An Airbnb Nightmare: Loud Parties, Drugs, And Absent Hosts Make a Perfect Storm in Oak Lawn

It’s 4 p.m. — do you know who your neighbors are?

Four in the afternoon can be an anxiety-ridden time of day for Ken Ray.  That is when he finds out who the latest crop of “guests” will be moving into the condos next door.

Next door is supposed to be an Airbnb, but, with four three-story condos outfitted with bunk beds, it is nothing less than a hotel.  On any given day the guests might be a couple, a squad of construction workers, or a bachelor party. The Oak Lawn condos can hold dozens of people when fully bedded out, and Ray never knows what kind of person will show up, whether they will party all night, throw their cigarette butts into his garden, back their cars into his fence, or simply go to bed.

To thousands of Dallasites, Airbnb is not the warm-and-fuzzy, mom-and-pop-rent-out-the-back-room cottage industry that began 13 years ago. To many, Airbnb is an unfettered juggernaut, destroyer of neighborhoods, answerable to no one, unregulated by the city, and unresponsive to complaints. 

Not All Airbnbs Are Backyard Cottages

Data compiled by Inside Airbnb for CandysDirt.com shows how geographically broad and powerful Airbnb has become. Inside Airbnb, headed by data activist Murray Cox, has analyzed the impact of Airbnb on cities all over the world. We asked Cox to track which entities listing multiple Airbnb properties in Dallas also list in other cities. The results are stunning.

A host named Heath lists 176 homes in North Texas. A company called Plushy lists properties in 13 states, including three homes in the Dallas area. Its website says “We make Airbnb hosting easy.” A company called Corporate Suites lists 106 properties in Dallas.  A guy calling himself Miroslav, from London, lists 5,981 properties around the world for students, including one in Dallas. Reece, who says he’s from Dallas, lists nine homes in North Texas. A company called ITrip vacations in Fort Worth lists 23 homes in North Texas. Sharebnb, headquartered in Mansfield, lists 502 properties in nine states on Airbnb.  Sharebnb has its own website, which says “We pay cash for houses,” and lists a luxury home in Plano for rent. Since listings on Airbnb do not reveal a property’s exact address, it’s not possible to look them up in Dallas County appraisal records to see who owns them.  

Back in Oak Lawn, Ken Ray knows the address of the property on the other side of his driveway: 4432 Bowser. He’s angry at what happens there.

“It’s been everything,” Ray said. “I’ve had people (Airbnb guests) ask me where they could buy drugs probably six times.” 

He’s been complaining about noise, damage, and behavior for two years now. Records show he’s called Dallas Police 14 times. He’s written letters to the city council asking for short-term rental (STR) regulations that have been in the works for two years. And he’s complained to Airbnb, as well as the manager of the condo. 

“Unhosted”

Like many Airbnbs, the property is not managed by the owner nor does he live there. 

In a February study, Inside Airbnb found that 83 percent of properties in Dallas are “unhosted,” and that half of all listings for entire homes in Dallas are operated by hosts who live outside the city. There’s no property manager on the premises at 4432 Bowser.  They live in New York, judging from the area code of their phone. According to Inside Airbnb, The hosts of the Bowser property are  “Jerry and JC,” and they describe themselves as “a fast-growing vacation rental company that is changing the way people stay when they travel.” 

CandysDirt.com called “Jerry and JC” in New York. A man identifying himself as Jerry Chang answered the phone. He said “I’d rather not share that,” when asked about the true name of his company or its address. He said he had several properties in Dallas and across the country, but would not comment on where they are. Although the owner of 4432 Bowser is listed as Sanjay Shahani, Shahani is not listed on any other Dallas County properties, and Chang would not reveal where Shahani lives.  

Ken Ray has provided CandysDirt.com with screenshots of a number of texts with Chang. In one, Chang suggested Ray should move out of his condo when it’s rented to noisy college students on a football weekend.  “Get used to it,” Chang wrote. In another, he suggests Ray should soundproof his condo if he doesn’t like the noise generated next door. Chang also texted “I am a businessman who owns properties in several states. “

Most interestingly, Chang texts about the Dallas City Council Quality of Life committee which has been studying how to regulate Airbnbs for the last two years. In a text last September, Chang wrote to Ray, “You sound worried …”  Ray responded, “I’ll close you down. That simple.”  Chang answered, “The committee is made up of city council members. You’re not a city council member. I know people on the task force well,” implying that he had an inside track of the city’s plans to regulate Airbnbs. 

The Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life Committee was supposed to meet in June to discuss the refinement of proposed regulations by the city.  But that meeting was canceled and never rescheduled.

When Ken Ray called Code Compliance to complain about his neighbors again this summer, he says he was told the city had no power to deal with Airbnbs. The city regulates hotels. It regulates zoning, prohibiting commercial businesses from operating in residential areas. Clearly, it does have the power. Meanwhile, two of Ray’s neighbors in his own building have moved out rather than waiting for the city to do its job. 

We have reached out to Airbnb regarding its policies but did not receive a response.

---

Byron Harris is one of the most decorated reporters in the United States. Among his national honors are six DuPont Columbia Awards, including the only Dupont Gold Baton (joint) ever given to a local television station, two Peabody awards, four Edward R. Murrows, and four Gerald Loeb Awards for business and financial reporting. He is an Army veteran, an Eagle Scout and a volunteer for Dallas Habitat for Humanity.