Overall Vote Recommendation

Yes

Principle Criteria

Free Enterprise

Property Rights

Personal Responsibility

Limited Government

Individual Liberty

Digest

SB 1567 aims to restrict the regulatory authority of home-rule municipalities—those with their own city charters—in managing residential dwelling occupancy in areas where a university campus is located. The bill specifically targets local ordinances that limit how many individuals may reside in a single housing unit based on personal or relational factors. Under this legislation, municipalities would be prohibited from enforcing occupancy caps based on age, familial status, occupation, relationship status, or whether the occupants are related by blood or marriage.

Instead, SB 1567 allows municipalities to regulate residential occupancy only through objective, space-based criteria. It authorizes limits such as one occupant per sleeping room of at least 70 square feet and one additional occupant for every extra 50 square feet. This shift moves away from subjective and potentially discriminatory local standards, replacing them with uniform, safety-oriented benchmarks.

Importantly, the bill preserves the authority of municipalities to impose occupancy limits when they are rooted in health and safety concerns. Cities retain the ability to regulate through adopted building and fire codes, as well as standards established by the Texas Department of State Health Services. In essence, SB 1567 seeks to standardize how occupancy is regulated in university towns, ensuring that housing access is not restricted based on arbitrary criteria unrelated to public safety or structural capacity. The bill represents a significant recalibration of local control in favor of protecting individual housing rights and property use.

The Committee Substitute for SB 1567 introduces several key revisions that significantly narrow the scope and alter the enforcement mechanisms of the originally filed bill. Initially, SB 1567 sought to apply occupancy regulation limitations to all home-rule municipalities across Texas. However, the substitute version restricts the bill’s applicability solely to home-rule cities that are home to a university campus. This shift reflects a more tailored legislative intent—addressing zoning practices that disproportionately affect student housing in college towns—rather than pursuing a broader statewide mandate.

Another substantial change is the addition of specific, measurable occupancy standards in the substitute bill. While both versions prohibit cities from capping occupancy based on personal characteristics like age, familial relationship, or occupation, the revised version introduces an objective standard: one person per 70 square feet of sleeping area, with an allowance for an additional person for every extra 50 square feet. This provision provides clarity and ensures that municipalities can still protect health and safety through consistent, non-discriminatory means.

The Committee Substitute also strips away the enforcement provisions found in the original bill. The original version allowed property owners to file lawsuits against municipalities that violated the statute, included a waiver of governmental immunity, and permitted recovery of attorney’s fees. These provisions are entirely absent from the substitute version, thereby reducing the legal liability for cities and signaling a more cooperative approach to compliance.

Finally, the original bill included language affirming that private deed restrictions and property owners’ association rules would remain unaffected. This language is also omitted in the substitute, possibly to maintain focus on public zoning regulations rather than private agreements. In total, the substitute version represents a moderated and more focused legislative strategy, targeting the specific issue of restrictive occupancy rules in university areas while softening the bill’s impact on municipal autonomy and legal exposure.

Author (1)

Paul Bettencourt

Co-Author (1)

Sarah Eckhardt

Sponsor (1)

Cody Vasut

Contact the Author

Sen. Paul Bettencourt

Capitol Phone:

(512) 463-0107

Capitol Office:

CAP 3E.16

E-Mail:

[email protected]

Visit Official Website

Fiscal Notes

According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), SB 1567 is not expected to have a significant fiscal impact on the state of Texas. The agencies involved—including the Office of Court Administration, the Comptroller’s Office, and the Department of State Health Services—do not anticipate that implementation will require additional appropriations. Any administrative or procedural adjustments needed to comply with the bill's provisions are expected to be manageable within existing agency budgets and operational capacity.

At the local level, however, there may be some financial implications for certain home-rule municipalities. If a city were to violate the provisions of the originally filed bill—which included enforcement mechanisms allowing property owners to sue for damages—there could be exposure to legal liability and associated costs. However, since those litigation provisions were removed from the committee substitute, these financial risks are largely mitigated under the current version.

Thus, while the original version might have created the potential for legal costs at the municipal level, the revised bill limits financial exposure and simplifies compliance, making fiscal effects at the local level minimal or indirect. Overall, the bill poses little to no financial burden to the state and presents only limited administrative considerations for local governments.

Vote Recommendation Notes

SB 1567 presents a balanced and targeted reform to municipal zoning authority by limiting the ability of certain home-rule cities—specifically those with university campuses—to restrict the occupancy of residential dwellings based on relational or personal criteria. The legislative intent is clear: to prevent arbitrary and potentially discriminatory zoning ordinances that limit how many unrelated individuals can live together, which has disproportionately impacted college students and other renters in densely populated university areas.

The bill reflects meaningful revisions based on public testimony. It narrows the bill’s scope to municipalities where a public institution of higher education is located, thereby addressing the specific contexts where such occupancy restrictions have proven most burdensome. It also introduces a standardized, safety-based occupancy formula grounded in square footage per occupant, providing municipalities with a clear and objective framework for health and safety enforcement. Importantly, the bill bars municipalities from enforcing occupancy limits through invasive means such as inspecting lease documents—offering further privacy protections for tenants and real estate professionals.

From a liberty-focused perspective, the bill aligns with multiple principles: It protects individual liberty and privacy, supports free enterprise and property rights, and limits overreach by local governments. The added constraints on municipal intrusion and the removal of broad, subjective zoning powers enhance the consistency and fairness of housing regulations. Furthermore, with no significant fiscal impact expected at the state level and minimal administrative burden for local governments, SB 1567 is a well-calibrated response to a documented regulatory issue. For these reasons, Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote YES on SB 1567.

Related Legislation

HB 2797 (Same As)

View Bill Text and Status