My brother Chase is a student at Texas A&M University, and in February, a city of College Station code enforcement officer came to the door of his house.

Wearing a body camera, the officer asked three questions:

“How many people live here?”

“Are any of you related?”

“What are your names?”

He was trying to see if the residents were in violation of a local ordinance prohibiting occupancy of any home by more than four unrelated people. As it happens, Chase and his four roommates were renting the home while attending Texas A&M.

My brother answered honestly; the officer issued a citation, and Chase and his roommates were forced to kick one of their roommates out of the home. If they refused, each of them would face exorbitant and accumulating fines for continued violation of the ordinance.

That’s here in Texas—the government knocked on someone’s door and said, “One of you has to move out because we say so.”

This zoning ordinance is a gross violation of property rights.

Thankfully, members of the Texas Legislature’s 89th Session are taking notice of ordinances like College Station’s. Senate Bill 1567 and House Bill 2797 will restore property rights to landowners and renters in three primary ways.

First, it prohibits ordinances that limit the number of people who can occupy a home based on familial status, age, occupation, or relationship status.

This restores freedom to landowners and renters. Landowners receive the right to lease their property to whoever they want while renters get the right to choose where they live and who they live with.

Second, the only cities in which the law will apply are those where a university is located.

The state of Texas is home to major universities that attract students from across the country.

College Station’s economic and community infrastructure is almost entirely centered on the presence of Texas A&M students living there. The city should be enacting ordinances that make it easier for students to find housing near campus, rather than acting as a roadblock like it is here. This legislation eliminates housing barriers for students, allowing them to live close to campus and maximize their college experience.

Third, the bill states that the most restrictive occupancy limit that a municipality can adopt is based on the size of the bedrooms within the home and number of occupants in each room. One person may occupy a bedroom that has at least 70 square feet of floor area, and an additional person may occupy a bedroom for every additional 50 square feet it has in floor area.

This really gets to the heart of the issue that neighboring landowners and city officials are trying to combat with ordinances like this—overcrowding. Under the current reading of the College Station occupancy ordinance, 15 brothers and sisters who are legally related could all occupy a small four-bedroom home.

Of course, that is not practical and would cause even more overcrowding than what currently exists. So, why shouldn’t five unrelated people be able to occupy that same house?

This legislation is a commonsense approach to zoning regulations and in line with the Supreme Court of Texas, which has held that the only time government can control how one uses property is when it threatens public health and safety.

Proponents of these types of zoning regulations point to a U.S. Supreme Court decision as which upheld an ordinance restricting occupancy of residences to no more than two unrelated individuals. However, new case law regarding rental properties and the power of local ordinances in Texas are becoming more favorable to landowners and renters thanks to the work of the Center for the American Future. Our attorneys have taken on city ordinances that attempt to regulate and interfere with the property rights of citizens. Texas courts are indicating that the Texas Constitution provides greater protection of property rights for Texans than local governments are willing to admit.

So, if a regulation is not threatening people’s safety, citizens should be left to decide for themselves where they want to live and who they want to allow on their property.

The Texas Legislature must ensure that the rights of all Texans are protected.

In the meantime, Texans everywhere should be wary of every knock at their door.