Landlord not allowing Airbnb rentals

[Manuel18]

My landlord just informed me that Airbnb rentals are not allowed.  Given that I would face eviction, I need to cancel my reservations.  However, when I try to cancel Airbnb informs me that I'll be charged $50 per cancellation.  Is there a way to contact Airbnb to explain my predicament so that I do not get charged $500+ just to make sure I don't get evicted?  Airbnb support center doesn't give any phone number or email where I can contact them directly.

[Manuel18]

@Sarah977 that is horrific! I’m so sorry that had happened to you. I hope you prosecuted those tenants for violating the rental agreement and received damages - as that is why it exists, to protect your interest. 

I agree there should be respect from both parties - and that respect should be enshrined in the rental agreement. 

A good agreement should also define penalties for violation of the agreement and a healthy deposit as a security (2-3 months security deposit is the standard where I live). This should give more than enough incentive for tenants to abide by everything stipulated in the rental agreement - lest they are willing to lose their deposit and/or have to pay the penalties stipulated in the rental agreement, enforceable by a court of law. 

[Sarah977]

 Manuel, thanks for your response. Unfortunately, it is illegal to hold more than half a month's rent as a damage deposit in the province where my house was.

That same tenant also decided that it would be a "fun project" to fill a small scrappy part of my backyard (where the sun never shone, so the grass refused to grow) with a couple hundred rounded river rocks. My plan was to brick that area so it could be an outside patio. Needless to say, you can't put patio furniture on top of rounded river rock and I had to get it all removed.

  If a landlord were to try to imagine everything a tenant could possibly think to do at the property they have rented, the rental contract would end up being a hundred pages long! 

[Manuel18]

Thanks Sarah, so sorry you had to deal with this horrible tenant. Did you take her to court?

Regarding the contract, a simple line at the end that stipulates any item not addressed in the contract would have to be run by you should suffice in terms of keeping it short (as well as specifying penalties if they don’t ask - with the language of the penalty to be defined by you). 

On a separate note, half a month rent as a security deposit seems very low! The government doesn’t seem to want to spur real estate wealth increase (surprising). I would reconsider renting the property and/or selling the property and use the money to pursue other investment opportunities if those were the conditions I faced. But that’s my opinion - to each his/her own. 

Thanks, and best of luck!