Guest Refusing to Leave - UK

[Tonia10]

Hi Everyone,

I’m the primary host for a property based in the UK and we have a guest refusing to leave the property, despite checkout being due yesterday.    

The guest made a booking for the entire house for a month and verbally stated that they would extend. I instructed them to submit their request via Airbnb, however, despite my chasing them on at least 3 separate occasions via written messages and additional phone calls over the course of two weeks, the guest never actioned their request.  Now they can’t extend the booking as much as they wanted to because we have had another booking so they have refused to leave the property claiming that we had a ‘periodic tenancy agreement’, which is not the case.

I have called Airbnb on several occasions, being told that my call will be escalated to their specialist team.  I still have not received any call backs or any responses to my written messages.  In fact, as I post this message, I’ve currently been on hold for over 120 minutes to Airbnb support having been told I was being transferred to this same, mysterious specialist team.  

I have contacted the police and they say it’s a civil matter, they’ll only get involved if the guest threatens/assaults me (as if I would want to put myself in that position!). I feel totally let down both by Airbnb and the police for the lack of support.  My question is, if it’s really this easy for someone to apparently claim they have a ‘periodic tenancy’ in a holiday let, then what is the role of holiday let platforms such as Airbnb?  How are we truly safeguarded from this happening?

I have, historically, received a good service from Airbnb when I’ve had to contact them with regards to other issues.  But when I have truly needed them the most, in a particularly distressing situation, I feel they have failed miserably on their core values to ‘champion the mission, be a host’.  I’m appalled with the level of service from Airbnb.

Has anyone else experienced a similar issue in the UK?  I would greatly appreciate some advice and guidance.

Many thanks.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tonia10 Hopefully someone will know the answer to your question. In the meantimeI suggest you call the citizens advice bureau and see if they can help

[Helen3]

Hello @Tonia10 

Sorry to hear about your problem guest. It sounds like a nightmare situation to be in. Sadly as business owners for STR we do need to think about worse case scenario's for our business such as guests overstaying and make sure we understand legislation around these issues and our rights as a business owner if guests refuse to leave.

The police are correct this is a civil not a criminal matter; so up to you as the business owner to resolve.  Nor can Airbnb do anything about this apart from cancel the booking. What support were you expecting from the police, they don't have a remit to provide business owners with support regarding civil issues?

However, the good news is that unless the guest has been staying with you for three months, they have no tenancy rights whatsoever as a STR guest. You have every right once their check out time comes to enter the property and insist the guests leave. (I would suggest you bring someone with you and photograph/video the property). 

I would message the guest to confirm that they do not have tenancy rights as they are not a tenant and have not signed a contract with you as a tenant under a periodic tenancy (minimum stay three months) which would give them these rights.

If you can get Airbnb to cancel the booking now, I would do so and tel the guests they need to leave immediately as if they make these sort of threats i would worry they would damage your place.

@Mike-And-Jane0  as this is a business issue rather than consumer issue I am not sure the CAB would be able to help.

Do let us know how it turns out and very best of luck.

[Tonia10]

Thanks for the advice.

The booking expired on 5th August so no need for Airbnb to cancel! It's a trying situation to be in, for sure.  

[Mark116]

@Helen3  I have to say I don't understand why it isn't a police matter if someone is trespassing on your property and refuses to leave.  What is the 'civil' remedy that a property owner is supposed to be taking here?  Go to court, get a court order, and then the police will come to enforce it?  Wouldn't it be easier to have the police come in the first place? 

[Helen3]

Because as I have already said @Mark116 in the UK it is a civil matter to evict a guest. if there a tenant who overstays,  there needs to be a court order for eviction, when court sheriffs will be involved. Not the police.

Not necessary in this case as the guests have no legal rights.

I wouldn't expect you to understand our legislation any more than I would understand yours. 

I have already suggested what the proper remedy is for @Tonia10  in her situation.

[Debra300]

@Helen3,

I believe the eviction process is very similar in many of the US states.  A property owner must file with the courts for an eviction order.  After it has been granted, the sheriff's department is usually the law enforcement agency that is engaged to assist with enforcing the eviction or arresting those who still violate the court order.  

@Mark116, a guest or tenant overstaying isn't considered trespassing, because they were initially given permission to enter the space.  The police could be rightly contacted if a crime was committed to or within the space, e.g. items were stolen from the space, or illicit drugs were being consumed inside/on the property grounds.  Usually, the police only respond  to a civil matter to remove someone is after the person has made some sort of disturbance/disobedient/criminal act that violates local, state or federal criminal laws, e.g. peaceful protesters aren't arrested if they disband before a stated curfew.

[Anonymous]

@Tonia10 If your guest is not protected by your local right-of-tenancy laws, you can hire a private security company to handle the removal. London has several -  look up "trespasser eviction" for quotes.

[Tonia10]

Thank you!  I have passed on this information to the owner.

[Tonia10]

Thanks again for all your advice everyone.  It is now 25th August and the people are still in the house.  The property owner is still trying to have the situation sorted. 

[Helen3]

Hello @Tonia10 

Wow how did this happen? I saw on a UK forum that the owner had posted and said she was getting a security firm to help remove these 'guests'. Did this not happen?

I think she said these 'guests' were sub letting to third party guests rather than staying themselves?

What did the owner's solicitor's say about the steps she needs to take to get them removed?

[Jessy96]

I would like to know how this played out pls? It’s the one thing I’m terrified about and what is putting me off starting With Airbnb. Doesn’t fill me with confidence that they did nothing to help.

My friend hired the local gypsies to get an unwanted squatter out and had no problems after that. But that kind of brilliant ‘service’ is not always available everywhere . 

[Helen3]

Are you asking as a host @Jessy96 

I ask because you don't seem to have a listing attached to your profile?

[Jessy96]

No, 
As I mentioned. 

a potential host who is wondering how this situation played out. 

[Tonia10]

Wow...can't believe how time has flown since I posted this question!

To update on this, it didn't play out very well. The courts had to get involved in order for 'guests' to be evicted. As you can imagine, this took a few months. When they left, the house had been trashed and items stolen. It wasn't the best ending.

It turns out that once you pass 28 days with a guest, it all gets a bit shady legally with regards to what 'rights' your guests have. So, we only allow stays of up to 14 days. If you want to have longer-term bookings, I'd suggest you create a separate legal document guests have to sign making it very clear what rights they have/don't have. I believe the Airbnb site even suggests this and, in fact, Airbnb's current business model is really pushing for hosts to offer longer-term stays.

However, after saying all this and despite what we've experienced, I would still recommend short-term/holiday rentals (whether that's Airbnb/other platforms) @Jessy96 . Been co-hosting since 2017, yes, there will be issues along the way and that's to be expected when dealing with the general public. But overall, it's been good!