Long Term Guest - Getting too comfortable, bringing a minor, law enforcement involved

[Tina7837]

Hi everyone! Long story short. My mom and I co-host a private bedroom and bathroom in her house. We've been hosting the same, long-term guest since January of 2020 - she's been great. It worked out perfectly since our place is ideal for short-term stays and do not allow for kitchen or laundry use. When the guest asked us if she could become a long-term guest, she agreed that the listing rules were fine for long-term stays as she doesn't cook (works in the restaurant business, eats all meals there). We allowed her to use our laundry two weeks into her stay, and she uses it once a week. It's just her, she works a lot, leaves for work around 2pm and comes back at 4am.

Last month, she told me that her niece would be coming to stay temporary until her sister and her "figured things out". Our listing comfortably accommodates two guests, so I told her that it was fine and to just update the occupancy listing. Because it seemed like we had a mutually respectable and communicative relationship based on the previous conversations we have had regarding the long-term stay, general discussions throughout the year, etc., I was surprised with all the events that have happened since then.

Her niece, who is apparently 15, came a few days after she informed me of her visit. She never gave us information regarding her niece's name, information, etc. and we didn't really request it because we figured it was a really short-term, temporary thing. I did however, ask to make sure the niece was at least over the age of 12 because she would be home without the guest at times, and we didn't want to have to deal with that. There have been occurrences where the niece would come up to my mom's living room (our private space, not part of the listing) and ask to watch TV or use her phone to text "her mom" - who apparently now happens to be the guest, to order her food because she ran out. Now we're not really sure if the niece is our guest's niece or daughter. I didn't want to pry much, so I didn't ask what that was about and we never mentioned it to the guest. A few days later when the school year started, our Ring doorbell captured her niece getting on a school bus that picked her up right in front of our house (so, it seems like she has been enrolled in a local school). 

This is where the problem starts (and yes, the guest knows we have a Ring doorbell) - a few days ago, our Ring doorbell showed two police officers from the County showing up to talk with our guest. She was outside sitting on the front steps and it sounded like the niece had ran away or didn't come home the night before. The guest didn't tell us, so we were absolutely surprised to have police officers on our front lawn that morning. In addition, the guest gave the police officers our door code and they entered our home (!!) to go search for the niece downstairs. Is this even allowed?! She didn't tell us anything at all. I messaged her to let her know that we saw police officers and asked if everything was alright, and all she said was that they were conducting a placement evaluation for her niece. She later told us she enrolled her niece at the local high school, so now, it seems like this isn't exactly a temporarily thing. I told her to please not allow anyone who isn't on the listing to enter the home or have our door code, and if law enforcement is someway involved, that we need to know. My mom is the homeowner and as hosts, I'm almost 99% we absolutely have the right to know. Right? She apologized and said she would let us know next time. Now in the Ring footage, the police officers were heard saying they couldn't find her but to just keep in contact with her. After the police officers left, the Ring footage shows the niece leaving our house. If the police officers couldn't locate her, was she simply hiding elsewhere in our basement? It just puzzles me and I don't know to what extend I'm allowed to request additional information from the guest. 

Just this morning, my younger brother came home to two police officers in front of our home again. They watched him get out of his car, bring items in from his car, etc - and said absolutely nothing to him. I messaged our guest again to ask if everything was okay, and she said, "Yes, they are conducting a placement evaluation, they didn't go inside." I'm not sure that AirBnBs are considered an appropriate placement for a minor, I'm not even sure that the police officers know we are an AirBnB. Basically, we have police officers showing up to our home, watching it, and not knowing any details. Now that this doesn't seem like a temporary stay with the niece, and with the school enrollment and police officers going on, I have no idea what's even appropriate to do or ask our guest. I did, however, call the County non-emergency number to ask if they could tell me more about what was going on in our home, and she gave me the responding officer and jurisdiction details so that I could call them and speak with them - she did mention that the police had been called three times within the past two weeks to our home, though (and of course, not from any of us). 

