Someone wants to stay while "looking for a permanent place to rent."

[Mindy37]

I've got two apartments in the US. The location isn't touristy, but we do get many contract workers looking for rentals from one month to several, and that has been very good for me. Recently I've received requests from families who are moving into the area and just looking for "someplace to stay till they find a permanent place." This makes me very nervous, as I believe they've already looked and realized that the rental market is extremely tight here. My fear is that they will move in, and suddenly become "permanent" tenants, a situation I absolutely want to avoid having had horrific experiences prior to airbnb. None of these requests have come from seasoned airbnb tenants, they have no reviews. I believe I'm at risk of having to become a regular landlord again. Or worse, having to evict someone who has turned into a squatter. Am I being unreasonable, or is this a real risk? 

[Fred13]

Let your past experience be your guide, and consider they have no reviews. Hitting the 'Pass' button may be your best move.

[Anonymous]

@Mindy37 Yes, it is a very real risk. Be sure that your maximum length of stay is shorter than the period after which guests legally acquire right of tenancy in your state. But also, consider that guests who are displaced will want to bring a lot of stuff with them and make much heavier use of your property than casual visitors. Both increase your risk of damage, with little hope of being fully compensated - forget about any protection you might expect from Airbnb. 

Personally, I would not consider stays of more than two weeks on Airbnb, but I recognize that the current market makes it hard to depend on tourist holidays. 

[Suzanne302]

@Mindy37 Trust your gut, but just to give another perspective I can completely understand moving to an area and wanting a temporary place to stay until I found a suitable long-term rental or home to buy or just to get a better feel for what part of town I'd like to live in. Not saying you're not at risk, but there are legitimate reasons for this request.

[Anonymous]

@Suzanne302 Not to say that the guests' reasons aren't legitimate, but I should have clarified that Airbnb is not a suitable product for long term or open ended stays. No real deposit, no backup if payment fails after the first month, no useful information about or vetting of guests prior to accepting a request, and these days virtually no customer service operation.  Its also a lousy deal for the guests, as the steep fees will really cut into their budgets. 

[Mindy37]

You're right, there are legitimate reasons to want a temporary place while looking for a permanent space. However, there's a serious shortage of rentals in this area, and I suspect most of these people, even if they mean well,  will eventually find it easier to just stay on in my apartment, and create the same sorts of problems I had when I rented to long-term tenants. So I'm going to continue to say no unless the request is for either family visits, or work contracts. 

[Cormac0]

@Mindy37 

If its prompting to look for outside advice, then i think you know the answer already!

I'd say no...

[Laura2592]

There are people who use Airbnb as the equivalent of hobos of yore "riding the rails" and hopping from place to place with no fixed address. I would avoid that.

[Fred13]

A bright analogy @Laura2592 . "Riding the Rails", the same filmmakers did "The Good Soldier", another great film/documentary.

[Laura2592]

@Fred13  I will check it out! I am kind of fascinated by that culture. All the little signs they would leave behind to alert other people about what to expect at certain houses. Jumping trains. Very interesting. 

As a host though, nah. Don't really want to entertain that. I have friends who host in LA who have a LOT of people who book that have no fixed address. You can often identify the profiles by the number of reviews (30, 40, 50 in a year). Sometimes it works out fine. Other times not so much. 

[Matt682]

@Mindy37  I can only speak about my personal experiences...

I’ve had six(?) guests stay under the same circumstances, five were lovely, one was ok, nice enough, but left early and argued about refunds and one of those mismatched ratings where you get 5* for every category and a 3* overall 😒. The last was hellish - not intentionally horrible, but incredibly anti-social.

In all but the last case they’ve either extended their stay, having asked permission first, and it was gladly given, or they have left early because they found somewhere but largely, there was no refund required.

I personally relocated for work a few years ago and had to find a rental place in a 36h visit to a strange city. It was stressful, difficult, and we only found somewhere as good as we did cos we lucked out. I’d hate for someone else to be in that position - moving home and jobs is stressful enough by itself, and we didn’t even have kids to worry about!

If you’re worried, you could limit the booking to 27 days (or whatever is the cut off for permanent tenancy) and block the calendar after. After three weeks you could reassess and make a decision about extending them or putting the space back up to someone else. You could make sure they have ID verified to reduce any damage concerns. Plus you could ask for a security deposit.

[Anonymous]

@Matt682  Airbnb does not process security deposits. It doesn't matter whether you specify one in your listing. 

[Matt682]

@Anonymous  So, I could have sworn that was an option, but I can’t find it now. Maybe I imagined it 🤷🏻‍

[Sarah977]

@Matt682  Yes, you can list a security deposit, but it's bogus. Airbnb doesn't actually hold that money- it's only there as a "you could be charged up to this if you damage something". Then, if there are damages, you have to first request the damage amount from the guest, and if they refuse (which the kinds of guests who treat your place disrespectfully are more than likely to do) , you then have to try to get Airbnb to pay up under their host guarantee. And good luck with that.

[Matt682]

@Sarah977 Thanks for clarifying. It basically makes it pointless then, right? Cos technically you _could_ be charged up to the value of the damage which may or may not be the same as the deposit? And the host guarantee doesn’t, in principle, depend on the deposit.

I suppose it may appear as a deterrent to the less savvy guests, but beyond that, nothing.?