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! 

[Sarah977]

@Tina7837 "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."

I don't understand your attitude, that you were "in no position to question her intentions in extending her stay".

Of course a host or landlord is in a position to question guests or tenants if they asking to change the original arrangement. I'm really sorry you find yourself in this bad situation, but you seem not to have asserted your authority with this booking from the time she asked to extend beyong the original 2 weeks, which took her out of the status of guest into tenant territory. Nor did you come to any binding arrangement with her regarding how long her "niece" would be allowed to stay, you just made assumptions. 

Had you been businesslike about this whole booking from the outset, rather than acting like this woman was a family member or friend, this situation wouldn't have developed. And I have never heard of an Airbnb booking that goes on for a year and a half. Airbnb isn't set up for that.

But I wish you a swift and appropriate outcome in your predicament.

[Tina7837]

@Sarah977 I’m not sure I understand why you even took the time to respond if this was the input you had to offer. I hope you realize that you can be both assertive and empathetic when dealing with such matters. There have been responses from hosts that have been helpful - your condescending negativity doesn’t really provide me with sound advice or a solution.

The guest did nothing wrong in extending her stay previously. The above-mentioned issues have recently taken place within the past two to three weeks out of almost 52 weeks. I certainly don’t share my personal life with my landlord on why I decide to extend my lease after each year, and even if they asked, I don’t need to tell them. That’s my right.

In 2021, many people use Airbnb for long term hosting. Our local laws allow it to be under short-term, month-to-month rentals. Airbnb is fully aware and supports this because they realize different tenants have different needs, and often, this is a cheaper option for those who aren’t as fortunate as others, especially when it comes to furnishing a home, etc.

I am so glad you can’t relate to my situation, because genuinely, I wouldn’t wish for anyone to have to deal with it. But I’m sorry you felt the need to bash a newer host who openly came to the community for help. I hope it made you feel better and validated as an experienced host.

[Mark116]

@Tina7837  It is true that many people use Airbnb for longer term hosting/stays.  It is also true that a lot of those people don't actually understand the tenancy laws of their states or countries, although this seems to be more of a US issue.  I wouldn't say either that Airbnb 'supports' the issue, because should you find yourself in a situation where someone refuses to leave and has lived at a property long enough to establish tenant rights, Airbnb will be no help.  I actually feel that their constant 'suggestions'  that hosts should offer their properties long term borders on the unethical.  If anyone has to move forward with an eviction process, they're on their own. I hope that doesn't happen to you, and also hope that you update this thread w/the outcome.

[Tina7837]

@Mark116  I would have never known that! As both a guest and a (newer) host, I’ve loved using Airbnb to travel, but I’m just now hearing from fellow hosts such as yourself on all of these crazy and screwed recommendations they have to hosts. I’m sure they’ve gotten lucky with getting people to host for longer-term bookings more than ever within the past year, especially with the increase of people opting to work from home remotely wherever they want to, for as long as they want to. I plan on providing updates as they come! 

[Marissa160]

@Tina7837  I am not sure if you’re aware but @Sarah977  always gives excellent advice, I am a new host and have learned so much from her and others. I would take her comment as constructive feedback and not “bashing”. Sometimes, we could have dealt with a situation differently and it helps to get an understanding of that. We all learn and grow together as hosts. 

[Tina7837]

@Marissa160 

I am absolutely open to learning from others and receiving constructive feedback, which is why I shared my situation on this community forum. Given the time sensitivity and nature of my situation, her responses haven’t been helpful to me. Like I said to @Sarah977 , I’m not here to go back and forth on what I should’ve done, but open the dialogue on the most effective way to move forward as of this moment with a solution. I’m happy to contribute to this community forum and learn more from others, just when the time is right. Hope you can understand, thanks!

[Sarah977]

@Tina7837  I'm sorry if you perceived my response as condescending negativity. Nor did I bash you or feel the need to be validated. That is quite condescending.

When you are already a long term tenant,  and wish to renew a yearly lease, of course the landlord isn't going to question you if you have been a good tenant. But normally, if you want to rent a place for a year, at the outset, the landlord will take a security deposit, ask for references, work history, current employment etc. They don't just say yes to the first person who shows up and you sign a lease with clear terms.

