'Noisy': Elmhurst Residents Complain About Airbnbs

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst's Rhonda Dhiab says she wakes up in the middle of the night most weekends.

The culprit, she says, is the Airbnb next door.

"They have different people coming in nightly," she told the City Council on Monday. "It is noisy. I'm cleaning up garbage all the time. I've had fight dogs next to me... There are loud cars going in and out."

She was among several speakers at the council meeting to express concerns about short-term rentals such as Airbnbs.

Later, the council approved regulations for such rentals. They included requiring rentals to be for at least a day, which some residents wanted to increase. Nearby Hinsdale, for instance, bars rentals that are less than three months.

Resident Hunter Springate told the council that his neighbor's house turned into a short-term rental. It's a home where Springate's family shares a side-by-side driveway.

"Guests have wandered into our yard," Springate said. "Guests barrel down into our driveway, and one of them almost hit my son as he was chasing a basketball. I once had to tell a guest to get out of his car because he was sitting in a car for 45 minutes or more watching my kids play basketball."

He said his home value has likely dropped as a result.

"At the moment, the house – excuse me, hotel – that we live next to has fallen into disrepair," he said. "The siding blew off in a windstorm. The downspout is off. The trash cans are out until Tuesday the following week. Our trash day is Friday."

Cherrie Fiyalko, a resident and real estate agent who owns a short-term rental in town, said good owners should not be penalized for those who poorly manage rentals.

Cherrie Fiyalko, who owns a short-term rental in Elmhurst, urges the City Council on Monday against penalizing those who properly manage their properties. (City of Elmhurst/via video)

"As short-term rental owners, we take pride in being good neighbors and community members," she said. "The idea that short-term rentals are party houses is a myth that doesn't reflect reality, especially in a community like ours."

Typical renters are families visiting Elmhurst University students, residents who are in between homes, those who are remodeling their houses or out-of-towners visiting local relatives, Fiyalko said.

"These people are not disruptive tourists," Fiyalko said. "They are our friends, they are our families, they are our neighbors. And they deserve a comfortable and local place to stay."

During the council debate, Mike Brennan, an alderman on the city committee that proposed the changes, said the city wanted to take a "measured" approach.

Under the proposal, the city would establish a license system for short-term rentals. It would require rentals to be for at least a day.

The city would mandate short-term rental operators to keep a register of guests and their arrival and departure dates. They would then be required to make the registers available to police officers upon request.

Also, operators would be required to provide proof of $1 million homeowner's or host protection insurance policies. Occupancy in such homes would be barred from exceeding the maximum number of people allowed in such dwellings.

Fines for violations would be $250 for the first one, $500 for the second and $1,000 for later ones. Ultimately, the city could revoke the licenses of short-term rental operators.

"The lack of data is troubling," Brennan said. "We don't know the volume or the operators of the rentals. That's very problematic."

At the same time, he said the city wanted to avoid enacting regulations that hurt good rental operators.

The rules, he said, would give the city more tools to combat bad behavior. But he said the city may tweak the regulations as officials learn more about the issue.

Brennan promised that the committee, which he leads, would review the issue quarterly.

Alderman Michael Bram said the local feedback was "eye-opening."

"The stories today have rocked me a little bit," he said.

Bram said he found instances in which rental advertisements for local homes advertised occupancy far greater than the number of bedrooms.

For instance, he said, a six-bedroom house was promoted as having 15 beds. With two people in each bed, that would mean 30 people.

"(That) is crazy to me, and that is something we need to keep a close eye on," Bram said.

The council voted unanimously for the new rules. Alderwoman Noel Talluto was absent.