The vacation rental across from Patricia Nayda’s house was unusually quiet this summer, until one day, she said, ‘busloads’ of teen gymnasts arrived.

Nayda said a group of adults who rented the house turned out to be hosting a gymnastics summer camp out of the house.

“They had apparatus set up on the mound. It was a scheduled summer camp,” she said.

The township allows short-term rentals on sites like Airbnb and VRBO, including restrictions on the number of people who can occupy a home. But residents say that the township isn’t doing enough to enforce the regulations. At a town hall meeting Tuesday night, they voiced their concerns.

Landlords who rent their homes were also in attendance, and maintained that the majority of them do not host unruly guests.

“It’s unfair to say they’re all big party houses,” said Ellen Cappell, who owns a rental in Towamensing Trails.

With no police force, the township relies on a website where residents can log complaints. The short-term rental owner is notified to correct the issue, and the township is notified to follow up with a citation if they don’t address it.

In two years, the township has not cited any short-term rental owners for violating the short-term rental license rules. Supervisor Christian Bartulovich said the township is adding a code enforcement officer whose job will include reviewing violations submitted through the website, and some citations are already in the works. But he said the township cannot respond in person to complaints on weekend nights without its own police force.

“I do not feel comfortable sending an unarmed individual into raucous house,” he said.

Residents say that the current system does not deter renters who create issues. Their complaints revolve mainly around noise, but also trash and parking issues. One resident said he saw a short-term renter throw rocks at a bear and her cubs.

“The right to quiet enjoyment of our property is being taken away from us,” said Larry Bulanda.

Denise Dost, who lives in Indian Mountain Lakes, says that the issues cause full-time residents to move out, and their homes are purchased by landlords who create more short-term rentals.

“I’m ready to move. I thought this would be our retirement home,” she said.

While some people would have the rentals banned from residential areas completely, others feel that they can be allowed with some adjustments to the rules. Ruthie Naphys said if landlords are held accountable, they will do more to make sure that their tenants don’t disrupt life in the communities.

“It should be the homeowner’s responsibility to be clear on the rules and clear on what happens when you violate them, to the renter,” she said. Some feel that the rentals that are creating problems make up a very small percentage of the entire industry that exists in Penn Forest Township. Greg Petrillo, a property manager, said the number of complaints to the township’s website - which total less than 150 since its inception in 2020 - is miniscule compared to the tens of thousands of nights which STRs in the township have been occupied over the same period. The township has issued permits for 500 short term rentals.

Nicholas Flores said that short-term rentals enabled him and his family to build their dream vacation home in Towamensing Trails. He doesn’t want that to be ruined by other rental owners who host unruly guests.

“We don’t condone this behavior. I’m pleading we come to a compromise,” he said.