Should you worry about unauthorised subletting?

For a tenant, subletting a property without their landlord’s permission seems like a harmless way to earn extra cash. A 2-bedroom unit in Sydney can fetch $500 a night, enough to pay for their vacation with extra to spare.

But this cash goes into your tenants’ pockets, while you as a landlord, building or property manager take on all the extra risk.

While most short-term renters are honest and decent, bad guests can cause problems like:

• Hosting a brothel
  • http://gizmodo.com/5934731/prostitutes-turn-airbnb-apartment-into-brothel
• Creating a junkie’s den
  • http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/airbnb-horror-story-guests-trash-sydney-apartment-turn-it-into-a-junkie-den-20160902-gr7ej9.html
• Damage to your property and chattels
  • https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/31/another-airbnb-victim-tells-his-story-there-were-meth-pipes-everywhere/
• Out-of-control parties
  • https://www.airbnbhell.com/airbnb-party-house-keeps-getting-worse-neighbors/
• Alleged drug dealing  
  • http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/french-student-allegedly-caught-with-drugs-and-cash-in-airbnb/news-story/8db0e4c0d7288c82d75d52742a40fa0
• Security concerns from neighbours
  • http://www.afr.com/business/tourism/airbnb-host-forced-to-remove-listing-after-neighbours-complained-20170928-gyqq9r
• Committing violent crimes
  • https://www.airbnbhell.com/domestic-horror-airbnb-forces-guests-call-911/

A quick visit to Airbnbhell.com https://www.airbnbhell.com contains many more examples.

As a property investor, you want to protect your returns. you have rights that deserve to be respected:

1. The right to know and approve of everyone staying in your property. Airbnb and other short-term rental sites allow a tenant to grant access under their own conditions, not yours. While you extensively vet who you give the keys to, tenants don’t.
2. The right to not be burdened with risks you don’t choose to take. Putting a property on Airbnb is riskier than a stable, long-term tenancy. That’s why you aren’t doing it already. If your tenants are behind your back, you could find yourself with property damage not covered by your insurance (if the guest’s name isn’t on your lease, damage by them probably isn’t covered by your policy), or defending yourself against a lawsuit for injuries caused at your property.
3. The right to keep your tenants safe. If you manage a building, having one tenant on Airbnb means all your other tenants are less safe. Keys and swipe cards can be easily copied (https://www.domain.com.au/news/apartment-owner-powerless-after-discovering-tenant-was-illegally-renting-home-on-airbnb-20170114-gtpcp6/), after all.

In other words, unauthorised subletting means tenants get all the benefit, while you get all the extra costs and risks.

And that’s not fair.

BnbGuard is here to help. Our affordable service monitors short-term rental sites for your properties, whether it’s a single house, a portfolio of properties or an entire building. Sign up today for your free trial or contact us sales@bnbguard.com.au today for more information.