Denton council struggles to tighten rules on short-term rentals after split vote

Denton City Council members were divided at Tuesday night’s special called meeting over whether to tighten restrictions on short-term rentals, citing reasons such as the lack of enforcement of current rules that require short-term rental owners to pay the city’s hotel occupancy tax.

Out of the estimated 250 short-term rental units in Denton that are listed on sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo, only 33 are registered with the city to pay the tax, according to a city staff presentation Tuesday night.