Rowdy parties drove neighbour to moving
JACK LAWRIE keep going on Friday night,” he said.
“I’d call the police, they’d drive up and down the road and occasionally knock on the door, I called the mayor, I called council.
“The people who rent the house don’t care, they just leave at the end of the week and a new batch would come along and the neighbours would cop it every week.
“While I lived there, the quietest people to rent it were actually the Targa people and they had race cars.”
Councillor Richie Bates said he had received a number of complaints from residents forced to deal with sleepless nights.
“There are plenty of responsible Airbnb operators doing the right thing and running compliant lodgings respectful of those next door,” he said.
“Invariably these are hosted by live-in landlords who keep a track of guests’ behaviour and moderate use of the home to respect the privacy and amenity for neighbours.
“However, we see a few bad operators ruining it for the rest by letting out the dwelling without living on site or appropriately vetting the guests.
“This can be a nightmare for neighbours who have to put up with all-night parties and drunken revelry on a frequent basis.”
Cr Bates said a potential solution could be amending the planning scheme to set regulations on Airbnb properties, possibly requiring owners to live on site.
“It’s a challenge, because Airbnb is relatively new, planning schemes haven’t quite caught up in their role in residential zones,” he said.
“Rather than blame council (or police), we should be looking at ways to adapt.”
An Airbnb spokesman said all unauthorised and open invite parties were banned.
“We want to do everything we can to help our community members be good neighbours in the places they call home,” he said.
“It is why we have high community standards and tools – like our Neighbour Support Line – which allow s anyone to share specific concerns they might have about a listing.
“Community members who fail to meet our high standards will be subject to suspension or removal.”