AIrbnb to ban hosts who evicted long-term renters for failure to pay

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

AIrbnb to ban hosts who evicted long-term renters for failure to pay

12 Replies 12
Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

Outrageous!  I would dread being a landlord under COVID. The government has declared war on landlords. Airbnb of no help either. I would just switch to VacationRenter or HomeStay. Airbnb isn't the only game in town ; )

 

 

Michelle53
Level 10
Chicago, IL

@Lisa723  That link is behind a paywall, but I found this in a different article :-

 

"Airbnb will ban new US listings when a city notifies us that the listings are located at rental properties where the tenant has been evicted due to nonpayment of rent, and where the tenant had been protected by the CDC moratorium," the company said. 

 

"By working with cities to prevent landlords from using our marketplace to profit from removing a vulnerable long-term tenant from their home based on non-payment of rent, we believe we can send a strong message that will help keep people in their homes at this critical time," Airbnb added. 

 

Airbnb also encouraged other vacation rental sites to join its effort to protect renters. "

 

This description seems different from the idea the Wapo title suggests. I understand it to mean that places where long term renters were already in residence, and may be evicted once the Covid moratorium lifts, may not be converted to Airbnb STRs. 

 

https://www.fox6now.com/news/airbnb-bans-certain-new-listings-as-covid-19-eviction-moratorium-set-to...

I'm often surprised by how many STR hosts are unaware that long-term guests can acquire the right of tenancy in their properties. 

 

@Pete69   No matter which booking platform you use, if you host in California and don't want to forfeit the right to terminate a stay at will, don't accept bookings of over 30 days.

Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

And under COVID I'm not sure if when a guest claims to have become infected by COVID, you can legally get them to leave right away. That's one of the reasons why I closed down in 2020. The other compelling reason being free government money! So many hosts were unaware of the unemployment benefits. You didn't even have to be open for business. Heck, the teachers in California are STILL getting their free money. It is ridiculous.

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

It's disheartening to see Airbnb promoting the negative stereotype of the greedy landlord.  Plenty of property owners have had and do have significant financial challenges resulting from renters who don't pay rent.  I'm also not sure what remedy would be expected for a landlord whose tenant doesn't pay rent, eviction seems reasonable.  I'm also not sure why if a landlord had been burned by a long term tenant who didn't pay rent and had to be evicted, that they should be prevented from turning to the short term rental market as a safer option.

@Mark116  A friend of mine who hosts in Canada did exactly that. She used to rent long-term and is a very compassionate person who tried to help people out by offering a very reasonable rent.

 

But she got burned so many times by renters not paying the rent on time, or reneging on it completely, with no appreciation for her providing them a place to live and even being understanding if the rent was late, leaving piles of garbage behind when they moved out, or asking if they could store things in her basement that they never returned for,  that she switched to strs. 

Airbnb isn't the problem. Gentrification and lousy laws protecting bad tenants is the problem. I'd still be a long-term landlord if the rules weren't so heavily weighted in favor of bad tenants who won't pay back rent or for damage even after being ordered to do so in court.

What I fear however, and what we fight in my city, is the conversion of affordable apartments to short term rentals while high end developments put up tax-abated luxury apartments that aren't replacements for what is lost.

@Christine615 I agree with your sentiment. We would have long-term rented two of our 3 apartments except that it is now near impossible to get rid of bad tenants in the UK as well.

@Christine615 
You are right, Airbnb isn't the problem, and it sure isn't the solution either!
You are right there are lots of laws in place protecting bad tenants.
That is exactly why you can't use Airbnb for long term rentals.

There are a lot fewer laws in place protecting holiday renters and allowing them to stay in your home without paying.  So think about that before you open yourself up to month-long rents on airbnb.

 

Jean5812
Level 2
Brussels, Belgium

In my opinion anyone who rents over 21 days on Airbnb (without a private contract backing it up), is not doing their homework and deserves what is coming to them.
Despite everything they claim airbnb cannot be a long term rental booking platform it's just too complicated.  And anyone who uses them as such without having an additional contract reviewed by a local lawyer, well, pretty much is asking for it.

 

Jean5812
Level 2
Brussels, Belgium

The amazing thing to me about this article is, that it is in fact Airbnb who is the arbiter to decide on public policy...

Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

Today in Los Angeles, they just stuck it to landlords again, extending the moratorium on evictions to September 30th. Just amazing. Anyone who wants to get vaccinated has had months to do so. The virus is endemic. Companies have a shortage of workers. It's no wonder that nobody is going back to work. They don't have to pay rent and they collect free government money.