Belgrave South neighbours fed up with unruly Airbnb guests

An Airbnb listing in Belgrave South has been removed after neighbours complained “the party house” was making their life a nightmare.

Unruly Airbnb guests are causing havoc for Belgrave South residents. File photo.

Airbnb has removed a Belgrave South property from its platform as it investigates complaints from neighbours over the “party house”.

Unruly Airbnb guests have been urinating in the street and partying all night, making life a nightmare for residents in a quiet Belgrave South neighbourhood.

Neighbours have been forced to put up with late-night partying, guests parking across their driveways and even urinating outside their homes after a home was recently converted into an Airbnb.

Several families with young children have made complaints to police, Yarra Ranges Council and the short stay rental giant about unruly guests at the property, with parties held as late as 5.30am.

When contacted by Leader over the concerns about the Belgrave South property, Airbnb said following a review of the matter raised, the listing in question had been removed from the platform as investigations continue.

Susan Wheeldon, Airbnb’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand said:

“The safety of our community is one of our top priorities and we continue to enforce strict policies and community standards, including our global ban on parties.

“Our message to everyone who uses Airbnb could not be clearer; bad behaviour has no place on Airbnb and those who fail to adhere to our policies face removal from our platform.”

Adam Cornell, who lives nearby with his wife and two young children, said the “party house” was attracting the wrong crowd to the neighbourhood.

“It’s attracting young crowds that don’t care about the neighbours,” he said.

The house has a spa, pool and five bedrooms, with large groups often partying well into the night, leaving nearby residents unable to sleep.

A commercial bin has also been installed at the property, with a driver arriving in the early hours of the morning to pick it up.

“It is horrendous,” Mr Cornell said.

“It’s sending people crazy because you can’t rest in your own house.”

It’s not the first time Airbnbs have caused issues in the Yarra Ranges, with Mooroolbark residents unhappy about a property in their street in 2019. Picture: Ellen Smith

Mr Cornell said it was the wrong location for an Airbnb, with the house on a dirt, narrow road in a high-bushfire-risk area.

“It was basically a sleepy hollow (before this), all the residents in the street get along well and all help each other out, there is a real community feel, and now they’ve dumped this right in the middle of us with no rules to stop it.”

He has started a petition calling for tougher regulations for short term holiday rentals in the Yarra Ranges.

“If there is a yearly license, a yearly registration, and a three-strike warning policy, followed by a fining process of units per offence, owners that are currently unaccountable for the actions of these houses, would have to answer and be held accountable for the damage they are doing to neighbourhoods,” the petition states.

Yarra Ranges Council introduced a local law in 2020 to deal with short-term accommodation issues and has received 29 complaints about properties.

Where a council officer has found three or more complaints with supporting evidence have been made against a short stay accommodation property, the property owner may be issued an infringement to the value of $1000 or the matter may proceed to court.

But Mr Cornell said the law didn’t go far enough.

“Council are trying their best but their laws are currently not strong enough to impact the owners of the Airbnb,” he said.

“There needs to be some policies put in place to protect the residents; the people paying the most in rates.”

Cameron Huston lives near the Airbnb with his wife and three children and said they had “copped it” quite bad, with guests congregating near the home’s swimming pool and barbecue until the early hours of the morning.

Mr Huston has reported the issues to police, the council and the property owners numerous times.

He said the house was rented out nearly every weekend, normally attracting at least 12 guests, and sometimes up to 30 people were on the premises at the one time, with cars parked up and down the road.

He said loud parties kept his family awake and impacted his children’s schooling.

“Guests have also been abusive towards us and other neighbours and we’ve caught people urinating outside – when you walk outside and there’s a guy there doing his thing it’s not great,” he said.

“I don’t want my kids to have to deal with all that sort of thing.”

Mr Huston said he didn’t understand how someone could start a business next to his home without any consultation.

“How can someone … buy a property with full intent to open a hotel essentially and where was the consultation with the local neighbourhood to object?” he said.

“If we try and start a home business everyone has the right to object, but we weren’t given the opportunity with this Airbnb.”

Mr Huston said he would like to see noise limitations introduced for the Airbnb, no music allowed, and the ability for neighbours to be able rank the property with a star rating.

He backed Mr Cornell’s push to make the local law stronger.

Yarra Ranges Council director of communities Jane Price said council officers work with community members and property owners when complaints are received about noise, anti-social behaviour or parking issues arising from short stay accommodation,

“Our goal is to resolve these issues between the parties and stop them from occurring again, before enforcement action is taken,” Ms Price said.

“We are able to take enforcement action, through fines, when multiple complaints have been made with supporting evidence.

“Public safety issues, such as people parking across driveways, or displaying aggressive or anti-social behaviour, should be referred to Victoria Police.”

Ms Price said residential homes being used for short stay accommodation did not need to register with council.

“We’ve been advocating for a statewide registration system, to provide a consistent approach across all 79 local government areas (in Victoria),” she said.

Residents experiencing issues with short term accommodation providers in their area can email [e-mail] or phone [phone].