Renting your home out as an Airbnb can be a great way to earn some extra income, but it’s important to be aware of the drawbacks of listing your home on the online marketplace.
One Airbnb host in California had to learn the hard way that certain rules and guidelines need to be followed to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Sascha Jovanovic, an LA-based dentist, decided to offer his home to guests through Airbnb. However, he has been dealing with a whirlwind of problems after failing to properly register his guesthouse.
A Long-Term Airbnb Guest
Due to a technicality, Jovanovic has been unable to remove a guest who has long overstayed her welcome.
The woman has been occupying Jovanovic’s residence for more than 541 days and refuses to leave the property. To add insult to injury, the woman has also stopped paying rent. Jovanovic has been left feeling frustrated and hopeless as the unwanted guest remains in the home while he’s the one footing the bill.
How Did This Even Happen?
The homeowner has been dealing with one headache after another because he obtained a proper certificate of occupancy or a permit to build a shower on his guesthouse property.
Despite his best efforts to evict the woman squatting in his home, the Airbnb host has been tied up in a legal battle that he continues to lose. A judge even rules that Jovanovic has “no legal right” to kick the woman out because the house has been deemed “noncompliant.”
Jovanovic’s Long Uphill Battle
The Airbnb blunder has been ongoing since he agreed to rent out his property to Elizabeth Hirschhorn in September 2021.
The guest opted for a “long-term stay” that was approved by Jovanovic. Little did he know just how long she would remain at his property. Per the pair’s Airbnb contract, Hirschhorn rented the place for six months and paid $105 per night. In total, she agreed to pay Jovanovic $20,793.
Refusing to Leave the House During Construction
At the five-month mark, the dentist decided that his home could use some repairs and he offered to pay for the woman to stay at a hotel while renovations were underway.
The woman declined to remove herself from the guest house and she also refused to stay at Jovanovic’s personal residence while the guest house was under construction. Unsurprisingly, tensions were high between Jovanovic and Hirschhorn.
Extending the Lease Without Airbnb’s Involvement
While the woman was initially only meant to stay at Jovanovic’s Airbnb rental until March 19, 2022, they came to an agreement that allowed her to stay until April 12, 2022.
The month-long extension was meant to give her more time to find alternative living arrangements. However, Jovanovic’s decision to extend the lease past the initial date meant that Airbnb was out of the equation. Since Javanovic had independently extended the lease, he no longer had the support of the company.
A Non-Cooperative Tenant
When April 12 finally came, Hirschhorn stopped paying rent to Jovanovic. The host would later come to find out that the woman contacted the Department of Building and Safety regarding the guest house she was living in.
They informed her that the property had two code violations including “lack of approval for occupancy and an unpermitted shower.” By this point, Hirschhorn had refused to move out of the guesthouse and still refused to pay for occupying the space.
Things Go From Bad to Worse
Hirschhorn filed a complaint with a city official and alleged that Jovanovic was guilty of harassment and attempting to illegally evict her. In an even bolder move, she insisted that he pay her $100,000 in relocation fees.
According to California law, Jovanovic’s guest house was not a legal rental. Thus, the city agreed with Hirschhorn, and Jovanovic was forced to withdraw his eviction notice until he could show that the property was compliant. But even bigger problems were brewing for the homeowner—Hirschhorn would not allow Jovanovic inside his own guest house, making it impossible for him to complete the necessary renovations.
Jovanivic’s Hands Are Tied
Hirschhorn seemed to have known that the law would be in her favor because she pulled every possible stunt to ensure she could legally remain inside Jovanivic’s residence without paying.
Since she had occupied the property for more than six months, the woman qualified for LA’s “Just Cause Ordinance,” a policy that requires landlords to provide a legal reason for evicting a tenant. If the landlord fails to do so, they must pay the renter a substantial relocation assistance fee.
Unsuccessfully Attempts at Suing the Tenant
Shockingly, the law continued to be on Hirschhorn’s side. A city official determined that the residence met the criteria to be subject to LA’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, meaning that the woman would have even more legal protections.
Left with no other options, Jovanovic tried to sue the woman to recover unpaid damages and to legally evict her. Unfortunately, the judge dismissed Jovanovic’s lawsuit.
Neither Side Is Backing Down
Jovanovic’s lawyer, Sebastian Rucci, didn’t hold back when talking about the callous way Hirschhorn has managed to manipulate the property owner and the law to work in her favor.
“She’s the tenant from hell,” he said. “If she’s right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that isn’t permitted, then you can stay in it rent-free forever.” The attorney also revealed that Hirschhorn has a list of demands she wants fulfilled before agreeing to vacate the property. “The tenant contends that she will not leave without being paid money to leave. We believe there is no basis for this.”
Will This Standoff Ever End?
Rucci continued to blast the woman for her attempt to extort Jovanovic while living in his home rent-free. “We will not negotiate with Elizabeth Hirschhorn. We will not accept any settlement where Sascha has to pay her. She owes over $60,000 in rent, and her allegation that she is owed money to leave is absurd.”
Hirschhorn’s lawyer, Colin Walshok, sees things very differently. According to him, “The landlord broke the law and tried to make money by renting out an illegal bootleg unit.” Walshok insists that Jovanovic is the real villain in this story, claiming, “After he was caught, instead of doing the right thing, he has resorted to bullying, harassment, and the filing of frivolous lawsuits containing elaborate false stories, all in an attempt to cover his tracks.”
