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If someone called me at 8am, I wouldn’t be “ignoring” their phone call, I would still be in bed and I turn my ringer off at night exactly so that people who get up at 6:30am and assume the rest of the world does, calling before a reasonable time, like 9am, don’t disturb me. And anyone who knocked on my door at 8am better have a damn good emergency reason for doing so.
I can understand that this host feels like she has a right to come onto the property when she drives by and sees the tenants aren’t treating it respectfully- if they kept the yards tidy, this situation probably would never have arisen. But they either have to be given notice that the landlord is coming to work in the yard, or given notice that they need to move out.
Dear Epadat,
Just want to send my sympathies. The dog poo part of it really got to me…
Hope they leave soon without too much angst for you and you can do a deep clean afterwards!
Cheers
Julie, Blue Mountains, Australia.
All I can say is in many cases a landlord giving notice to a long-term renter (a tenant) is not a lawful requirement but a courtesy. Most states and municipalities have no laws requiring notice, however some do, so check your laws. In many cases the laws will default to “as agreed to by the lease” which again makes it up to the landlord to decide what notice they wish to include. 24 hours is typically just a courtesy that has arisen but is not legally required. In all our residential leases it states “day before” for notice. Which technically could mean notified at 11:59pm the day before allows entry at 12:01 am just 2 minutes later. This doesn’t mean to abuse the notice, it’s just demonstrating the particularities of the law and lease.
We have excellent relationships with our tenants and typically just give notice the day before and let them know if it’s a burden to let us know and we can make a change to the entry time. 100% of the time there is never an issue. Obviously this guest is the problem here, not the host.
I have printed the regulations in Los Angeles County and have yet to see where the mandated 24-hours notification was printed. I have also not seen where this is specified on the Airbnb website.
I have learned on this platform that hosting in Airbnb is our business as we run it as we deem necessary. It is my intention to stay in business and protect my property as a host.
I appreciate all the inputs and have learned so much from this forum as a host and a person.
Landlord access restrictions are written in the standard lease - in Australia
Any tenancy over over 30 days is considered as a lease even if no lease is signed
It doesn’t say specifically 24 hours but it states that you can’t come onto the property of an entire house rental without prior permission.
" Physical intrusions: Hosts, guests, and those affiliated with them or working on their behalf must not access or attempt to access any private spaces without prior permission. In shared stays, this refers to bathrooms when the guest is inside, bedrooms, or beds in shared rooms. In entire home stays, this refers to the stay itself and the property surrounding it."
I rent by the month (in Seattle) which makes guests legally tenants, instead of hotel guests - different rules apply. It’s much harder to kick out a tenant. States are different, but California does have pretty strong tenant protections. I have guests sign a lease and pay a deposit. I always have, even when taking bookings through Air and VRBO. I no longer take bookings through them because they were only an impediment to addressing any issues with guests.
The upshot is you have to comply with state and local laws regarding tenants as well as Airs rules. Like others have mentioned you don’t have a right to go on the property because if they’re tenants it’s their home, just like you can’t let yourself into your neighbors garage or clean their stoop.
To terminate, My guess is you need to giv notice, so at least xx days before the end of the term send them (and the insurance) an email that says your term is ending on such and such a date and cannot be renewed or extended. And remind them of whatever the terms are for move out. Keep it to the point.
I would recommend you find an attorney. You might not need one now, but if this situation becomes problematic - like they won’t leave - or if you accept longer term stays in the future, you will need help navigating it .
That could work in your favor should the damage inside the home exceed normal wear and tear. An Insurance company has bigger pockets, and they have a reputation to uphold.
I once read a post by a very upset guest who had had an insurance company pay to house him elsewhere as there had been a fire in his house that was going to take months to mitigate.
The insurance company wasn’t the one who actually booked the stay, though- they used a booking agency to do that, which I suspect may be the norm in these situations.
He had found a place he liked and the booking agent had booked it. He was there for a week, when the agency contacted him, saying he would have to move out, as the insurance company had said it was too expensive and they wouldn’t pay that much for housing.
It was a big snafu, with the insurer and the agency passing the buck between them, neither willing to take responsibility, and the guest and host caught in the middle. The guest sounded just as angry about it on the host’s behalf, who he really liked and whose calendar had been blocked for months by this booking, as for himself.
Neither the insurance company nor the booking agency was the least bit concerned with their “reputation”.
So my point is, I wouldn’t assume the guest’s insurance company would be forthcoming if the host presented them with a bill for damages caused by the guest. Unless the guest’s insurance policy specifically states they will pay for any damages caused at the temporary rental, it’s doubtful that damages or excessive cleaning would be covered by the guest’s insurer.
