Pittsburgh residents becoming frustrated with a lack of regulation surrounding short-term rentals
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Nearly three years after a deadly melee at a North Side Airbnb, concerns about the spread and management of short-term rentals in Pittsburgh are only growing.
City neighborhoods say they're now inundated with short-term rentals along with rowdy behavior, parking problems, and a change in the residential character.
Now, the city's efforts to rein them in are on hold.
Problems with Airbnb persist in the city and it's become a thorn in the side of residents who say investors continue to buy up homes and convert them into short-term rentals, resulting in more noisy, late nights and garbage-strewn mornings.
"Parties going on into the wee hours of the morning, beer cans, bottles being left behind," said John Augustine, a resident of the Mexican War Streets.
Given its Gilded Age charm and close proximity to the stadiums and downtown, the Mexican War Streets on the North Side is an attractive draw for out-of-towners who are in for a Steelers or Pirates weekend or one of the big concerts. As a result, long-time residents like Augustine said they're now inundated with short-term rentals, more than a half-dozen on each street, changing the character of the neighborhood.
"It makes it more transient," Augustine said. "You don't see the regular faces as often now."
Despite these concerns, short-term rentals continue to spread unabated. They're not licensed, permitted, or otherwise regulated by the city, which can't even tell you how many there are. Residents said not all the visitors are rowdy, and there's no one to call when there is trouble.
"Other than 311, you have to look up the property owner and try to get a hold of them if they are local," Augustine said.
In the wake of the North Side tragedy on Easter Sunday in 2022, Councilman Bobby Wilson demanded accountability, crafting legislation requiring operating permits, inspections, a database of the owners, and emergency contact numbers in the event of trouble.
However, today, none of those things have been implemented.
"It's held up in the courts," Councilman Wilson said. "It's very frustrating."
Council passed Wilson's bull but the Gainey Administration said it's on hold because of a court challenge from landlords who are fighting a broader effort to register all rental units in the city. Still, neighborhood groups said this shouldn't stop the city from reining in short-term rentals.
"So long as this city does not regulate Airbnb, we are like open season for investors," said Candace Cain of Fineview.
Like the Mexican War Streets, Fineview's location and spectacular vistas have been a magnet for Airbnb conversations and Cain doesn't accept the excuse that the courts have tied its hands.
"I don't know why," Cain said. "The town of Millvale has regulations, Erie has regulations, Philadelphia has regulations."
We'll have another report on Tuesday, speaking with Airbnb landlords as we continue to investigate whether the city can take any steps right now to rein in these short-term rentals.
An earlier version said a street party on the South Side Slopes was connected to an AirBnB. It was not. The property address was listed on other short-term rental sites.