Having a guest who books for 2 weeks, and then wants to extend it for a year, is completely different, as this person has gone from being a short term guest to a tenant situation, and as you said in your title, can get too comfortable. 

I never suggested that you shouldn't be empathetic, only that it would have been better for the parameters of this tenancy to have been laid out in a more businesslike way so that things were clear, rather than assumed.

[Tina7837]

@Sarah977 Your first response offered only assumptions based on the information I chose to provide you with. It didn’t contain helpful advice on how as an Airbnb host you would handle this or whether you or anybody you knew of experienced this. I’m not here to debate on what I should’ve done, but rather, the effective way to move forward amicably and without animosity for both the guest and I. Hope you can understand that.

We’ve had all of our guest’s info from work employment and history, credit checks, former addresses, all of the above once she became a longer term resident. I figured it was common sense to have the basic, necessary information on a guest and it’s something I didn’t need to explain. Her “niece”, once again, the point of my post, is an unknown guest at this time which is why I have been repetitively mentioning my post is to seek the best way on addressing this with her. It seems like the best direction is confirming information with the authorities and moving forward with an attorney if needed. 

[Ana7]

@Tina7837  I also feel that @Sarah977  has given you a good advice to establish a more businesslike relationship to your guest. It is one thing to be friendly and emphatic, and totally other to let your guest bring another (minor!) person to your place, without any personal data on her. I live in Croatia and had I let my guest do that, I would be breaking the law, since we have to register all guests in the e-visitor programme, which police has access too,  if needed. 

[Marissa160]

@Sarah977  Just want to say that I was going to say the same thing! I do long term rentals and I definitely find out who my tenants are and what they are doing! And if they don’t like me knowing their business, I will rent to someone else. I personally meet all my long term tenants and check them out very carefully. And I don’t even live there with them LOL! 

[Laura2592]

@Tina7837 Airbnb suggests a lot of things that are bad for homeowners. 

Their pricing model regularly admonishes me to lower my price by $50 a night when smaller homes in my market are charging $40 more a night than I am. 

Airbnb tells me to host long term stays but doesn't offer legal protection for me and can't even guarantee a long term guest pays for the entire stay. 

Airbnb tells me to allow last minute stays when those guests are often problematic and poor planners who don't read descriptions because they just book anything possible. 

Airbnb suggests I offer one night stays which are often the types of bookings made by people who just want to throw an unauthorized party  

Airbnb tells me I should add a crib and allow infants and toddlers when my stairs are not safe for little ones. 

The moral is that Airbnb doesn't have responsibility for your space.  They don't pay your mortgage or insurance.  It's ALWAYS up to you what behaviors you accept in your space. One is best suited to ignore ABB when they are telling you things that don't make sense to you.  They are not the expert on your space.  You are. They won't back you up when you make poor decisions based on their advice.  

Airbnb is a marketing platform and that's it. They really don't offer much beyond getting you bookings. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Tina7837 

I would keep it as short and simple as possible

tell your guest you know that police are searching for her daughter/niece and she is hiding. Tell her you will contact the police and report her if she and her daughter/niece don't move out immediately.

[Mark116]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  I'm not sure I would do that, because @Tina7837 doesn't know how volatile the situation with the 'niece' is, or exactly why she was hiding from the police.  Better to start neutral, and just tell the guest that the minor and the ensuing liability and other complications make her continued rental there unmanageable and that she will have to terminate her stay.  See what happens.  You can always escalate if necessary.  The guest may leave with no problems, the guest might even be happy to move at this point so something else can be done with the 'niece'.  Or not.  If I were in this situation I would only throw gas on this fire as a last resort.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mark116  aaaa.... ok, you are right, it's wiser

[Emilia42]

@Tina7837 I don't really think trying to find out any more personal information, such as relationship status with the niece or reasons for the police visits is necessary. You need to have a clear conversation with the tenant stating that you rented to her and only her. If the tenant's plans have changed and she plans to have the minor accompany her in a long term then she needs to find another place to stay. Your place is not suitable nor appropriate for a minor. You will give her 30 days to do so and in the meantime consult a lawyer.