INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers living near short-term rentals in downtown Indianapolis have had enough.
Wednesday, they gathered to continue a conversation about a possible city ordinance that would register short-term rentals.
The rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, can be a fun alternative for travelers looking for a place to stay in town. But it can be a headache for neighbors living near them.
"One night was a party with a disco ball going out the window. The police had to come, and everybody scattered after that," said Jeff Miller.
Besides the police, neighbors said they have no one else to call.
"That's part of the problem is we don't have the ability to get a hold of that property owner. I did look up the address and they live in Washington," said Miller.
The trouble isn't always coming from out-of-towners.
IMPD said they've seen young people in Indianapolis looking for place to throw big parties which can quickly get out of hand.
"When you advertise an event to the entire city of Indianapolis, there's some good people that might show up and there's some bad people that might show up. The bad people that have shown up to these events citywide have brought guns and gotten into disputes and used those firearms illegally to harm other people at these house parties," said IMPD Commercial Crimes Branch Capt. Chris Boomershine.
Now, some members of the City-County Council are crafting legislation requiring short-term rentals to be registered. They're hoping to introduce it next month.
Residents said this would create clarity.
"Right now if police, fire or EMS respond to a residence for an issue we don't know if it's a short-term rental or not. Which means it's very hard to contact the owners or management to say, 'Hey, we are having this problem,'" said Dakota Powlicki, co-founder of the Coalition to Address Short-Term Rentals.
Miller said he's happy to see some movement on the issue, but wants to keep both property owners and neighbors in mind.
"It's finding that middle ground, where someone has the right to do what they want with their property to be able to rent it out, but they're not a nuisance to the neighborhood by doing it," he said.
If you have concerns about a short-term rental in your community, the Coalition to Address Short-Term Rentals has a form that helps document these incidents.