A dispute between duplex owners in Victoria has gotten heated.
Melanie Wood and her husband are frustrated that their neighbour is using their half of the duplex as an Airbnb.
Wood says bylaws restricting short-term rentals are not being enforced.
“This has been going on for too many months and nobody was doing the job they’re supposed to do,” she said.
Wood says in June, the duplex next to hers was sold and unexpectedly turned into an Airbnb, forcing her to deal with a revolving door of loud neighbours.
“With neither of the owners being on the property, there was nobody but us to say, ‘Please don’t park there’… and we tried to be nice.”
Feeling frustrated, Wood made her story public. That didn’t sit well with a man claiming to be the co-owner of the neighbouring Airbnb, who called her.
WATCH: Airbnb duplex in Victoria disrupts neighbour’s life
“I’ll do whatever I want to do with my house,” he said during the phone call Wood said took place Saturday morning.
The man told Wood he owns several properties with a woman he called his business partner.
The man later admitted to Global News that was a lie.
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“I said what I said to Melanie and her husband because I wanted the bullying to stop,” he said. “At the end of the day I just want to make sure that my friend and colleague is not being bullied out of a place that she rightfully purchased.”
Coverage of Airbnb on Globalnews.ca:
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‘Airbnb’ and its effects on Vancouver’s limited rental market
The Woods deny claims of bullying towards the owner, who says she recently moved into the suite. She didn’t want to appear on camera but told Global News she only received a letter from the city this week, but feels the drama has been so traumatizing that she has decided to sell.
A city official told Global News that bylaw officers currently have 18 complaints about short-term rentals.
“We simply don’t enforce against every illegal suite and building code violation in the city. We just don’t have enough staff. This is an issue that has become more important,” Councillor Geoff Young said.
Wood says in this case, any enforcement would be too little, too late.
—With files from Jesse Ferreras
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