SANTA MONICA—The property owners at Santa Monica Canyon are not happy with their houses being listed on Airbnb. The houses are generally under long term rental agreements.
“Twice now, I have found my property on Airbnb, listed by my tenant,” said a source via mail to Canyon News. The source did not wish to be identified and owns a house in Santa Monica Canyon.
The owners have complained that the listings on Airbnb have ruined residential communities. Airbnb is a website that enables people to list and rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds or hotel rooms.
“Because of these listings we have suffered property damage, excessive wear and tear and complaints from our neighbors as well as clogged sewers and drains,” said the source to Canyon News.
The source further stated that there is no way to find the name of the “host” or address of their property on the website.
“The only way to determine whether your house is on their website is to go to the site, click on the area (and in the Canyon, check both Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades), give them fictitious dates of your “stay” and scroll through the pictures,” said the source.
The owners complained about the huge number of cars parked throughout the street and that the loud parties have created a lot of problems for the neighbors, not to mention the potential liability and expense.
The Apartment Owners’ Association feel the need to include a no-subletting clause, currently not present, that specifically mentions that sub-letting the house in sites like Airbnb will be a breach of the lease agreement and will serve as a cause for immediate eviction.
“I have spoken with Airbnb about this and their attitude is “too bad,”” the source told Canyon News.” I hope this never happens to any of you but it’s always best to be prepared.”
Canyon News tried to contact Airbnb about the issue, but they were not available for comment.
