The Downside of Airbnb: The Guest Who Won't Leave
To borrow from the Eagles: Welcome to Airbnb California; you can check your guest out any time you like, but he may never leave...not without you going through months or more of struggle and thousands of dollars in legal fees.
This creep in Palm Springs is, not exactly surprisingly, taking advantage of rules designed to protect renters so he can hang on to a condo owned by a San Francisco woman.
Debra Cassens Weiss posts at ABAJournal:
A San Francisco woman found out about the downside of a 44-day Airbnb rental after the renter refused to leave her Palm Springs vacation condo.The guest who overstayed his welcome has renters' protections under California law because he was in the unit for more than 30 days, report the San Francisco Chronicle and Business Insider.
Cory Tschogl says she knew something was amiss when the guest who goes by the name "Maksym" complained that the tap water was cloudy and he didn't like the gated entry to the complex. Tschogl had a bad feeling so she agreed to his request for a full refund for the 30 days he had paid in advance. But then the guest changed his mind and decided to stay, Tschogl tells the Chronicle.
The man refused to pay the remaining balance due, however, and he refused to leave. Tschogl decided to let him stay for the full 44 days. But the renter still wouldn't leave, so Tschogl threatened to turn off the power.
His response: He was legally entitled to stay in the condo, and the loss of electricity would threaten his at-home work, which pays up to $7,000 a day, the Chronicle says. He also said his brother visited and became ill from the tap water.
The woman said Airbnb was slow to respond to her requests for help from them, but Airbnb now said they've paid her in full for the reservation and are providing legal help.
More from the Chron, from a piece by Carolyn Said:
Tschogl said she begged Airbnb for help through numerous e-mails and phone calls without getting much assistance.Now she's hired a lawyer, who will cost several thousand dollars and take three to six months to evict the tenant, who now has renters' protections under California law because he has occupied the unit over 30 days.
Similar issues can arise with any tenants, of course, whether they book through Airbnb or find a place through the classifieds.
"Our initial response to this inquiry didn't meet the standards we set for ourselves and we've apologized to this host," said Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas in a statement. "In the last week, officials from our team have been in incredibly close contact with this host and she has been paid the full cost of the reservation and we're working with her to provide additional support as we move forward."
Tschogl, who works as a rehabilitation therapist for blind and low-vision people, was priced out of the San Francisco housing market, so she bought a one-bedroom condo in a gated Palm Springs community 18 months ago. She visits it often and her father lives nearby.
Income has helped
She's rented it occasionally through Airbnb and Flipkey for about a year. The income from guests who paid around $450 a week helped meet her expenses for the mortgage, taxes and insurance.
More here about the squatting creep, Maksym Pashanin. Samantha Cortese at KESQ says "this might not be the squatter's first scam":
It appears Maksym Pashanin is a gamer of a different kind too. A contributor to the crowdfunding website 'Kickstarter' alerted our stations to 'Confederate Express', a computer game created by Pashanin.People have donated $40,000 to fund the game and many are crying scam. They said it's been eight months without anything more than this demo.
Pashanin recently told the gaming site CLIQIST.com that he made some bad business decisions and reassured his fans the game would be released.
Photo of Maksym Pashanin via Kickstarter:
This isn't an Air B&B problem. This is a California Landlord Tenant law problem.
Never rent your condo for a period of time,that will grant a tenant rights of occupancy that will require a formal eviction process if he decides to squat.
Laws like this, in addition to other factors drive up rents in places like California, and New York.
You can appeal to Air B&B for help all you want, but they are in the same boat as the condo owner under the laws of California.
Isab at July 26, 2014 6:42 AM
Apparently a Ukrainian immigrant. Being a mooching crook must be a job Americans just won't do.
Art Deco at July 26, 2014 7:10 AM
I am ashamed to admit I sort of wish I had 1/10th this guy's chutzpah. :/
jerry at July 26, 2014 10:59 AM
I envision a long prison term for fraud in this guys future.
Bill C at July 26, 2014 1:40 PM
Pretty sad that the property owner essentially has no rights concerning their own property here. I wonder what prompted such an assinine law to be written in the first place?
BunnyGirl at July 26, 2014 1:47 PM
"I wonder what prompted such an assinine law to be written in the first place?"
Politicians can count. There are more tenants than landlords.
dee nile at July 26, 2014 2:36 PM
Politicians can count. There are more tenants than landlords.
But not more tenants than people in owner-occupied housing. About 65% live in owner occupied housing, commanding about 80% of the purchasing power.
Art Deco at July 26, 2014 3:05 PM
I envision a long prison term for fraud in this guys future.
I tend to think the courts deal with this sort of cunning rather ineffectually. He'll be out of the jurisdiction before it occurs to Judge Meldnick to deny bail and they'll never catch up with him. I'll wager he's much more likely to return home as a fugitive prepared to exploit any angle Ukrainian law gives him than to be justly and expeditiously stripped of his right of domicile and deported to Kiev.
Art Deco at July 26, 2014 3:10 PM
She deserves everything that occurs to her.
500 dollars a week???
Is the place made out of gold?
She is the con artist and SHE needs to go to prison.
