“Dear PoPville,
I’m reaching out regarding Mayor Bowser’s proposed changes to short term rentals. Please indulge me with some context first that powers my alarm. And I’d like to be anonymous please.
I saw your recent posts on rats. In Brightwood they are bad, and on our block getting worse due to a short term rental that isn’t owner occupied and appears to be owned by a VA resident. There are numerous large parties generating lots of garbage. And in recent months no one is putting the trash in the alley. The piled up garbage on the property is feeding a surge in rats on our block.
For many, many months my neighbors and I have been going from DC department to department and to Airbnb directly to try to address the non-owner-occupied full time Airbnb (violation of current law) on our street and as noted the numerous parties that often exceed quiet hours and generate uncontrolled garbage.
In researching links to share with Airbnb,
I noticed Mayor Bowser recently proposed changes that would enable non-owner occupied residences (a second home) to be a short term rental. I haven’t been able to closely follow local news but was surprised I hadn’t heard about this proposed change that would fundamentally change neighborhoods throughout DC. In asking around, many of my neighbors hadn’t heard about it either.
The full-time short-term rental on our small street where twin homes share walls and the buildings are mere feet from one another has introduced numerous parties that often extend into quiet hours and continue into the wee hours of the morning. The volume of garbage also far exceeds that of a family residence.
If the proposed legislative changes I read about are made, this sort of problem could eventually be on every street – at least in all the more moderate or modest priced communities.
Finally, we are continuously pointed from DC agency to DC agency without resolution of the violations to date of the current, more restrictive laws and policies. One big issue is that no DC department or office seems to be charged with or authorized to enforce current laws/regs. If we get any traction with a department and a case is opened, they find that the owner has a license so the case gets closed. Even though it’s apparent the application either had misinformation or was approved erroneously. Enforcement is a vital tool for citizens.”