For some time, I have been defending short-term rentals (STRs), such as the accommodations offered through companies like Airbnb. This past weekend, I spent two nights at a home that was rented through Airbnb. Critics of STRs like to portray them as “party houses,” homes that are turned into raucous bastions of mayhem and disruption…
In late November, a federal judge in Fort Worth ruled that a Wichita Falls anesthesiologist and fossil enthusiast could keep the Tyrannosaurus bataar skull in his possession. The federal government had brought the lawsuit in an effort to return the skull to Mongolia, which claims ownership of the fossil. Admittedly, this is a very esoteric…
Over the past decade (and perhaps longer) there has been a trend for business owners to claim that a law violates their free speech rights. A recent example comes from Oregon, where the owner of a vape shop is claiming that regulations prohibiting him from describing the contents of the products that he sells violates his…
Civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement agencies to seize property that they believe was used in illegal activity. But they do not have to charge the property owner with a crime to keep or use the seized property. Instead, the owner is deemed guilty until he proves his innocence. In the vast majority of asset…
In Texas, ownership of subsurface resources, such as oil and water, is governed by the “rule of capture.” If an individual or business can “capture” the resource–bring it to the surface–it becomes his property. The rule of capture has often been called the “law of the biggest pump.” As the website for Texas A&M explains,…
Daniel Hertz, writing on CityLab.com, presents an interesting idea. The title of his article, “Housing Can’t Be Both Affordable and a Good Investment,” summarizes his position. And, while he makes a compelling argument, he misses the fundamental issue. Hertz acknowledges that the real estate lobby exerts political pressure to maintain laws, such as deductions for…
Each year, the Fraser Institute releases an Economic Freedom in North America report. In its most recent report, Florida is the most economically free state and Texas is in third place. New York is the least free, and its west coast intellectual cousin–California–occupies the forty-seventh position. Conservative organizations point out that economic freedom leads to…
With the 2019 legislative session just a few months away, the proposed bullet train between Dallas and Houston is once again gaining increased attention. In both 2015 and 2017, both opponents and supporters of the project descended on Austin to argue their positions. To many, the bullet train represents a conflict of values. For example,…
San Antonio has become the latest Texas city to regulate short-term rentals (STRs). The city’s new regulations limit the number of STRs on a block, require owners to register with the city, and require owners to pay the city’s hotel occupancy test. Many opponents of STRs wanted a complete ban on the activity. While opponents…
Eminent domain is known as a taking—property is taken by the government for “public use.” According to the Constitution, “just compensation” is due the owner when such a taking occurs. However, the value of property can be diminished through other government actions, such as regulations, while the owner retains title to the property. This has…
A graphic at the beginning of a recent article about short-term rentals (STRs) in the Dallas area illustrates the fundamental nature of zoning. In the graphic, it is stated that the zoning ordinance adopted by Grapevine in 1982 did not permit STRs. It is implied that if a particular use is not explicitly permitted, then…
The dominant view of property today is the “bundle” theory. According to this view, property consists of a number of separate rights, such as the rights to use, disposal, and trade. Metaphorically, property consists of a “bundle of sticks.” One of those sticks can be removed, but a bundle remains. Similarly, one of rights of…