We live in an age of convenience. With companies like Uber and Lyft taking over the transportation industry, it’s no surprise that a similar service popped up to serve the housing/hotel industry. While AirBnB is a great way to save money while traveling and stay in some very unique places, it’s not a good fit for your Denver rental property.
What’s the Risk?
You may ask yourself: “What’s the harm?” The problem you run into is the same that comes with allowing your tenants to sublet your rental. They’re essentially the same thing. Subleasing/subletting is defined as “your tenant conveying the same rights that you conveyed to some third party for a shorter period of time. In essence, they re-rent your property out for a few days or weeks for a specified fee.” (Kevin Perk | BiggerPockets.com)
Part of the risk of letting your tenants use your rental on AirBnB is you have no knowledge of who is living in your home. While you took the time to screen and vet your tenants properly, there’s no guarantee your tenants did the same. Are they a convicted felon? Sex offender? Wanted terrorist? How many people are coming and going? Did they return all of the keys? Did they make copies of the keys? Not knowing who is living in your rental and who has access to it pose many risks and liabilities to landlords.
What To Do.
You can’t control whether your tenant follows the lease or chooses not to. However, having a solid lease agreement in place is key to handling these types of situations. Many landlords add clauses into the lease agreement forbidding a tenant from subletting/subleasing the property without written consent from the landlord. You can also specifically mention that advertising the property on sites like AirBnB or similar sites is prohibited. This allows you to follow appropriate action to address the situation with your tenants and proceed with an eviction if necessary.
AirBnB unfortunately doesn’t vet properties or hosts to determine if they’re allowed to list the address or not. So what steps can you take to make sure your tenants aren’t listing the property behind your back? Proper lease language is number 1. You can also periodically check AirBnB to see if your rental is listed. If so, you can flag the ad for removal and address the problem with your tenant accordingly.
