Galleria condo owners alarmed by short-term rental issues: Drugs, public sex, and gunfire reported
HOUSTON - We first told you about these condos on a street off San Felipe last December. The condo owners asked that we not publish their address.
They say for them Spring Break is just another nightmare.
"It's a living hell. No one feels safe anymore," said one resident who we will call Judy,
The five residents of the condo complex we interviewed asked not to be identified.
The first week of Spring Break was anything but a trip to the beach for these residents living in a small condo complex off San Felipe.
The condos are 3,200 square feet and are valued at half a million and up.
"It was horrible," said this resident who we'll call Sue. "Parking on the street at 12:30 a.m., a gunshot at 2 a.m. Nobody can sleep. It was crazy."
"It's terrible," said this resident who we'll call Dan. "There's no other way to describe it, it's actually very terrible."
The residents blame two condos in their complex that are short-term rentals.
We first reported on the Galleria area complex back in December. The video surveillance residents provided then included a couple having sex on a balcony. It was a Monday morning,
Kids could have been on their way to a nearby school. Residents say the first problem was people running around almost naked.
"That was one of the first complaints," said Dan. "Now, we've come to see people actually carrying guns."
Last week, residents say they dealt with the sound of gunshots and partying in the street and making it impassable.
"In the morning, you see vomit, trash, all over the place," Sue said.
"I have seen people smoking. I have seen naked women running around, and I have seen live sex acts," said this resident who we'll call Mike. "This is a nice family neighborhood."
"Look at the progression," said Dan. "From naked people to people carrying guns to actual gunshots, what happens next?"
"It's a matter of time, someone is going to get killed," said Judy. "It's just a matter of time."
These residents and some from two other districts will be before the mayor and city council hoping to get some kind of action taken against short-term rentals.