AEGIS Security & Investigations wants to teach you how to deal with Airbnb squatters and guests overstaying their welcome. As we move into the summer, more LA residents will be renting out their homes through companies like Airbnb, Tripping.com and FlipKey (see more here). While the fun in the sun will come to an end for you as the owner, it could last way longer for your renter.
Check out these stories about Airbnb squatters in California:
July 2014: A condo in Palm Springs is squatted in by a man who initially requested to rent the property for 44 days (just over a month) through Airbnb. The man called the owner one day into his stay and demands a refund because the property is not to his liking. Over a month later, the owners are told they need to file a full eviction process to remove the man who hijacked their condo! (Read the full story)
August 2014: The same Airbnb condo in Palm Springs is finally vacated by two scam artists, the Pashanin brothers. Because their original rental exceeded 30 days, California law considered them tenants of the property, which led to the need for an eviction process that took over a month. Airbnb and the owners had consistently requested the pair vacate the premises. (Read the full story)
May 2015: A woman in Watsonville, near San Francisco, rents a room in her home to a couple via Airbnb. They asked to stay longer, paying her in cash rather than through the peer-to-peer service. After their first 30 days, they stopped paying rent and refused to leave. This time, Airbnb put it back on the newfound landlord stating that they could not be held responsible for any occurrence after the initial rental transaction through them (e.g., she dug her own grave by allowing them to pay rent in cash rather than through the company site). (Read the full story)
June 2017: Los Angeles residents are trying to include rental options for their Airbnb listed properties while the peer-to-peer company is trying to limit the number of days renters can stay when using Airbnb services. One of the protestors in a recent uproar admitted that it was through Airbnb that she found her latest tenants and needs the company’s currently open policy to ensure she is able to afford her home. (Read the full story)
So, what is a host to do? You need the extra cash, and the promise of being a micro-entrepreneur is too good to pass up. For a start, consider how a security presence insists upon all parties to stick to the agreement made through the peer-to-peer company.
To leave your home in the hands of another person — nonetheless a stranger — is a difficult step in and of itself. Add in the scary possibility that someone could end up squatting there, and your anxiety is likely to double. Unfortunately, the process of evicting someone is even harder. But adding in a physical security factor, like a security officer posted outside whenever guests are renting your home, can deter them from making your home their own. Many homeowners and apartment managers have begun contacting security companies to provide an ongoing presence to deter theft. Working with a skilled and accountable professional security company name owners can rest assured that their property is adequately secured.
There are a few central tenets of being a security officer that ensure they are the best option to combat potential crime at your location. Their duties and responsibilities include remaining visible in or around the property or person, remaining vigilant to be able to respond quickly and efficiently in an emergency, observing and reporting all activities (particularly those that are out of the normal), and enforcing safety policies from the client. This presence will certainly deter people from having unauthorized parties, staying past their scheduled check out time, and keeping your property under watch.
Should an emergency or criminal activity occur, security officers are the first line of response. Additionally, a security officer has the right and the responsibility to ask trespassers to leave the property, place disorderly and unlawful perpetrators under citizen’s arrest, and take actions within their scope of certification to ensure the safety of the property or person. Trespassers may include short term renters who don’t leave at their scheduled check out.
At AEGIS, we utilize an active command and control system that allows us to dispatch, monitor, and account for our field staff remotely. Utilizing GPS, our staff check in remotely and provide regular updates to management to ensure they are awake, alert and on post.
In essence hiring a security comany or team is critical to your infrastructure, whether it is for a private home or a corporate office building. At AEGIS, we value our clients and aim to meet and exceed their expectations. We specialize in high-end, customer service-focused security, investigative, training, and consulting solutions. We are able accomplish our goal of exceeding your expectations by actively utilizing both internal and external active management techniques and focusing our services tuned to our clients’ hierarchy of needs. We value professionalism, reliability and prevention versus reaction, and we implement field-tested steps to avert incidents before they occur. AEGIS is fully insured and is licensed by the State of California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.
AEGIS Security & Investigations is a Los Angeles region company that is licensed and insured in the State of California to provide high-end armed and unarmed regular and temporary off-duty police officers, bodyguards, security officers, loss prevention agents, and event staff. Additionally, we offer services for private investigation, consultation, people tracing, and background investigation. Our trainings and workshops in the field of security licensure and counter-terrorism have been featured in news media and are renowned for their efficacy. For more information or to contact us, visit www.aegis.com.
Authors: Chelsea Turner & Jeff Zisner
Note: This article is based entirely on opinion and should not be constituted as legal or formal advice.