I saw that on AirBnB's terms and conditions, item 4.1 under "Your Responsibilities and Assumption of Risk" states... "If you are booking for an additional guest who is a minor or if you bring a minor to a Host Service, you must be legally authorized to act on behalf of the minor and you are solely responsible for the supervision of that minor." Do I have the right to just message the guest and say, "Hey, because it's under AirBnB's terms and conditions, and apparently she's now enrolled in a local school with our address, and now law enforcement is showing up, can you give us her identification / proof that you are her legal guardian, so that if anything happens, we can't be responsible or lose our ability to host?" Obviously, this is a situation of the guest getting extremely comfortable. I'm not asking her to give me all the details of her life, but especially when we are the hosts, and barely know nothing, I feel like we have a right to just ask for a bit more details. My mother and I are never ones to quickly judge, but we want to be safe and not held liable for anything we don't know about. For all I know, the niece could be a juvenile delinquent, or the guest (mom/aunt) could be illegally hiding her from her real parents, NO idea. We just don't want to have to deal with that, especially on our property and within our home and neighborhood. I haven't texted her yet, but I might wait to speak with the officer in the morning to request details of why they've been watching our home. It's also weird that the niece seems to be hiding whenever the officers come around. 

Anyone else experience a similar situation? What would be the most appropriate way to handle this? All thoughts appreciated - thank you! 

[Tina7837]

@William810 My post isn't necessarily to drag anyone from the community into my problem, but rather to seek the opinion of hosts, experienced or new, short-term or long-term, with various types of guests. The "Host Circle" is described for discussions about "delicate or challenging situations", and I'm simply seeking for both information and advice. If you read my post, I've already contacted law enforcement. The point of my post is to see if anyone else has dealt with a guest or any similar type of situation before - because CLEARLY, I haven't! 

For the record, I've spoken with Airbnb and explained the situation. They've confirmed they're happy to help, if needed. I'm planning to speak with the authorities in the morning. I'm not here to jump to conclusions and assume the worst of everyone, prior to asking the minor to leave. Everyone is going through a different battle - once I figure out the situation with the authorities, I'll be able to judge the situation with more transparency. For all I know, the guest could be simply in a bad position and left with no choice but to temporarily provide an informal kinship care for her "niece". There's just a lack of details and I wanted to see if anyone had a suggestion on the best way to appropriately and professionally address the tenant and issue. She's never been this vague regarding communication before. 

The tenant initially rented our place for two weeks, and asked for an extension / long-term rental as she didn't know her plans. Like you said, tenants have rights, and we were in no position to question her intentions in extending her stay, especially if we had availability and previously zero problems with her. We've continued to use the platform because where we're based out of, the different state and local rent control laws are easier managed with the tax forms and host insurance provided by Airbnb - but that's none of your business. There's no limits on long-term rentals in my county if we're also occupying the property, and there's nothing wrong with keeping it on the platform. It's worked out for us and the tenant the past year, obviously until now.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@William810 In the UK house share (rent a room) type guests do not get tenants rights. Is it different in the US?

Other than that I would take the Ring footage to the police and let them deal with the issue. I am assuming the police can be trusted in the US - I think some might say not based on other posts in the CC.

[Tina7837]

@Mike-And-Jane0 in the US, there are different laws at the federal, state, and local levels that you fully have to comply with. It just depends on where you're renting your property out, and that can get tricky. I'll definitely talk with the police, show them the Ring footage, and figure out what their intentions with the niece's case ASAP. Thank you! 

Unfortunately, there's a handful of police officers in the US I'd label as bad apples. But I'd like to think my local county has a good department! 🙂 -- of course, with the exception of the police officer who entered our home with our code under the guest's request. But lots of miscommunication over that way - assuming the officer may have not known the situation.  

[Laura2592]

@Tina7837 you are learning a very hard lesson.  No long term guests through ABB.  Ever. Period. You have no lease and now essentially have to evict a tenant and a child. The liability concerns are endless. 

Its time to sit down with this  person and give her notice to vacate. You need to consult an attorney about tenant rights in Virginia.  She will need to be given notice of 30 days to vacate in writing at minimum.  How scary that this person is in your home with access to all of your things and your loved ones! Definitely change the locks after she leaves. Sounds like she could have a criminal history? Did you not at least Google her before agreeing to this? 

I have sympathy for what sounds like a tough situation for this tenant (she's not a guest anymore legally or practically) but you aren't running a halfway house.  Tell her you have a relative moving in and she needs to leave by a certain day. Give her notice in writing.  Ask her to update her reservation to cancel so at least the ABB portion is taken care of.  Offer a refund to get her out. Do whatever it takes to remove this person from your home. You are wide open for damage and a squatter. Write an honest review...good guest but relationship deteriorated when she stopped communicating and following house rules. A difficult parting of ways. 

I'm sorry this is happening but let it be a cautionary tale to other long term "hosts" who use this platform.  ABB will not protect you or pay your legal fees to evict a squatter. Just don't ever consider becoming a landlord without protection.  

