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Yes I believe so - I’d never heard of mother in law suite but I can imagine they are the same thing.
In the UK it would generally be attached to your house eg: converted garage:
but places like australia, new zealand (the states?) they could be separate all together eg -
It does really depend on where you are. I get a lot of people visiting family the Catskills or Hudson Valley. Want to bring them over for dinner? Fine, although they can’t stay over. My friend in New Orleans, however, has a very STRICT no guests rule and I don’t blame her. Otherwise the guests would be prostitutes.
Oh wow. Now that would be a problem!
After a very very bad experience with guests bringing unknown persons to my house to party I became suddenly extremely strict. This unknown local dude they brought was someone they met at a bar or at the beach… and gave him my personal address, and of course now this person whom I DON’T KNOW and didn’t clear has all kinds of information about me, my property, what I own, how to get in here and that I live alone most of the year. Because I can hear what they were doing I knew he had also brought drugs over and they were getting high and drinking to excess!
Guests who expose their hosts to such liability are bad bad guests, and believe me I raked her over the coals in a review for her bad behavior and partying loudly with this stranger on my property which upset the neighbors. When I told them to stop, she replied, “We’re just trying to have some fun,” and instead of complying they closed all the windows and doors and kept on partying. I was soooooo pissed. They basically told me, the host, to take a hike. Extremely nerve wracking. And that is why I say, “ONLY your registered guests allowed on property or in apartment.”
My friend has this in her house rules:
I would have called Airbnb immediately. Could you call the cops and get them removed or were you afraid to take it to that level?
Of course I opened a case with Air right away. They advised me to ask them to leave. Not a good option because you risk more damage and disruption when the guests become livid and outraged at being asked to leave. The cops cannot help you. You gave these morons permission to be in your home. You are totally stuck with them. 
But you’re revoking permission and want them off. They are simply guests at your will.
Cops will NOT respond to calls for people wanting to evict their Airbnb guests. In fact they will just laugh.
Couldn’t agree with you more about allowing no one beyond guests on premises without host’s permission. Imagine the potential scams if one doesn’t have this rule; someone books the place, his accomplices come in to visit (aka case the joint), and then…Unlikely yes, but possible.
Cops will NOT respond to calls for people wanting to evict their Airbnb guests. In fact they will just laugh.
I think this depends on where you live. I’m sorry they couldn’t help you.
It’s not as easy or as straightforward as you may think. Here’s what a lawyer says.
Overnight Guest or Unwanted Tenant: Invited Guests Who Overstay Their Welcome Can Become Your Costly Legal Problem
by Ross Poole | Sep 15, 2015 | Leases, Real Estate, Torts
When Guests Become Trespassers
House Guests are Like Fish
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine offered to let me use his lake house for a weekend getaway.
I was blown away by the generosity of the offer. As I talked to him about it, he told me that he often lets friends and acquaintances use the property (nice guy right!). He was also considering using a vacation rental website called airbnb.com to make extra money.
As lawyers, we are trained to always worry about the potential problems the best laid plans can bring. This time was no different. What if someone he let use the place stole things from the property? What if the person he invited in refused to leave on time?
The truth is that he hadn’t thought about what would happen if things went wrong. When pressed on the issue, he said that he would just call the police and let them handle it.
Unfortunately, when dealing with a once invited guest, the police will often not intervene. You see, once you invite someone on to your property, the police see the issue as a civil one, rather than a criminal trespass (like a robbery).
This is especially the case for an overnight or multiple night visit, a guest can argue that they are tenant and must be afforded the protections of state tenant laws.
Law enforcement officers are trained to be aware of tenant rights and so are wary of getting involved in what may be a landlord-tenant dispute.
With companies like airbnb.com and couchsurfing.com becoming common place, there has been a boom in these types of incidents around the country.
If you find yourself in a situation where an invited houseguest has become an unwelcome intruder, several legal principles come into play.
Trespass:
If you can convince law enforcement officials that the unwanted guest is not a tenant, you can have them removed from the premises as a trespasser.
Police will often consider a variety of factors in determining whether someone may have tenant rights. For instance: has the intruder brought personal property there (like clothes, furniture or other possessions)? Do they have personal care products, such as a toothbrush, there? Have they paid rent or bought groceries?
The length of the stay is a factor, but it is not conclusive.
If the police will not arrest them and they will not leave voluntarily, you may have to bring a lawsuit to get a court order for ejectment. Ejectment is when the court orders the sheriff to physically remove someone from a property and to lock them out. That is usually the remedy if someone is a squatter or trespasser, rather than a tenant who has overstayed their lease.
Once they are removed from the premises you can also bring a claim for civil trespass to recover for any damage that was caused by the unwelcome intruder. To state a successful claim for civil trespass, you will have to show:
(1) your lawful possession or right to the property;
(2) defendant’s wrongful act of trespass on the property; and
(3) damages caused by the trespass.
Unlawful Detainer / Eviction:
If someone is considered a tenant, you may have to seek a court order in unlawful detainer or eviction. The legal proceeding is sometimes called different things in different states. Remember that someone can be considered a tenant even by an oral agreement and you do not always need a written lease. If you can’t get rid of a house guest to the point that you need to take legal action, you should call a lawyer.
Unlawful detainers are court proceedings that can be time consuming and technical in nature. An unlawful detainer proceeding is usually initiated by serving a notice to quit (to get out) with a mandatory grace period. The Notice to Quit period can be anywhere from three to sixty days, depending on the situation.
