PHOENIX — A consistent stream of noisy renters have some Valley homeowners taking legal action.
Charles Santangelo lives on a hill in north Phoenix.
"We moved here hoping this would be a dream house, it has great views," he said.
For Santangelo and his roommate though, every weekend brings worry.
"We don’t know what to expect," he said. "It has been a nuisance. From the traffic, all hours of the night, to the music. Litter, public urination, I mean you name it, we have dealt with it."
For the past year Santangelo's neighbor has listed her home on Airbnb.
This weekend, Santangelo said Cardinals player Robert Nkemdiche rented the house. Police received four calls to the property, the last at 4:15 AM, records show. Officers cited Nkemdiche's older brother Bryan for drinking champagne in running car.
"Law enforcement is sort of hamstrung, they will say, 'This is a civil issue, we can’t really do much,'" said Patrick MacQueen, a real estate attorney in the Valley.
MacQueen said he gets calls about how to handle rowdy rental neighbors three or four times a month. The problem though, is a state statute that prohibits cities from regulating short-term rentals. Macqueen said the status quo leaves frustrated neighbors with limited options.
"It's going to the neighbor, it’s going to the HOA, it’s going to the city government to see if there something that can be done, ad usually there’s not much that can be done. Then it is filing a nuisance-based lawsuit."
Santangelo said he has not filed a lawsuit yet.
"We did seek legal counsel and our lawyer sent a cease and desist letter," he said.
The neighbor now has clear rules in the Airbnb listing. It says, "Not Suitable for Large Events or Crazy Parties."
Santangelo thinks some of the guests do not care.
"If it was regular Airbnb rental to families and things like that, I have no issue with that. I do that for my Airbnb."
Santangelo said he will continue to fight until he says he can sleep peacefully on the weekend.
"We’ve had dozens and dozens of nights where we have been woken up at all hours."
The neighbor who rents the Airbnb told ABC15 over the phone that no other neighbors have had issues except Santangelo, and she said there have maybe been "three problem guests" during her time renting out the property.