[Mark116]

@Tina7837  I would move to cancel this guest.  It isn't about judgement, but simply about risk management.  A guest whose tenancy brings police and other government agencies into your property and life is not one you probably want to continue hosting. I'm not sure you are in any legal position to get information about the situation from authorities.  I would probably tell the woman that the addition of a minor on the property brings too many additional issues of liability, and so you are going to have to move to cancel the reservation.  Make sure Airbnb gives you a penalty free cancellation.  That's my advice anyway.

It looks like VA law would call this person a 'tenant at sufferance' and so you may not need to do a formal eviction should the worst happen and she refuses to leave.  I only did a cursory look at the VA rental laws.

[Laura2592]

@Mark116years ago, we evicted a tenant from our DC co op apartment. It was a harrowing ordeal that cost thousands. Like @Tina7837 the arrangement started out fine. It was a short term lease for 3 months that she wanted to extend. No problem. At month 3.5 the trouble started. Law enforcement involvment. People staying who were not on the lease, her refusal to vacate, neighbors freaking out and our co op board fining us for her behavior. Not on Airbnb just regular old landlording. We got advice from a friend who had gone through this in Maryland. It was the right advice for Maryland but not for DC. We could have saved a lot of headache by consulting with an attorney in the first place but thought (hoped) that we could handle this ourselves. Nope.

Anytime you have a person living in your space beyond the terms of a lease that has been signed by both parties, you need advice from an expert on laws in the area. I fear that @Tina7837 has trod into some very difficult territory and needs a pro to guide her. But for the rest of us, this is definitely a cautionary tale.

[Tina7837]

@Laura2592 Thank you so much for the response! Our Airbnb is actually based in Maryland in Montgomery County. This is good to know. Do you have any recommendations on the attorney that you/your friend used? 

[Laura2592]

@Tina7837 I'm asking.  It was about 10 years ago at this point so I'll send you a message if I get a resource for you.  

[Tina7837]

@Laura2592 appreciate it! Luckily, I’m thinking it won’t get to that point, but always good to have in case. 

[Tina7837]

@Mark116 thank you for the response! Our Airbnb is based in Montgomery County, MD and the police department publicly provides information on all dispatched police activity, so I was able to see what the calls were regarding and requested a copy of the incident report. I'll be using this information and seeking to consult with the right attorney if the situation cannot be amicably straightened out. 

[Mark116]

@Laura2592  Yeah, I am personally offended every time I get a pop up from Airbnb advising me to take long term tenants.  The f*** are they talking about.  I know they won't even take responsibility for someone who stays for 2 days, let alone someone who stays long enough to establish a tenancy, but a lot of people just assume if Airbnb recommends it, it must okay, and they think all the host guarantees/protections/party hotline are real assets that they can rely on.....

[Brian2036]

@Tina7837 

This sounds very bad to me and I think you need to get rid of this guest and the unidentified minor child immediately.

One visit from the police is one too many.

 I seriously doubt that they were doing a “placement evaluation.” I have never heard of police doing that. 

That would be done by a social worker and you don’t want them in your house either. 

I would be suspicious that this is a case of parental kidnapping and you could conceivably be accused of aiding and abetting a federal crime.

As for the police entering your home without your permission or a search warrant, legal precedent generally indicates that any adult who lives there can admit the police, but it’s a complex issue.

If this presumptuous “guest” refuses to leave immediately you need a lawyer. Don’t worry about where she’s going to go or what is going to happen to that kid.

IT’S NOT YOUR PROBLEM, but it’s going to become your problem if you don’t get them out of your house.

[Tina7837]

@Brian2036 my thoughts exactly regarding the "placement evaluation". It just didn't seem to make sense with what the guest was saying - and no representatives from CPS were ever present. Law enforcement did confirm that sometimes, police officers conduct their own checks, but the entire situation itself still wasn't confirmed. Thank you!

[Summer64]

HI! Chiming in here. I work for Child Protective Services in Texas. Laws vary from state to state, but this sounds more like one of 2 things:

1. What we call a welfare check. This is when someone calls the police concerned about the welfare of a child and police go out to the home to check on the child.

2. A runaway search. Police will go to known addresses/homes of children that runaway making a reasonable effort. 

At least in Texas, police are not alowed to have a minor in custody and must immediately bring the minor to CPS.

I am with the other hosts....this person needs to go. You absolutely don't want to be involved in this situation. You have real potential to be dragged into it, and depending on the situation, that is a really bad thing.