DALLAS — A Dallas council committee may vote later this month on regulations for short-term rentals in the city.
Right now, there are no regulations. But as there continues to be more and more rentals, some people in the city believe regulations are needed.
Willie Gonzalez and Carl Hays are two neighbors in Oak Cliff who are frustrated with the rental across the street. They said the home has been a nuisance since new owners took over last year.
Gonzalez and Hays said the home has been a party house several weekends over the past few months.
“I walked outside my door, and there were cars parked from one end of the block to the other, and there were people screaming and hollering back and forth,” Hays said. “The house has only three bedrooms, but there were at least 15 cars out here one night. I’m just assuming if each car had one person, of course assuming they probably had two, that’s 30 or 40 people in a house that’s designed for six.”
“My bedroom’s facing the front of that house. You can hear and see everything,” Gonzalez said. “I can’t even have my wife come out and walk the dogs. That’s how crazy it has gotten.”
But many short-term rental owners said that is not the norm.
“I can go down the line for why it’s beneficial,” said Vera Elkins.
Elkins owns around 20 short-term rentals in Dallas and said STR’s provide additional income for families, housing for people in need of a place to stay, and contributions to the overall economy.
“Those problems, I will tell you because I’ve seen the numbers and I’ve seen the report that the city itself has produced, the pros outweigh the small cons, by far,” said Elkins.
Elkins believes there can be a middle ground on regulations for STR hosts and concerned neighbors.
Hays, however, believes they have no place in residential neighborhoods.
“My real concern is if we ever have an emergency over here with that many cars parked there the emergency vehicles would not be able to get in,” Hays said. “I am hoping that the city council will restrict short-term rentals to commercial areas.”
A city council committee will re-visit the issue on Feb. 22.