More Cape Coral neighbors complain about rental properties not following rules

People living in Cape Coral are having problems with noise from residential rental properties.

We told you on Monday about three rental properties that are giving neighbors a hard time. Tuesday morning, code compliance officers were at all of them. There’s no word if any violations were uncovered.

The city said one of the three is registered as a rental in the city, but three neighbors say all three are not following the rules.

• RELATED: Neighbors claim residential rental properties are not following Cape Coral rules

The three are not alone. One woman living directly behind a rental says she’s constantly dealing with loud music and yelling. The woman said she has been in contact with police, code enforcement, and Airbnb.

The owner of the rental home told WINK News Reporter Olivia Jean there are two sides to this story.

Elaine Wilson said living behind a residential rental property comes with its own set of challenges. She said she has been dealing with it for two and a half years.

“It’s horrible. It’s been horrible living behind a rental. These people are here on vacation. They don’t care that they’re disrupting the peace and tranquility of this neighborhood,” Wilson said.

WINK News did receive several videos from Wilson showing the noise at all hours of the day.

The owner of the rental property said she takes great pride in being a good neighbor and picking the right guests.

“Her complaints are unfounded,” the owner said.

For perspective, Wilson’s pool to the beginning of the backyard of the rental home is a short 15 feet away.

The owner said her home is a dream home and wants to invite those in who respect it.

“I don’t want noisy guests. I don’t want people who are going to damage stuff. I don’t want parties. So I do a really good job of vetting my guests,” the owner said.

She added that whenever someone requests to book her Airbnb, she makes sure they know it is in a quiet residential neighborhood.

Wilson said that doesn’t stop them from being loud. She said she has called the police for noise complaints numerous times. WINK News has requested these complaints.

Wilson also said people come shorter than 7 days, which is against Cape Coral city rules.

“It’s a constant revolving door of people. Every weekend. I know that there is a minimum of seven days to rent here but she does not comply with that,” Wilson said.

The owner said she does comply with city ordinances but admitted to not knowing the 7-day rule from the start.

“I did receive a violation about the minimum. I spoke with code enforcement and they were, in my opinion, they were really lovely. They weren’t angry with me. They were understanding about the situation. They knew that I didn’t know about it prior,” she said.

She continued to say, “I think that they have some pretty tight restrictions which make it difficult for vacation rental owners but that being said, they do a nice job,” the owner said.

That’s true. Cape Coral has many ordinances and rules that rental properties must follow.

In the meantime, Wilson said she just wants some peace and quiet.

“I think it’s a joke that we have ordinances that the police won’t enforce. And the code enforcement struggles with it. I think there are too many loopholes in the code right now,” Wilson said.

She’s not alone. Many Cape Coral residents argue they aren’t being followed.

The owner of the rental said she works hard to follow the rules but Wilson says she disagrees.

“This is running a business in a quiet residential neighborhood. This should not be a business here,” Wilson said. Wilson said she wants something done.

Cape Coral Police said it handles renter noise complaints the same way they handle all noise complaints. They said, “As far as noise complaints go, we respond to locations for complaints and assess what we are able to within city ordinance violations. If something is a violation, it is the officer’s discretion whether they cite the home OR if they choose to talk with the homeowner and express concerns of the noise complaint. It is often courteous to talk with the homeowner first and make sure they are receptive to turning down the music, etc.”

The police department continued to say, “Rental properties do not affect the way officers handle calls. We still have to work within city ordinances. All of those are listed on the city’s website. Make sure you check that before reaching out to the city with questions; that is the first place they will refer you to. Thank you and hopefully this helps!“

The question that remains: Is Cape Coral code compliance going to crack down on the rental rules? And how? What is that process going to look like?

WINK News has yet to hear back on our questions to the city.