Busloads of sorority girls, strippers, parties: Neighbours fuming about Airbnb-rented home

Neighbours of a London, Ont., home often rented on Airbnb for weekend parties say it’s a stark example of how short-term rentals don’t work in residential neighbourhoods and create havoc for those living around them.

In the most recent instance of large gatherings at 167 Sunnyside Dr., near Masonville Place, young university women began being dropped off early Saturday morning by the busload for a two-day sorority event.  

“They would get dropped off, get some instructions from some other girls on the driveway, march into the house and be inside for about an hour before coming out chanting and singing their sorority song,” said Chris Prater, who lives nearby. “Then they would wait in the driveway for about 25 or 30 minutes before another bus came, dropped off more girls and picked up the ones that were already inside.

“It’s not what you want in a residential neighbourhood. It’s not an appropriate use of the house. It’s a traffic concern, it’s noisy and we just didn’t sign up for that.,” Prater said.  

In London, short-term accommodations such as those provided through Airbnb or Vrbo must have a licence and be the primary residence of the person who is renting.

City of London officials could not give details about the Sunnyside Drive property, but said there’s an active investigation by bylaw officers.

“We continue to use corrective actions under the city’s bylaws to address violations at this property,” a spokesperson said. 

The home was bought in March 2020 for $673,000 and listed most recently in May to August 2023 for $1.2 million.

CBC reached out to Airbnb for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.

Ward 5 Coun. Jerry Pribil, who has been working with the neighbours, said the city should revisit its short-term rental bylaw to give it more teeth.

“We need to look at what other municipalities are doing.” 

Marion Warren lives a few doors away and said the rental is a nuisance.

“There are constantly cars in the driveway, different ones every weekend and sometimes for longer periods of time throughout the week,” she said. 

“The noise does filter down to our backyard and our bedroom. If the windows are open at night, we can hear it. This past weekend was the worst, with the busloads of young females from Western [University] showing up. They covered the entire street.” 

The home has five bedrooms and sleeps 10 people, those who have seen the Airbnb listing say. It also has a home theatre and pool in the backyard, often attracting large parties or several families at a time. Once, a stripper showed up for a bachelorette party, one neighbour said. 

“This is unfair to the neighbours and I think it’s depreciating the value of our property by having this close by,” Warren said. 

Owner says he’s sorry

The Airbnb is owned by Jithin Das, a Realtor who works in London and other Ontario communities.

Reached by phone on Monday, he said he didn’t know that hundreds of young women would be showing up this past weekend.

“I’m working with Airbnb and they’re investigating how it happened,” he said. “We were not aware this was going to happen. I am extremely sorry to the neighbours. I don’t want to have further issues.” 

The noise is incredible. That house has five or six bedrooms and a pool, so people who rent it throw parties and there are 30 people there. We basically don’t have our weekends anymore, or our quiet weekends, anyway.– Pawel Sypien, neighbour

Das understood that 30 to 40 girls would be coming in groups of seven or eight at a time, not 40 to 50 women by the busload, he said. 

Das disputed he doesn’t live in the home, saying it’s his primary residence and his wife and children live closer to the children’s school.

“I rent it out on weekends,” he said. “I have to pay the mortgage.” 

Das said he has tried to sell the home several times but hasn’t been able to get the price he wants for it.

“The market is really, really bad, I got a lot of low offers for it — it was on the market for three or four months,” he said. 

His Airbnb listing said parties aren’t allowed, he said, and he has limited how many cars can park in the driveway after neighbourhood complaints and city fines. 

Living in the home behind 167 Sunnyside Dr., Pawel Sypien said he’s been unable to enjoy his backyard because of noise coming from the short-term rental.

“The noise is incredible. That house has five or six bedrooms and a pool, so people who rent it throw parties and there are 30 people there. We basically don’t have our weekends anymore, or our quiet weekends, anyway.” 

The city should come down harder on scofflaws who create misery for neighbours, he added.

Masood Hosa just moved in next door to the problem Airbnb listing at the beginning of September. He said he may have thought twice about moving there if he’d known it was a business with people coming and going all the time.

“I’d rather have a neighbour who I know, who I can say ‘hi’ to every day, than strangers every day.”