2023 HOME EDITION
Reporting a problem
Sites like Airbnb and VRBO have online portals residents can use to report problematic properties. VRBO • Submit a complaint through VRBO’s Stay Neighborly program, including police reports, photos or citations. • VRBO will alert the owner, work to resolve the issue and potentially remove the listing.
Ginsburg, an attorney and founder of the Facebook page Houstonians Against AirBnbs, is among the con- cerned neighbors of Sharpton’s proj- ect. When he presented the city’s hotel ordinance—which states that hotels with 50 rooms or less cannot be built within a 1,000-foot radius of a residential neighborhood—to city o cials as a way to demonstrate how these STRs are operating illegally, Ginsburg said he was told he was not wrong in his reading of the ordi- nance. Prior to its approval by the Planning Commission, city o cials said Sharpton’s project is not in con- ict with existing deed restrictions or the city’s hotel ordinance. Bria Place is just one of hun- dreds of STR properties throughout Montrose. Just south of the devel- opment are two more on Fairview Street that operate out of single-fam- ily homes. Rhett Emis lives near two homes operating as STRs in the heart of Montrose. Emis said he has reported these properties numerous times to Airbnb and the Houston Police Department for issues such as noise,
parking on the street and blocking the ow of tra c. “A few times, they’ve temporarily shut down the listing … and then the listing will reappear maybe over a week or two,” Emis said of Airbnb. “They’ve also permanently shut down one of the listings, but then that listing was recreated under a dif- ferent Airbnb account. The property didn’t change names or anything; it was just the Airbnb listing changed names.” An o cial at Airbnb—the largest provider of STRs in Houston at 67%, according to AirDNA—said the com- pany is doing all it can to prevent these issues citywide. “The vast majority of hosts in Houston are responsible neighbors who share just one home to help supplement their income and make ends meet,” said Luis Briones, a pub- lic policy manager at Airbnb, in an emailed statement to Community Impact . “We look forward to con- tinuing to partner with the city of Houston to address community con- cerns and to ensure hosts are sharing their homes responsibly.”
Airbnb • Submit a complaint at www.airbnb.com/p2b.
Resolutions for rentals Curtis said it will be crucial for Houston o cials to understand the trends and data surrounding STRs in the city before moving forward with any regulatory changes. Requiring STR operators to register with the city would be a good start, he said. “I think that creating a fair regis- tration program that allows people to gain access to operate STRs is a great place to start because it gives the city the ability to remove the reg- istrant if somebody is proving to be a bad actor and [has] consistent nui- sance issues,” Curtis said. • A case handler will be assigned to the complaint and will make contact within 96 hours. • A decision will be reached within 15 business days, including potential restriction, suspension or termination of the property.
SOURCES: AIRBNB, VRBO COMMUNITY IMPACT
While the city mulls over a solu- tion, residents of these neigh- borhoods with burgeoning STR properties are stuck in limbo. Deborah Quintero, another Mon- trose resident, said she’s seen guns hauled out of the STR property next to her home. “I miss my neighbors,” Quintero said. Shawn Arrajj contributed to this report.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • JULY 2023
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