Szymanski raises concerns over Airbnb rentals in Montgomery
Montgomery District 7 City Council member Andrew Szymanski says Airbnb rentals are causing issues for some neighborhoods.
A recent shooting at an Airbnb home rental in Midtown Montgomery has led the city council to consider how to better regulate the properties.
“Airbnbs are not being used as places for people to vacation or stay for work,” Szymanski told Action 8 News. “They’re being used as party homes and that’s just completely unacceptable in the City Of Montgomery. We were getting calls about places that are having late night parties very recently. One of my neighborhoods had a party that ended in a shooting in a very quiet residential neighborhood and so that is what we are really trying to alleviate.”
The city council’s commerce committee is planning to discuss several possible changes, including better background checks for people renting the properties, annual inspections and how to improve communication with Airbnb owners so that properties with problems can be removed from listings.
Some residents in Montgomery’s Cottage Hill neighborhood say they would support these ideas.
“I do think that it should be somehow controlled. I don’t think that people should be able to just run a house and throw a huge party,” Chase Jackson said.
The city council’s commerce committee is expected to meet to discuss the issue in the next few weeks.
