S.B. No. 1567

	AN ACT
	relating to the authority of home-rule municipalities to regulate
	the occupancy of dwelling units.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 211, Local Government Code, is amended
	by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER D.  RESIDENTIAL ZONING LIMITATIONS RELATED TO OCCUPANCY
	IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
	Sec. 211.051.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
	(1)  "Dwelling unit" means a house, apartment unit, or
	any unit in a multiunit residential structure.  The term does not
	include a unit in a hotel, motel, or other establishment in which
	more than half of the units are intended to be used for transient
	accommodations.
	(2)   "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
	Sec. 211.052.  APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
	to a home-rule municipality with a population of less than 250,000:
	(1)  in which the campus of an institution of higher
	education with a student enrollment of more than 20,000 is located;
	or
	(2)  that is adjacent to the campus of an institution of
	higher education described by Subdivision (1).
	Sec. 211.053.  DWELLING UNIT OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENTS.  (a)
	Except as provided by Subsection (b), a municipality may not adopt
	or enforce a zoning ordinance, rule, or other regulation that
	limits the number of people who may occupy a dwelling unit based on:
	(1)  age;
	(2)  familial status;
	(3)  occupation;
	(4)  relationship status; or
	(5)  whether the occupants are related to each other by
	a certain degree of affinity or consanguinity.
	(b)  A municipality may impose a limit on the number of
	occupants of a dwelling unit that is not more restrictive than:
	(1)  one occupant per sleeping room with a minimum
	floor area of 70 square feet; and
	(2)  one additional occupant for each additional 50
	square feet of floor area in the same sleeping room.
	Sec. 211.054.  NO EFFECT ON OTHER ZONING AUTHORITY.  This
	subchapter does not prohibit a municipality from imposing a limit
	on the number of people who may occupy a dwelling unit based on
	health and safety standards contained in:
	(1)  a building code as adopted under Subchapter G,
	Chapter 214;
	(2)  a fire code;
	(3)  standards adopted by the Department of State
	Health Services; or
	(4)  local, state, or federal affordable housing
	program guidelines.
	Sec. 211.055.  LEASE REVIEW PROHIBITED. A municipality may
	not require a real estate broker, agent, or other third party
	fiduciary to submit for review or provide access to a lease or
	related document to determine the number of unrelated occupants of
	a dwelling unit for the purpose of enforcing a dwelling unit
	occupancy requirement.
	Sec. 211.056.  NO EFFECT ON PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATIONS
	AND OTHER PRIVATE AGREEMENTS.  This subchapter does not prohibit a
	property owner from enforcing rules or deed restrictions imposed by
	a property owners' association or by other private agreement.
	Sec. 211.057.  CIVIL ACTION. (a)  A person who owns property
	in or a tenant who resides in a municipality who is adversely
	affected or aggrieved by the municipality's violation of this
	subchapter may bring an action against the municipality or an
	officer or employee of the municipality in the officer's or
	employee's official capacity for relief described by Subsection
	(c).
	(b)  A claimant must bring an action under this section in a
	county in which the real property that is the subject of the action
	is wholly or partly located.
	(c)  In an action brought under this section, a court may:
	(1)  enter a declaratory judgment under Chapter 37,
	Civil Practice and Remedies Code;
	(2)  issue a writ of mandamus compelling a defendant
	officer or employee to comply with this subchapter; and
	(3)  issue an injunction preventing the defendant from
	violating this subchapter.
	(d)  A court shall award reasonable attorney's fees and court
	costs incurred in bringing an action under this section to a
	prevailing claimant.
	(e)  The Fifteenth Court of Appeals has exclusive
	intermediate appellate jurisdiction over an appeal or original
	proceeding arising from an action brought under this section.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1567 passed the Senate on
	April 14, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; and that
	the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 30, 2025, by the
	following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1567 passed the House, with
	amendments, on May 28, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 101,
	Nays 29, two present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor