A new Town ordinance has been put into place regarding short-term rentals. The ordinance, as approved by Town Council during their December 10th meeting, establishes that short-term rentals (STR) are not allowed in Westlake.
The definition of an STR is the rental or offer for rental of a rental unit for a period of fewer than 30 days. That essentially means you won't be able to rent your property, home, or spare room to guests for a period of time shorter than a month.
The reason behind the change is that there has been an increased number of short-term rentals in Westlake's residential areas. It was determined that the STRs are not consistent with the character or nature of single-family residential uses in the Town. There is a growing concern about an increase in traffic, noise, litter, and parking issues in those neighborhoods.
The ordinance won't be enforced by Town staff for six months in order to allow for a reasonable transition of uses and give STR owner's time for recovery of expectations.
However, under this new ordinance, leasebacks are still allowed. The difference being, a leaseback is an arrangement where the seller of a home leases the home back from the purchaser. In a leaseback arrangement, the specifics of the arrangements are typically made prior or immediately after the sale of the home.
You can read all about the short-term rental ordinance here. If you have any questions at all about the new ordinance, please contact Westlake Town Manager Tom Brymer at tbrymer@westlake-tx.org.
by: Jon Sasser