In my province it’s legal to use airbnb as a tenant, but after 2 years of living there my landlord started giving me a hard time. Just wondering if anyone else has had issues?
The agreement for you renting your unit is between you and your landlord, not you and your province. There is probably not a lease in this entire world that allows you to sublet, and that is what you are doing. You are making extra money off the landlord’s place with no benefit to him and every liability. This is why he wants you to stop.
You should not be an Air host if you are a tenant. Most of us on this board own our places although there may be a few exceptions. However you’ll get little sympathy for subletting in violation of your lease. Save up your money and buy your own place. Then you can host freely.
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Thanks but I have sought legal advice on this several times throughout the course of my 2 years and verified my lease and it’s completely legal in my province, which incidentally has legislation that usurps any lease clauses that don’t agree with it. There are many people in my province using airbnb as tenants as this does not constitute subletting since subletting requires me to move out. Tenants are allowed to rent rooms as long as they don’t make more money than the cost of their rent, so there’s nothing illegal here. My landlord started harassing me about it when I brought up a maintenance issue that he doesn’t want to address. Since my question was clearly addressed to other people in my situation though, and unless you’re a lawyer, I’d appreciate if you refrain from providing legal counsel on a situation that you know very little about, especially if you’re not answering the question being asked.
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Oh I see. Well if it wasn’t problematic then your landlord wouldn’t be making you stop. If you had real legal rights to sublet you’d be continuing not asking strangers what to do. If you really wanted opinions that told you what you wanted to hear, why are you asking on a host forum where all of us are owners?
Subletting is where you rent to someone else, whether you move out or not.
I love it when renters get mad at me for being the messenger. I love it when they say everyone’s doing it so why shouldn’t they?
Take that to law school.
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@Saraswati_Maha What country and province are you in? Do you live in an area with good tenant protection laws? It sounds like you may if Statute & Regulation allow you to take in STR for money while a tenant and not an owner. It sounds like you may need to involve a lawyer or arbitration to enforce your usual rights as a tenant.
What exactly do you mean by a hard time?
Whichever way you choose to look at it, it’s the landlord’s property and not yours.
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@Saraswati_Maha … in answer to your question, @konacoconutz is right about most of us being home owners. We are often asked this question, but usually from people who know they should not be renting, but are anyway. If we had a FAQ you would see it at the tippytop. But I know lots of countries have a cultural affinity for renting and there are few home- or condo-owners. I wouldn’t be surprised if those countries have pro-tenant STR laws.
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I’m an owner so haven’t had this issue. But I’ve had jerk landlords and I found it easier to move than to deal with them.
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@konacoconutz there’s no need to be rude, and I’m not asking strangers what to do, I’m asking other tenants if they’ve experienced anything similar.
Since you don’t know my situation, and this thread doesn’t apply to you, I’ll reiterate my request that you kindly leave this thread for other hosts who may also be tenants to respond, since that’s who it was directed to.
In the meantime, if you’d like to read up on tenant rights that apply to my province take a look: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17
You’ll find Airbnb also has a specific section for Ontario - happy reading:
https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1282/ontario
But like I said, I’m not asking for legal advice since I’ve already received it an confirmed on several occasions that I’m within my rights. The landlord hasn’t asking me to stop, but he is harassing me, so unless you would like to assist with my query, please kindly leave this conversation so others can provide more useful responses.
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@Maggieroni he has been threatening me with the costs of maintenance that are his responsibility and has been asking me repeatedly to answer questions about insurance when I’ve already provided all the documentation that applies. I consulted a lawyer who said I didn’t really have to disclose that and furthermore, the landlord is not cooperating with doing maintenance which is also his responsibility, and since I moved in, before the question or airbnb ever came up, has routinely accused me of damages whenever I ask for routine maintenance (including things that were like that when I moved in 2 years ago), it’s just that now whenever i ask instead of not responding or delaying, he just responds with questions about airbnb guests and insurance and other things that he really should be asking his insurance company and that are actually none of his business (tenants in Ontario don’t have a legal obligation to have permission for guests unless they are moving out and transfering the lease).
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@CatskillsGrrl I’ve done thorough research and consulted a lawyer and made sure I’m within my rights. Renting is the norm in Canada, and tenants have rights here. Also, regardless of the circumstance if the landlord had a legal claim he could take it to the landlord and tenant board, but he is giving me a hard time about maintenance and generally being difficult to deal with instead. I’m just wondering if anyone else here had dealt with similar issues and how they resolved it. It might be similar to dealing with neighbours who make it harder to host. They can’t legally do anything to stop you, but they make it unpleasant for you to do so.
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@KKC Thanks, yeah that’s happened to me before. I love my apartment though, and I don’t really want to move so I’m looking for ways to manage the situation as it is.
I wonder if he is hassling you in order to extort a cut from you. Has he specifically mentioned your Airbnb activity?
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Or he’s trying to run her out so he can airbnb it himself.
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Ok it sounds like he can’t make you stop or he would simply do that so he’s making your life miserable hoping that you’ll leave. Have you asked the LL if there’s anything you need to do to get him to cooperate? Unfortunately the laws that have allowed str in the past never anticipated Airbnb. Most municipalities are creating new regulations for the platform which are more restrictive. So it also sounds like you can only make as much money as your current rent? So if your rent is 1k you can rent up to another 1k? How is that tracked? You are between a rock and a hard place I think.
I won’t provide any legal advice. But I will comment that I am shocked that your province allows you to run a commerical business, and for your landlord to have to put up with it. Airbnb guests are not truly “guests” - they are paying travelers. So I take it your attorney said your landlord’s regular insurance DOES cover his tenants running a commerical business out of his long term rental…
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I would suggest changing the title of your topic to “are there any Canadians who host as tenants?” Then you may attract some Canadians who are familar with landlord / tenants remedies. It is really about landlord dispute. Sounds like you have the hosting part in hand.
@CatskillsGrrl good idea on the topic change, thanks! and yes, i think he’s trying to get something out of it or he wouldn’t bother, since he’s known I’ve had roomates since I moved in here 2 years ago and specifically said i don’t need his permission.
@cabinhost it’s not considered a business. i’m not incorporated, i don’t make a profit and i live in the home. also, businesses are allowed in the home as long as what you’re doing isn’t illegal (selling drugs, weapons, etc.). so either way, it’s not illegal here. tenants are allowed to share a portion of the rent with other individuals as long as there are no damages and that the rent is paid and that the tenant is not making a profit or abandoning the unit. take a look at the links I sent if you’re interested in the legal side.