Concern over a dozen homes operating illegally as vacation rentals sent Austin code inspectors combing the streets throughout July. Inspectors found 120 homes with a range of complaints.
"The area around downtown is mainly where you hear of the noise complaints and over occupancy,” Marcus Elliott with the Austin Code Department said.
Elliott says the city received 25 complaints of crowded rentals in July, but the biggest complaint was for 54 unregistered rentals. The city wants to encourage everyone to register.
"It seems like there are already existing regulations in place where people can call police or 311 or 911 to settle any of the issues,” Matt Curtis with HomeAway said.
Curtis says 72 percent of Austin's short-term rentals are registered with the city compared to less than 10 percent for its peer cities.
"What we would rather see them do is enforce the existing regulations and have the great program that we have in place,” Curtis said.
Elliott says new rules would require a local contact clear up gray areas for occupancy.
"It gets rid of the unrelated and just says no more than six adults at the location,” Elliott said. “There could be an alternative solution."
On top of that, the city wants a guestbook, a registry that all guests would sign.
On Monday, a City Council committee will take public input on the proposed changes. That starts at 4 p.m. at City Hall. There will also be limited debate next Thursday.