Northwest Dallas neighborhood frustrated with short-term rentals

DALLAS – Another Dallas neighborhood is frustrated after a short-term rental brought dozens of people the smell of drugs and trash to their usually quiet neighborhood last weekend.

A councilwoman said the Dallas Police Department and law enforcement are investigating exactly what happened inside the home.

After the short-term rental brought hordes of people and the smell of drugs to their normally quiet northwest Dallas neighborhood, the people who live there put up signs calling on the Dallas City Council to take action. .

A neighbor captured footage of an armed security guard with a bulletproof vest walking past the short-term rental on Saturday.

“Why do you need a security guard with an armed vest at the front door?” said neighbor Alan Shlensky. “Something was wrong. It’s alarming.”

Neighbor Mike Long says the atmosphere was not appropriate for the many young children in the otherwise quiet neighborhood.

“It was more of a massage parlor than a family-friendly party,” he said.

Long says he’s speaking out so people know how quickly short-term rentals can wreak havoc on a neighborhood.

“I never imagined that was a problem, it’s a huge problem. I guarantee you no city commissioner wants this in their neighborhood or anyone who lives in Dallas,” he said.

The owner of the house has rented it out to a company that handles short-term rentals. He says the company then put the listing on Airbnb.

Airbnb recently issued a permanent ban on house parties, though neighbors say it’s not exactly clear what kind of activity was going on in this case.

“I wish the Airbnb rep could have been here Saturday night, and they could have gone to the non-party,” Long said.

Ted Reemstma is the owner of the neighborhood short-term rental house. He says he no longer has an agreement with the management company.

“They were here a lot at first. Then they left to expand their business,” he said. “I’m not going to blame them for that. It’s a free country.”

Reemtsma, who grew up in the neighborhood, said he called police to ask short-term tenants to vacate the property on Saturday. He says there have been a number of lease violations, ranging from smoking and drug use to having too many vehicles parked outside.

He said it was not what he expected when he signed with the management company.

Reemtsma is now meeting a new short-term rental management company.

An Airbnb spokeswoman said the company is reviewing the situation.

The Dallas City Council has asked its zoning committees to review the definition of short-term rentals as housing, which would prevent them from going into residential neighborhoods.

City council will have the final say in a vote scheduled for this fall.