Statutory requirements for service of the notice to quit must be strictly complied with.
Next, like civil actions generally, unlawful detainer actions are initiated by the filing of a complaint, issuance of a summons, and service of the complaint and summons on the defendant. The “tenant” will than have an opportunity to respond and a hearing will be held to determine whether eviction is appropriate.
If you find yourself in this situation, it’s best to consult with an attorney who is aware of all the statutes and ordinances applicable to unlawful detainer proceeding in your state. If you do it wrong, you can lose rights.
You may be able to use a paralegal or eviction processor for less than a lawyer. But those companies are best when you have a written lease and the tenant failed to pay rent. Other situations have trickier laws.
Conversion:
If the unwelcome guest leaves with any of your personal property, you may also have a claim for civil conversion. The easy way to understand conversion is that it is the civil damages claim for someone who stole your property and won’t give it back.
The legal definition of Civil conversion is: the unauthorized assumption of the right of ownership over the personal property of another to the exclusion of the owner’s rights. In other words, they took your property without your consent, or kept it after you withdrew your consent, and then they refused to return it when you asked for it back.
To win a claim for civil conversion, you will have to show:
(1) your ownership or right to possession of the property;
(2) the defendant’s conversion by wrongful act inconsistent with your property rights; and
(3) damages (more often than not, this is the value of the property taken).
Ultimately, allowing someone to use your property for any period of time has risk, particularly if you allow them to stay for an extended period. Before you start letting acquaintances use your property, or before you turn to companies like airbnb.com or couchsurfing.com to make some extra money, make sure aware of the risks so that you can make an informed decision. One squatter can cause substantial headaches, both financial and otherwise.
And that’s not even scratching the surface of what happens if someone gets hurt or victimized while staying at your place…. But that’s another blog post.
About Latest Posts
Ross Poole
Ross Poole
Lawyer at Bellatrix PC
Mr. Poole is a trial lawyer in the areas of business, employment and real estate. In any legal dispute, you would rather have him on your side than against you.
Yeah. It’s really a cover my ass thing. i am generally a laid back kind of guy and don’t like being too restrictive with my guests. But, I live here, and i just don’t want strangers I have not met (nor vetted) lingering around unbeknownst to me. Plus, if something bad were to happen, I would have no recourse if my guest invited some psycho in the house. But, I figure since I have that statement, i can say guest agreed to my rules, so I am not liable for what happened when he/she broke them.
Great point, it is indeed a disclaimer, that extra people were not given permission to be there in the first place. Zero confusion, nor risk.
It’s not just that, ok.
It’s the dishonesty and deliberately lying to save a buck at the expense of the host.
I had a lady book as one. Then it went to two (her husband). Then it was a dog too. It turned out to be five people, including her kids and a friend. No dog.
They used ALL my blankets and put them back like they were unused. I can’t use dirty blankets for myself, or use them for another guest. I have to haul extra comforters to the laundromat on my only day off because of this one guest who deceived me.
I have a 2 bedroom house and don’t appreciate it being turned into a flop house by some lying POS Illinois people.
They all took multiple showers. I had to wait two hours to use the bathroom while they all took turns using the shower. I pay for a holding tank to remove waste water at a lake community.
They were up until 2:00am and the kids started getting up at 6:00am. I hardly slept at all.
I have 6 beds and to avoid this problem I leave only one blanket per booked client as It happened the same problem in the past.
@Leigh_Segel - First, I’m sorry that this happened to you. But as an ex-Illinois person, I just have to ask why you called their residency out?
Do you have a maximum occupancy or an extra person fee in your listing/house rules? If they exceed your maximum occupancy, I believe you can either deny the extra person lodging or cancel on the group and make them leave. If you have an extra person fee, you can change their reservation and have them pay the extra person fee. (Other hosts - am I right on this?)
I do hope you left them a horrible review to warn other hosts about their deceit.
They snuck them in after the fact.
Yes my max is two people.
They knew that. They just lied to get around it.
They only stayed one night.
I wrote and told her what an inconvenience it caused me and she didn’t apologize. Instead, she got really ignorant about it and then proceeded to complain about my house. Then once she realized I wasn’t asking for compensation, she just belittled me like it wouldn’t be hard to wash a couple extra blankets.
Im a former FIB too.
Just saying, it happens and when it does it makes our job harder. I have to go to the laundromat to catch up on all the extra bedding they used.
I left a certain amount of blankets out. They raided the linen closet for more. Then they put it back like I wouldn’t notice. Gross.
I appreciate this thread. I just encountered the extra guest parking his car in the garage. Reservation for 2. Extra charges for pets & Additioinal guests. Appears 3-5 guests now staying in unit.
After 10 pm, so I sent a message via Airbnb for the guest to update her total guest information.
Let’s see what happens next…
UPDATE
Guest apologized & promptly updated number staying in unit & asked me to bill her for additional fees. She is here with business associate for an international event. Business associate’s boyfriend was unexpected.
The booking guest was unaware and is most apologetic & embarrassed. She does not want her Airbnb guest rating diminished because she uses it for business travel.
The booking guest also now has Airbnb messages go to text on phone.
Earlier I would communicate via Airbnb, which went to her email which she did not see until the next day. About this issue I would text her phone then send a message via Airbnb saying, “I sent this text to your phone 5 minutes ago…”. I wanted this communication to be on the Airbnb platform.
Current issue resolved and guest has better tools for communication! Yippeee