Unauthorized rental

[Byron10]

I have a tenant renting an apartment of my property without my aproval or permission, how can i report it or stop it..

Byron

[Ashley-and-Derek0 · Accepted solution]

If you are the owner/manager of the property, the first thing to do is look at the lease this person has signed. Does it say "no subletting"? Then you can simply tell them they are in violation of their lease and they must cease and desist. (Do keep in mind that they may have some reservations already in place which they need to honor before shutting down completely.) If the lease doesn't say that you may have a harder time stopping it.

You might also consider whether they are doing any harm before telling them to stop. As a host myself, I don't appreciate when hosts rent multiple apartments for the purpose of re-renting on Airbnb - I don't think that's in the spirit of Airbnb, or a considerate thing to do in a city where people are having trouble finding places to rent to actually live in. But if I am in residence and my guests are not disturbing the surrounding residents, how is it any different than if I had out-of-town friends come to stay with me? The difference is that these guests might be what helps me to pay the rent.

Regardless, it will help if you approach it as a conversation rather than a confrontation. When we were renters our landlord found out we were Airbnb hosts and started handing out eviction notices (we hadn't realized that it could be construed as "subletting" and up until that point thought we were ok with our lease), which obviously made it very strained for the rest of the time we lived there.

[Steve756]

NOT SOLVED FOLKS.  As a homeowner, I have a very clear no subletting clause.  I discovered after the fact that my home had been used as an airbnb while I was out of the country in the military.  Air bnb will do absolutely nothing to block future tenants from doing this.  They refuse to provide me any information as to how often my property was used as a rental.  I returned to the United States to find angry neighbors.  Airbnb's business model is very sketchy when hosts do not have to provide proof of homeowner's consent to use the property.  Airbnb defends the host and stonewalls the property owner.

[Linda108]

@Steve756  This is an old posting so I don't know how long ago this problem happened.  Absolutely not okay for tenants to do this.  Air BNB requires the host to publish the business license if required by the city so I wonder if your city requires a business license.  If so, that is the direction to go with your property.

I agree there should be something done, but I don't know how Air BNB can validate proof of ownership or lease agreements.  As a homeowner, how would I prove that?  If your tenant is violating their lease, that is a civil matter that I would imagine you have recourse.

What are you looking for in asking for information about how many times your property was mis-used?  Financial compensation?  If you sue the tenant, you can require the records.  Also, I hope you did flag the profile the tenant as a way to possibily prevent future misuse of property.

[Steve756]

Hi Linda,

Thanks much for the feedback.  Is it possible to look up airbnb host by name?  I have not figured that out.  Airbnb no longer shows exact locations until you have rented the place making it harder to monitor your property.  Airbnb legal department is totally stonewalling me on getting data on how often my property was missued. 

Kind Regards

Steve

[Helen3]

This is outrageous. If you have provided them with proof they should shut the listing down immediately and provide you with information on the usage .

It's a shame that your neighbours didn't have a way of contacting you while you were abroad to notify you sooner.

Why do you need information on how many times they tenant sub let?

Perhaps go to the media if you want Airbnb to take action.

[Zandra0]

It's normally not subletting unless you let someone have the whole property...if they stay in a bedroom for example, with limited access to parts of the property this is normally seen as acceptable legally. Not so if you vacate and leave the tenant in possession of the flat.

To the OP, before you fire off an angry message, consider that your tenant has a vested interest to keep your property in top shape (so that it will appeal to guests). They're also, assuming they also live in the property, finding a way to help make the rent every month. It's unlikely this has been done out of malice.

Like the previous poster suggested, approach it as a conversation, you will be more likely to get a solution to the issue that way.

[Thomas2591]

Tenants should not sublet in violation of lease. Air b and b is very sloppy in allowing hosts to rent without owner's permission and without required city permits. They only think about $$$ and it will come back to them when someone files a class action suit to stop their abuse of owner's rigghts.

[Julie131]

That is something you need to discuss with your tenant, not AirBNB.  

[Thomas2591]

Air b and b is responsible for violation of property rights, renting without required permit and looking the other way. Try leaving home for a few days to return and find air b and b guests in there witout your permission.

[Linda108]

To your question, @Byron10, you can go to the profile of your tenant click on the flag under his/her name and report to Air BNB that the tenant is in violation of the lease agreement.  More than likely you will be asked to provide the lease.   

[Frequent0]

When the tenant does NOT have a lease, but rents the apartment or house from month-to-month, then you as the landlord can increase the tenant's rent so high that they will surely move out.

An remaining  rent must have not been increased for at least one year in order to force a new rent rate.

[Catherine264]

I had this happen for my home that I had leased out to a long term tenant. Lease was clear about subletting, but tenant rented out 1 bedroom they weren't using. Though I hear the "positives" of having the tenant being vested in keeping the property in good shape and it helps them pay the rent, keep in mind that the tenant should be keeping the place looking nice ANYWAY. And if they're having issues with covering the rent, maybe they should move. This situation can put the owner at risk should something happen to the "guest" while on the premises. Bottom line, there is no excuse for the tenant not speaking with the owner before they start subletting on airBNB. If your tenant is doing this, flag him and the listing!

[Zandra0]

Here's one back at all the homeowners : have you told your mortgage provider you're doing Airbnb ? No? Because again it might totally invalidate your mortgage.

Pot. Kettle. I am almost certain most don't tell their mortgage provider ... At the end of the day we all host for the same reason; to make a little extra money to make life easier. Don't play Scrooge with your tenants just because you can!

[Byron10]

thanks for all the answer, unfortunetelly, this case is very particular and non of the suggestions apply totally on this case.

First of all, i already had a couple of conversations with my tenant letting her know that "by law" in Quebec, in order to do Airbnb in a rental property, the consent of the owner is a must.  She knew it and still doing it.

The laws in Quebec aren't very straight forward, as subleting is permited, but not for lucrative porposes. So the case has to be proved.

This tenant is renting all the rooms not only on airbnb, she has adds in diferent sites, including one local site and she is no longuer living in the apartment.

The point is that she started a small busines subleting rooms using different ways for promoting them, including Airbnb and even when the amount of money she is making is not consider as a legal argument, the amounts she is charging are alsmost disgusting: she is making with my property 4 times the rent she is paying, that is totally dishonest for the subleters and me as an owner, who have to pay for all the repairs that she constantle demands ( and not in a nice way), morgage, insurance, etc.

Her lease doesnt mention anything about subleting of doing Airbnb.