Good at July 26, 2014 5:24 PM
Clearly common sense is no longer part of the law.. Also, 450$ a week for a decent condo? Pretty good deal here in Panama City Beach Florida during spring break. most are running over a thousand.
Margaret harper at July 26, 2014 5:44 PM
The lady needs to call Tony Soprano.
Retired Ron at July 26, 2014 5:47 PM
She deserves everything that occurs to her. 500 dollars a week??? Is the place made out of gold?
She is the con artist and SHE needs to go to prison.
Hi Maksym. Nice of you to stop by. You agreed to the price, no? If you could have located something more to your liking for a lower charge, why did you not? While we're at it, did she or did she not refund your pre-payment? Have you or have you not refused to pay anything at all?
Art Deco at July 26, 2014 6:25 PM
The little con artist is actually bragging about his scams on his Kickstarter page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/829559023/confederate-express/comments
I had to facepalm when I saw that guy's avatar. It says it right in the name: "EX-CON."
Vaylon Kenadell at July 26, 2014 8:04 PM
People, this is why bikers exist. Hire a couple.
Uncas at July 26, 2014 11:57 PM
There was a time when a little runt like this would have been tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail.
Where are the good old days?
Dirty Harry at July 27, 2014 5:21 AM
Nothing a good beating in the parking lot can't fix.
Anthony Soprano at July 27, 2014 6:07 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/07/26/the_downside_of_1.html#comment-4882355">comment from Good500 dollars a week??? Is the place made out of gold?
Perhaps the last time you rented was in 1920.
A person can charge whatever they want for their goods or rental. If a customer doesn't want to pay the price, they can go elsewhere.
Amy Alkon at July 27, 2014 8:20 AM
Since a large proportion of the owner-occupied properties are owned and occupied by people who don't own rental property, they went along with the attempt to fight the evil landlords who kicked poor people out into the streets without warning in order to take advantage of rising rents.
Little did they know that their anti-landlord law would ensnare them when a means arose to earn a little extra money by casually renting out that vacation condo or cabin they were finally able to buy.
Suddenly, they were the evil landlord they had been caricaturing.
Conan the Grammarian at July 27, 2014 10:00 AM
According to the Daily Mail, the process server couldn't positively identify the person who came to the door (he wore a hood and scarf and claimed to be Maksym's brother), so he couldn't serve him with eviction papers. The law requires he put them in Maksym's hands, not a third party's.
That means this will go on for a while. And that landlord has very few weapons with which to fight a squatter fully-armed with all the weapons this misguided law gives him.
Conan the Grammarian at July 27, 2014 10:20 AM
"According to the Daily Mail, the process server couldn't positively identify the person who came to the door (he wore a hood and scarf and claimed to be Maksym's brother), so he couldn't serve him with eviction papers."
That attorney needs to call in a more cunning and experienced process server.
--
Once upon a time in New York (and perhaps still), there were circumstances where you could be served by mail or by tacking papers to the door. Not all judges would allow that, though.
Art Deco at July 27, 2014 10:37 AM
"they went along with the attempt to fight the evil landlords who kicked poor people out into the streets without warning in order to take advantage of rising rents."
They 'went along' with nothing. They're not lawyers with this sort of practice, or real estate agents, or people who follow local politics. Concentrated interests defeat diffuse interests - until there's a problem which catches public attention.
Art Deco at July 27, 2014 10:43 AM
You're certain that the process server's incompetence and inexperience is the problem here?
They reelected without protest the folks who passed such laws. They bear some blame.
Conan the Grammarian at July 27, 2014 6:31 PM
You're certain that the process server's incompetence and inexperience is the problem here?
Where did I say the process server was incompetent? The sort of work assignments these chaps do may vary (the fellows I recall downtown ca. 1992 were dropping papers on other firms and on public agencies and it was all very decorous), but there is a class of defendants who scheme to avoid service and experienced process-servers will have their strategies with these types.
Art Deco at July 27, 2014 8:57 PM
"She deserves everything that occurs to her.500 dollars a week???Is the place made out of gold?She is the con artist and SHE needs to go to prison."
You obviously don't know the housing market in San Francisco at its current launcher. Educate yourself.
Karen at July 28, 2014 5:27 AM
I have a relative who rented a house in Texas out to a single mother and child. After 6 months she stopped paying. When he got her on the phone she said she had a sick child and he couldn't evict her. She also said her child would be sick for the foreseeable future because her friend was a doctor. So my relative gave the keys back to the bank in exchange for forgiving the loan. Interestingly a bank can evict a mother with sick child but an individual cannot in Texas.
A year later she sent him a letter asking for a renters reference for another house she was looking to rent.
Ben at July 28, 2014 2:31 PM
Can't they just axe him to leave?
With an axe, I mean.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at July 29, 2014 7:39 PM
$500 a week sounds damn cheap to me. It's kind of hilarious that anyone thinks it's expensive. That comes down to about $71 a night. You'd be hard pressed to find a cheap motel room for that price in most places -- let alone a city like San Francisco.
Anyway. I took a big chunk of time off between jobs to travel once, and people kept suggesting I save money by doing an apartment exchange -- after all, an apartment in Manhattan would be in high demand. This story is exactly the kind of thing that made me afraid to do it.
Gail at July 31, 2014 7:17 AM
Leave a comment