Trapped inside an Airbnb powder keg

Eric Tietavainenwoke up last Wednesday morning to the sound ofpolice officers kicking down doors.

"I opened my front door and I had three policemen with their guns pointed at me," he said.

Four maleshad been shot inside the back unit ofTietavainen'sGilmour Street apartment building, including a 15-year-old boy. One of the shooting victims, 18-year-old Manyok Akol, died from his injuries.

People say, 'Oh, you should move.' I go, 'Where?'- Eric Tietavainen

Tietavainen, 66, said it's just the latest in a string of frightening disturbances since a new owner took over the six-unit building a couple years ago and began converting theone-bedroom units intoAirbnb rentals.

"There was a lot of parties, and that sort of got a lot of people to move out because it became noisy and kind of an unsafe environment," Tietavainen said.

The incidents aren't always violent in nature Tietavainen said one Canada Day he discovered a couple having sex in the corridor outside his apartment.

Now, four of the six units are listed on the short-term rental site, and Tietavainen believes the woman in the only other non-Airbnb apartment is on her way out, too.

After fatal shooting, resident of Gilmour Street house says Airbnb listing caused disruption

5 years ago

Duration 1:44

Eric Tietavainen, who has lived in the building since 2011, describes what it's like living in the house where a fatal shooting occurred.

Scene of the crime

Nearly a week after the fatal shooting, blood still stained the snow on the building's front porch, and the front door window that was shattered by police hadn't been repaired.

Tietavainen, who has lived at 490 GilmourSt. since 2011, said his friends have advised him to move, but because he's on a fixed income, he said there's nowhere affordable for him to go.

"People say, 'Oh, you should move.' I go, 'Where?'" he said.

Following the shooting, Airbnb said listings at 490Gilmour St. had been deactivated, and the host had been removed from the platform. But byTuesday afternoon, one week after the deadly shooting, two listings by the same host appeared on the website.

Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenneysaid that's "extremely frustrating."

"Neighbours on that street continue to be concerned. There's some trauma that comes after a shooting on your street, and to have Airbnb to continue to allow this owner to list on their platform is really unconscionable."

In an email, Airbnb apologized and said the listings were deactivated as soon as they were brought to the company's attention.

Stricter rules coming

CBC News has reached out to Pierre Begin, the owner of the Gilmour Street properties, several times since the Jan. 8 shooting. He hasdeclined to comment, and didn't return messages left Tuesday morning.

McKenney said the incident proves the city was correct to go ahead with stricter Airbnb rules. The new regulations, which are aimed at stamping out short-term rental "ghost hotels" like the one on Gilmour Street,will take several months to come into effect.

Technically, these sorts of short-term rentals are already illegal in residential neighbourhoods.Anthony Di Monte, the city's general manager of emergency and protective services, said the city has issued27 notices of violation for operating a short-term rentalin a residential zone since last January.

Ottawa police had no update on the shooting investigation Tuesday, and would not comment on previous calls to the Gilmour Street address.