Community Chat

[------]

Yes, squatters have rights too.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/squatters-refuse-to-leave-airbnb-condo/

A San Francisco landlord can't get rid of squatters who rented her condo on home-sharing service Airbnb. She's caught in legal limbo in a case that highlights the downside of the growing online marketplace, CBS News correspondent Teri Okita reports.

Cory Tschogl started feeling uneasy soon after two brothers rented her vacation condo in late May. They found the place on Airbnb.com and arranged to stay for six weeks. Her first red flag: they didn't pay in full. Then came a text that read, "I'm not leaving. I'm legally allowed to stay here."

"My heart sank, and it just felt like I was being bullied," Tschogl said.

Tschogl discovered that, under California law, a person who lives on the property for more than 30 days is considered a "tenant," so she couldn't just kick them out.

"I just thought, uh-oh. This is no longer just a guest who is not paying. This is someone who might be a professional con artist or scammer," Tschogl said.

Tschogl has since hired a lawyer to help her evict the tenants. Airbnb couldn't get the men to pay up or leave, either.

The company told CBS News, "We've worked closely with this host and provided our full support. We've refunded the complete cost of the reservation and we're working with her to cover additional expenses."

In the new world of the so-called "sharing economy," new technology can easily connect private parties to help make ends meet. But businesses like Airbnb, Uber, Flipkey and Lyft are operating in uncharted territory.

"They're growing much faster than regulations and laws can keep up with," said Lindsey Turrentine, Editor-In-Chief of CNET Reviews. "And different localities have different issues that they're trying to grapple with."

In San Francisco, officials are worried that Airbnb is eating into a tight rental market, driving up prices on already-high rents. And in New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman raised concerns about hosts running illegal hotel operations.

The men who rented Tschogl's condo have not issued a response, but Airbnb says they've been permanently banned from the service.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody," Tschogl said. "It's been a really stressful rollercoaster ride. But I do think that others can learn from this cautionary tale."

[brii]

I cannot wrap my head around people who do these types of things.

I feel bad for the owner of the property. Probably best to limit a rental to 29 days or something.

[tansy]

How did the squatters receive keys without paying in full? Some laws need to be changed:/

[Preds]

I saw this on something else this past week. So very sad and wrong. If it were me and I owned the house I think I would just pick up 5 or 6 big dogs, a few cats, some grown "children" and some faux grandkids and move our buns right back in with the two guys. See how long it takes them to pack their stuff with all that in "their" house.

[brii]

I don't know why she rented to them without paying in full. That's another issue. If they didn't intend to leave, paying for the full 6 weeks wouldn't have mattered.

[151949]

I can't wrap my head around allowing strangers to come and live in your house for any reason. Though my DH has talked about us renting out our camper to shale workers over the winter when we aren't here but I am against it so he has let it drop for now. One of the owners of the campground approached him about it , saying he could get significant cash out of the deal. I am just afraid they could trash the place and we would be making payments on something that was now junk.

[depglass]

And my husband doesn't understand why I won't rent out our vacant house.

[Jannabelle]

On 8/6/2014 brii said:

I cannot wrap my head around people who do these types of things.

I feel bad for the owner of the property. Probably best to limit a rental to 29 days or something.

I can't wrap my mind around the fact that if one stays somewhere 30 days they cannot be kicked out......the laws need to be changed....remember the nanny who moved in? It's just wrong.

[brii]

On 8/6/2014 Jannabelle said:

On 8/6/2014 brii said:

I cannot wrap my head around people who do these types of things.

I feel bad for the owner of the property. Probably best to limit a rental to 29 days or something.

I can't wrap my ind around the fact that if one stays somewhere 30 days they cannot be kicked out......the laws need to be changed....remember the nanny who moved in? It's just wrong.

Hi, Janna.

Yes, it's wrong. It seems wrong to have to "evict" somebody.

[Jannabelle]

On 8/6/2014 brii said:

On 8/6/2014 Jannabelle said:

On 8/6/2014 brii said:

I cannot wrap my head around people who do these types of things.

I feel bad for the owner of the property. Probably best to limit a rental to 29 days or something.

I can't wrap my ind around the fact that if one stays somewhere 30 days they cannot be kicked out......the laws need to be changed....remember the nanny who moved in? It's just wrong.

Hi, Janna.

Yes, it's wrong. It seems wrong to have to "evict" somebody.

Right, someone that is staying somewhere without paying, should be the one breaking the law...forgot to say Hi, Brii.