart (Sec. 14.3.62); tabled October 7, 2026
⦾ Residential districts: Prohibited, including A, SF-2.5, SF-1, SF-20, SF-10, SF-7, MF and MH
⦾ Allowed districts: Office Retail, Local Retail, Community Retail, Old Town 1 and Business Park
⦾ Existing residential rentals: Must stop within 90 days of the effective date; no grandfathering
⦾ Permit fee (new): $500 per year, up from a $100 registration; late renewal rises from $200 to $1,000
⦾ Special events (new): Rentals may not operate as event venues
⦾ Enforcement (new): Immediate enforcement for residential or unpermitted operation; injunctive relief available
⦾ Unchanged: Approval required before advertising; 24-hour management contact who can be cited; fines up to $500 per offense, each day a separate offense
⦾ Hotel occupancy tax: 7%, unchanged
⦾ Effective date: On passage and publication of the caption
⦾ Platform responsibility: None
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