“What is the best way to report a building filled with illegal Airbnbs to the DC government for inspection?”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Victoria Pickering

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve been looking at the website for DCRA but can’t figure out a clear way to report a building where the owner has converted it from what used to be a rental into multiple airbnb units. The reason I ask is that recently it seems like every walk up that sells in my neighborhood is bought by someone who clears the renters out and puts all the units on airbnb. Home sharing is one thing and I’m for it, but taking an entire building offline to be airbnb’d is something else entirely, and I don’t know, but I doubt it’s actually supposed to be allowed.

When I called 311, the operators didnt seem to know what I was talking about. They asked if I wanted to report illegal construction, but that’s not the problem here….there is no construction going on anymore. The DCRA website doesnt seem to have any info about this issue specifically either that I can find.

Is there a better way to ask the city to look into this and make sure these guys are following the rules about what their property can be used for? In short, what is the best way to notify the city about a building filled with illegal Airbnbs?“