Pool party at short-term rental ends in fatal shooting and raises concern

HOUSTON – A pool party in a short-term rental house ends fatally: A 21-year-old young man is shot. The shots were fired last night in the 7100 block of Orville Street in Trinity Gardens.

So what is being done about violence in Houston's short-term rental apartments?

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According to the Houston City Council's Quality of Life Committee, Houston Police received more than 60,000 calls about short-term rentals last year alone.

According to the report, most of the 61,167 calls came from District D (17,225 calls), where the 21-year-old was shot on Sunday, and from District C (12,929 calls).

“Some of the short-term rental property owners allow all kinds of criminal activity. People party late into the night and disrupt the people around them. That's something we definitely don't want to see continue,” said Amy Peck, Houston City Councilwoman, District A. She says 60,000 calls to HPD in a year about short-term rentals is discouraging.

“When there are that many service calls in just a few locations – we're not talking about very, very many locations – then I know there's a problem,” Peck said.

“It's sad because some people my age just want to go out and have fun, and you can't have fun without something happening or gunshots being fired. (Do you think something needs to be done about all the violence that goes on in short-term rentals?) Yes,” Houston resident Trey Turner responds.

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At a recent city council meeting, dozens of Houstonians crowded into the council to talk about short-term rentals. What were they complaining about?

“We've heard of people, not just the loud parties, it's even gone a step further, people doing drugs and prostitution and all kinds of things right outside their houses. Something needs to be done. I think some of these things could be addressed with our current city ordinances. We just need to enforce what's on the books and then look at other ordinances as well to make sure they go far enough to prevent this from happening,” Peck says. “The city is looking at how to implement some of the measures that other cities have successfully implemented. (Any idea of ​​what time frame the city council might vote on something like this?) At the last Quality of Life Committee meeting, they said they're nearing the end of that investigation and should have updates in the next few months.”

There are nearly 11,000 short-term rental properties across Houston, and Peck says most owners are compliant, but she believes policies need to be changed to account for those who repeatedly allow violence and crime.