A host named Star King out of Calgary, Alberta rented her condo to two couples who were in town for a wedding, only to have the police contact them late at night in response to noise complaints.
As it turns out, the couples had invited a party bus full of drunken revellers to King’s house, advertising it as a spot for a big post-wedding bash. The partygoers proceeded to ruin King’s hardwood floors, dent her walls, trash her furniture, and plug her toilet with things that clearly didn’t belong in a toilet.
King had to beg to get the partiers to leave (since negotiations were futile due to their drunken nature), and sadly was left with upwards of $50,000 in damage from the party, as well as a tainted opinion of ever renting her property out again.
Another nightmare story involves host Poonam Sandhu of California, who took in two tenants who suddenly stopped paying the rental fee after two weeks of living in her space.
Even more, these renters touched and used all her private possessions, clothing, and toiletries without asking, and started fights amongst themselves that were bad enough to warrant a call to the local police. They even ignored eviction papers which, according to California Law, they were within their rights to do. They were now legally considered tenants and needed 30 days’ notice to vacate the property.
They finally left after Sandhu offered them $1,700 to vacate the property, but she was left on the hook for all damages and costs associated. All because the tenants paid her in cash, instead of through the online platform that Airbnb requires for payment.
The hard lesson here? Always read the fine print and reference check your tenants before you rent to them. If Poonam had done so, she might have noticed that these two tenants were career criminals who had pulled the same stunt on many unsuspecting hosts, gaining housing and even money from the host each time they did it.
