The City of Houston has been working for years now to crack down on the violent crime and chaos at short-term rental properties like Airbnbs. An ordinance designed to regulate them took effect earlier this year, but it hasn’t solved the problem.
Our TV partner, Channel 2, recently reported a shooting at one of these short-term rentals, which was reportedly being used to host a party. According to the report, a 23-year-old was killed at the party, and a 19-year-old was hospitalized.
Doug Griffith, President of the Houston Police Officers Union, says there’s no way to stop 100% of these violent parties. “We’re still going to see this happen. Unfortunately, this is the way these teens get together, and when you have a whole group of them together like that, bad things happen.”
He went on to say that parents are going to have to play a more active role here if any progress is to be made. “If they’re going to a party like this, tell them they can’t go! Unfortunately, we see too many parents just let their kids run wild, and we end up with situations like this,” he said.
Griffith also pointed out that one way or the other, these parties are going to continue to happen, and even if you can prevent them from occurring at short-term rentals, they’ll just move somewhere else.