Atlanta neighborhoods have been overrun by party houses. One property, a mansion in Ridgedale Park, received up to 34 noise complaints and 55 other police calls between January 1st and August 21, 2020. This was just one of the examples that drove the city council to pass new regulations. Unfortunately, those new rules are toothless and will not do enough to stop this problem. It is also anybody's guess as to how long we will have to wait before they are enforced, since this keeps being delayed. There are no limitations on the number of short-term rental properties, and any attempt to regulate their operation has been met with resistance. 

There has been an increasingly prevalent issue with AirBnb rental properties being used for large parties over the last several years. Nobody would like to live in a neighborhood where they are unsure about who they will have to live next to from one day to the next. That would basically be the same as living in a hotel. Short-term rental properties lower the value of neighboring houses because they create a chaotic and turbulent atmosphere where people throw wild parties and since they will likely never return to the same property, they don't have to deal with the consequences.

Councilman Howard Shook wanted to ban short-term rentals entirely, which would have been a good decision for the people of Atlanta. He went through all the trouble of proposing an ordinance and gathering support for it. The ordinance was accepted. So... why have there been no changes? Because it is caught up in a quagmire of court challenges and the rules will not be enforced until March of 2023, unless this process is further delayed once again.

The regulations will place the burden on the property owners rather than the renters who are throwing parties. The property owners will only have to show that they used their “best efforts” to avoid violations. This is highly subjective and open to interpretation, and will therefore be difficult if not impossible to enforce. There has to be a better way to go about this. Giving property owners a stern look and telling them to shape up will not bring about any meaningful changes.

In order to avoid continued abuse of the short-term rental market, comprehensive reform is needed that will limit the number rental properties available and close loopholes that can be exploited to avoid accountability.