DC Files Suit Against Airbnb Party House Owner

• May 8th 2015

by Lark Turner

DC attorney general Karl Racine filed suit Friday against an Airbnb host he claims has been operating a popular party house in Dupont Circle illegally.

The six-bed, five-bath house at 2220 Q Street NW (map) is offered on Airbnb as the Celebrity House Hunter Mansion for $1,200 a night from host Doug.

Doug, according to the attorney general, is Douglas Jefferies, who the government accuses of failing to apply for the licenses required to operate an Airbnb legally. Jefferies is the founder of Results Gym, yoga studio Stroga in Adams Morgan and volunteer organization Mission Results.

To legally operate an Airbnb in DC, hosts must apply for required licenses through DCRA. In a news release, the attorney general said DCRA “has no record of Mr. Jefferies receiving, or even applying for, any sort of business licenses for the property.”

The house has attracted some unwanted attention, according to the release, which says that police have been called to the property more than 100 times between April 19, 2014 and April 12, 2015, “90 [of those calls] were for disorderly conduct.” Neighbors have also called many times to report noise violations, which aren’t included in that tally.

Racine said in the release that he hopes to stop all rentals at the house until Jefferies is in compliance with the law.

“This is an example of a property owner operating a business with complete disregard for the law and with disrespect for his neighbors,” Racine said. “Business-licensing laws and regulations are in place to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents, and our suit seeks an end to all business at the property until the owner complies with all relevant laws.”

The house was the subject of UrbanTurf’s This Week’s Find in 2011. The abode — lauded in guest reviews as “made for parties” — was once two homes, which were renovated and combined into one by Jefferies over the course of a decade or so. They’re connected by a rooftop pool and feature an elevator built inside a telephone booth.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_files_suit_against_airbnb_party_house_owner_for_operating_without_a_lice/9864.