Imagine living next door to a place rented out for wild parties every weekend.
After numerous complaints from neighbors about this stuff, Dallas is considering new rules for short-term rentals that could be approved this fall after years of debate.
At a meeting earlier this year, Dallas City Council members were told that 12 short-term rental homes racked up two or more complaints in 2021 and 2020.
So NBC 5 filed an open records request and found that three of those 12 had six or more complaints.
The one with six is a Lake Highlands house with a pool.
This home’s Airbnb listing asks for $132 per night, but clearly limits visitors to just four people in a private guest room and says they’ll share the pool, kitchen, living room, dining room, and bathrooms. bathroom with the owner.
Jacqueline Harrill, who is listed in public records as the current owner, said she bought it in late 2021 and started living there in January 2022. She said the complaints all dated from before she was in the house and that the neighbors were delighted to hear her. promise to take care of things differently.
“I will be here. I’m going to pre-screen people who stay here and that’s been a really positive thing,” she said. “I love having people come from all over the world and share my space with them.”
Harrill said a couple currently staying with her had family in that part of Dallas, where there aren’t many hotels.
“It has really been a wonderful opportunity for me to earn some extra income. I am paying this mortgage myself,” she said.
Restricting short-term rentals to owner-occupied homes is a Dallas option that has been discussed to help neighbors, but also allow landlords to earn extra cash.
“For years it was a party house,” she said.
Airbnb’s listing of a West Dallas home with seven city complaints in the past two years says it’s “perfect for your next watch party or barbecue.” The listing says up to 16 people are allowed for $342 a night.
Public records show that the house has a homestead exemption. But neighbors told NBC 5 they had never seen the owner and could not be reached for comment.
A neighbor who feared for her safety who refused to be seen or use her name because of past gunfire at this short-term rental home said she favors another Dallas option of banning short-term rentals in single-family neighborhoods.
“That’s what they should be doing. I completely agree 100% that this is what they should be doing. I have nothing against Airbnbs, but I don’t think they should be in a residential area like this,” she said. “It’s noisy and they leave trash everywhere and it makes the neighborhood look bad.”
The home with the most complaints on the Dallas list is in the Lakewood area. This establishment recorded eight complaints in 2020 and 2021.
It looks small from the front, but the VRBO listing calls it “Your Very Own Private Dallas Resort” renting for $482 a night. It has a three-storey villa and a swimming pool in the back and a room for 16 people with four bedrooms, nine beds and three bathrooms. Photos show it has two kitchens and multiple living areas.
A neighbor said the landlord had threatened his neighbors with legal action for complaining. The neighbor shared a video of guests shouting from a balcony and heavy traffic on the street one night during a large gathering at the house.
The owner is Dallas attorney Amy E. Davis. She says the problem is the neighbors, not the property. She says street activist neighbors oppose short-term rentals.
“It doesn’t give them the right to interfere with the owners use of the property or intimidate the guests staying in the house. That’s exactly what happened here. I’ve worked too hard as possible to be a good neighbor,” Davis said.
Despite the listing remaining online this week, Davis said the home is no longer a short-term rental.
But she said she owned Dallas property used for short-term rentals and said she opposes any new regulations.
Harrill says she could live with changes.
“I think there needs to be stricter regulations or stipulations, but not prohibit it,” Harrell said.
The options are still being reviewed and could be decided by the Dallas City Council as early as September.
Comments are closed.