Unregistered Airbnb listings at Indy apartment complex violate city law, cops investigating

INDIANAPOLIS — A number of Airbnb listings at “The Grounds” apartment complex near 22nd and Central Avenue have suddenly disappeared less than a day after a 17-year-old was murdered inside a fourth-floor unit.

Cops believe Xavion Whitlow was gunned down early Sunday morning during a party inside an apartment that had been rented out on Airbnb.

The complex is now being investigated by IMPD’s Nuisance and Abatement Unit after the city confirmed that none of those short-term rentals have the permits required by law.

At the start of 2025, the city began requiring all short-term rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbos to register and get a permit from the city. The initial permit comes with a $150 fee, but there is no fee for renewals. 

“It’s really a partnership between us and IMPD to make sure we are keeping all that data tracked and we are talking to each other about those specific properties,” Abbey Brands, director of the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (BNS), said.

A spokesperson for BNS confirmed that “The Grounds” has no such permit. The Airbnb website listed several units at the complex, but after FOX59/CBS4 began asking questions, all those units disappeared.

“They aren’t being screened at all,” a neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “If I have a valid driver’s license and am over the age of 18 and I had a credit card to put down, I can short-term lease for one night.”

A number of residents who spoke to FOX59/CBS4 said they have confronted apartment management about the rentals before, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.

Some said they have witnessed people coming and going with suitcases and cleaning crews working on certain apartments. Their biggest concern, they said, is their safety.

“The primary risk is safety when you have people who have not undergone background checks coming in and out of a building with friends,” another neighbor said. “You just have no idea who these people are and what could possibly happen.”

Their worst fears were realized on Sunday morning inside apartment 1416. Howard was pronounced dead at the scene and his family said he had been attending a party inside the unit.

“It is a class C infraction to not be registered. That is part of the state statute framework that we work within,” Brands said. “BNS does not enforce those types of infractions and so that would be on IMPD to enforce further if they chose to.”

BNS and IMPD said educating landlords is generally their first step. However, the law clearly states that charges could be brought if things don’t change.

“At the end of the day, property owners are responsible for who is at their party and what’s going on at their party,” Officer Drew Brown with IMPD said. “So we want property owners to be aware of that. We want management agencies to be aware.”

“The Grounds” is owned by Indianapolis-based corporate landlord Birge and Held. FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the company with a number of questions, but has not heard back.