'Frat House' bill would block Texas cities from limiting unrelated residents

AUSTIN - The Texas Senate is expected to vote on a bill Monday that would strip cities of their ability to regulate how many unrelated people can live in a home.

Most city ordinances allow for bedrooms to be rented, but place a cap at more than three or four unrelated people living in one home.

Opponents are concerned the so-called "Frat House" bill will lead to dormitories and boarding houses next to single-family homes.

Senate Bill 1567: ‘Frat House’ bill hearing

The backstory:

The bill came to be after Texas A&M students raised concerns about occupancy limits for housing in College Station.

Senate Bill 1567 was written by Republican State Senator Paul Bettencourt to change some of those restrictions.

Bettencourt says ordinances "restrict property owners from maximizing the use of the dwelling unit potential."

The senator believes the ordinances force renters into more expensive living arrangements.

Supporters of the bill argue the bill would lower the cost of housing.

"Too many people can't afford a place to live. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of homeowners would be willing to rent out a spare bedroom," said Wes Benedict of Texans for Reasonable Solutions.

Supporters say that city ordinances that regulate noise, parking and trash could be used by cities to prevent undesirable living situations.

The other side:

Texas Senator Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) says the proposed law could have an unintended consequence: single-family zoning could become a thing of the past.

Nichols said that cities have a good reason to regulate occupancy.

"We had slum lords who would literally go in there and then petitioned off all these rooms and rent out the rooms," he said. "30 people might live in the house and they'd charge them like $50 a week."

Nichols said when he served as mayor he received a lot of complaints.

"Don't think everybody are college kids who are trying to be good neighbors," he said.

Opponents argued the bill will make it harder for families to compete against investors for homes.

 "Those neighborhoods will be at risk as developers buy up single-family homes and convert them into de facto dormitories," said a representative from the College Station Association on Neighborhoods.

Others questioned why the state would usurp the authority of Texas cities.

"To me it just smacks a little bit of government overreach," said Peter Bastian, a College Station homeowner.

What's next:

SB 1567 is expected to go up for a vote in the Senate on Monday.

If passed, it would then need to pass the Texas House.