Tenancy rights in CA

[Gina235]

Is there a time limit for tenants in CA re squatters rights? We have our first long stay tenant - 4 months! Steep learning curve and some alarm bells are

going off. Tenants are mother and daughter - mother booked and was verified by air b n b but no reviews.  On check-in daughter began talking about compiling a law suit about air b n b ....

[Lisa1831]

@Gina235 

Hi Gina in California squatters ( adverse possession)  is when someone is in your home without permission. 

Currently your guess have paid upfront for the first 30 days.  It is like you have a tenant that pays monthly.

Airbnb has only collected funds for the first 30 days 

[Gina235]

Yes but I read somewhere that in CA if they have tenancy for more than 30

days they have tenants rights?? Also

learning they are bringing in their own electric heavy appliances such as large grills etc and blowing the circuits on the electricity panel! Have some serious concerns about these tenants! 

[Ute42]

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@Gina235 

Yes that's right, guests are gaining tenants rights after 30 days.

Ask google for details.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Gina235 

if you are concerned and you are not satisfied with how they treat your property then call Airbnb and ask them to cancel before 28 nights expire. Or cancel by yourself if Airbnb proves to be not helpfull.

You may face some penalties but you can save yourself a lot of trouble

[Jp8]

How about if you put in the house rules that guests acknowledge there are no tenants' rights, and undertake to check out on time, and to never try to claim tenants' rights? is that effective legally in Califunnya? It some cases it isn't feasible for me to cancel before 30 nights

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jp8 I do not know of any jurisdiction in the world where you can override a legal right by having a guest acknowledge the law doesn't exist/apply

[Mark116]

@Mike-And-Jane0  People waive their rights all the time, indeed, we hosts have waived our right to sue Airbnb either personally or en masse.  A liability waiver is the same, you are waiving your right to sue if XXX happens.  Sometimes the waivers hold up, some times they don't.  But no harm in getting something like that on record.

[Helen3]

Yes they may well do, but you can't over-ride tenancy rights...even in the US 🙂

[Debra300]

@Gina235,

Many states, including California, provide tenants rights for stays longer than 28 to 30 days.  For this reason, I have guests make multiple month-long reservations.  I approve a guest to book for the first month, and then block the two subsequent months (I don't allow reservations to made more than 3 months in advance). Around the third week of the month, I open the calendar for the next month at a time that the guest  and I have agreed upon to allow the guest to book.  I inform guests that if they don't book within a prescribed timeframe that there is risk the space will be booked by someone else for all or part of the month.

This process mitigates any tenants rights issues, and I get paid 24-48 hours after each check-in date. Which lessens the opportunity for the guest to stay rent-free for weeks/months while Airbnb tries to sort out payment issues that seem to be common on multi-month reservation.  Another benefit is that the guest and I both have the opportunity discontinue the stay at the end of each reservation and allows both the guest and me to terminate the stay at the end of each reservation, and don't have to worry cancellation penalties.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Debra300 Interesting that this works in the USA. It would not work in the UK as the substance of the length of stay counts for more than the illusion.

Even so your method certainly makes a lot of sense as it guarantees payment for the second month.

[Debra300]

@Mike-And-Jane0,

I understand what you're saying regarding regarding the substance of the length, but I only accept long-term guests who are traveling for work or school, and usually are from another country.  I do not take more than three reservations from a guest to reconfirm that their stay is temporary.  In my house rules I state that guests cannot receive their mail at the address, nor can they use the address to register their car, put on their driver's license, or register vote.  They are allowed to have courier deliveries only.  We have our mail held at the post office, and they wouldn't have an opportunity to get it before us.  They also may not start any services at the apartment, e.g., water, cable, etc.

[Sarah977]

@Gina235  I would never accept a 4 month reservation unless I personally knew the guest- either through friends, or recommended by someone I trusted, or by them having been a guest in my home previously. Nor would I accept a long booking from someone with no reviews. Verified means squat- all it means is that they submitted ID.

If I accepted long-term reservations, which I don't, I would tell an unknown guest to book for 2-3 weeks and we'll see how it goes and take it from there.