Guest wants Sky TV account changed to my address

[Helen31]

Hi all

An up and coming guest who may stay for 3 months, wants to change the address on his Sky account to mine while he is staying with me.

I know nothing about and do not have Sky so am very unsure about this. My main concern obviously is that somehow I will end up being responsible for paying his Sky account.

Any thoughts?

[Paula]

Hello @Helen31,

I hope everything is well with you. Have you made any decisions since you posted here?

I am reaching out to some of our experienced Hosts to see how they would handle this situation: @Debra300, @John5097, @Bob297 and @Karen114.

Best regards,

[Debra300]

@Helen31,

I advise against allowing guests to use your address for their: subscriptions, registrations and mail delivery.  Tell the guest that a Sky Stream account is better suited for a person that's using temporary housing: https://www.sky.com/tv/stream.

[Helen31]

Hi there

Thank you for this. May I ask why you recommend not doing this? Without this piece of information it's hard to justify saying No to a potential guest.

Many thanks

[Karen114]

@Helen31  IMO this is not a long term tenant.  If it were a long term tenant he would have the ability to add whatever subs he wants as that is is home/ residence.  This is a transient rental.  He should be able to steam as @Debra300  stated or just deal with whatever provider you have. 

Sorry TV is not my jam and I can barely turn the TV on if I wanted to 😂

[Lorna170]

@Karen114   I am sure that you know your local law, so perhaps in your state a guest does not become a tenant at 30 days.

In many states, a guest becomes a tenant after 30 days.  So any person residing in a rental property becomes a tenant at some point in time as per local law, regardless of whether they came to rent via AirBnB or a local realtor. The receipt of first class mail, packages and utility bills may also allow a guest to establish residency as a tenant in many states.  

I do not accept AirBnB guests for more than 28 days in my STR properties.  For other properties longer term guests/tenants have to sign a separate rental contract, pay me directly, and be vetted by my insurance company.  Only then can the tenant receive mail, bills and services in their name at the rental address.

[Debra300]

@Helen31,

In many municipalities, a guest becomes a tenant after 28-30 nights, which garners them tenants rights, including the need to evict them if they don't willfully leave at the end of their reservation.  The presence of recurring services and bills at an address lends to the person's claim of residency.

[Helen31]

Thank you for this. You sound like you are in USA. I am in UK so it may be different here. However the principle of what you're saying makes sense.

I have rejected a booking request from this guest as something is definitely "off" with his request and messages.

Thanks for all help and advice.

[Debra300]

@Helen31,

Yes, the tenant's rights laws are different.  I recommend that you consider using a lodger agreement/occupancy licence to if you plan to accept extended short-term stays.

[John5097]

@Helen31 

I would only offer to let guest sign into their app. I don't understand why they would need to create a billing address and have bills there? 

I use a Roku for the guest. They can sign into whatever apps they want. 

Roku also has parental controls so they can't order movies. 

 I also only have short term rentals. 

For long term rentals I would have a lease agreement, deposit, etc.