Airbnb guest ‘from hell’ squatting at home for 500 days
It’s the ultimate Airbnb host horror story – the guest that just won’t pay and just won’t leave.
It’s the ultimate Airbnb host horror story – the guest that just won’t pay and just won’t leave.
An Airbnb guest dubbed “the tenant from hell” has been squatting at a luxurious guesthouse overlooking the hills of Los Angeles for more than a year and a half — and is refusing to leave unless the homeowner pays her a $US100,000 ($158,000) Arelocation fee.
The New York Post reports, Elizabeth Hirschhorn rented a long-term stay at Sascha Jovanovic’s Brentwood guest home in September 2021 for six months at a rate of $US105 a night, with fees bringing the total to $US20,793, according to court documents.
But her Airbnb stay ended in April 2022, and Hirschhorn has been living there rent-free ever since.
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A judge ruled that under the city’s rent stabilisation ordinance, Jovanovic has no legal reason to evict her under Los Angeles’ recently adopted Just Cause Ordinance — and would be required to pay her a relocation fee to evict her.
In an email to Jovanovic’s lawyer obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Hirschhorn’s attorney, Amanda Seward, argued “US$100,000 is [Jovanovic’s] cheapest way of getting of the whole ordeal.”
“It is the home of the tenant until the landlord gets a judgment, however distasteful that is to your client.”
Hirschhorn’s attorneys also argue she should not pay rent — and should instead be paid back the $US20,793 — because the city never approved the guesthouse for occupancy, and its shower was constructed without a permit.
“The landlord broke the law and tried to make money by renting out an illegal bootleg unit,” her attorney, Colin Walshok told the LA Times.
“After he was caught, instead of doing the right thing, he has resorted to bullying, harassment and the filing of frivolous lawsuits containing elaborate false stories, all in an attempt to cover his tracks.”
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But Jovanovic’s attorney, Sebastian Rucci, disagrees.
“She’s the tenant from hell,” he said of Hirschhorn. “If she’s right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that isn’t permitted, then you can stay in it rent-free forever.”
According to court documents obtained by the Times, Jovanovic and Hirschhorn were cordial for the first few months she was staying at his guesthouse — exchanging niceties when their paths crossed and sharing tea and small talk on a deck that separates the main house from the Accessory Dwelling Unit.
The trouble apparently began about five months into Hirschhorn’s stay, when she complained her electronic blinds stopped working.
When Jovanovic went into the unit to repair them, he noticed water damage and signs of mold around her sink, which he claims were not there before Hirschhorn moved in.
He offered to pay her to stay at a hotel for five days while his contractor handled the repairs — either the Santa Monica Hilton or the Sure Stay Best Western in Santa Monica, noting that many of his visiting doctors stay there, according to messages reviewed by the Times.
Jovanovic even offered Hirschhorn $US1,500 toward any other hotel, the messages and emails show, according to the Times.
But Hirschhorn declined, writing back: “I don’t feel safe being forced to vacate with a housing disability and the high risks of COVID-19 complications.” She cited the LA County’s COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution and a 2011 doctor’s note about extreme chemical sensitivities.
Apparently still trying to assuage Hirschhorn, Jovanovic then offered for her to stay in his home, but she declined that as well, citing an extreme disability due to cat dander.
She now claims in a countersuit that Jovanovic “inappropriately invited” her to move in with him.
Tensions continued through the rest of her stay, and when it became clear Hirschhorn was not leaving or allowing any access inside the unit, Jovanovic reluctantly agreed she could stay through April 12 to give her time to find another place, according to an email in his complaint.
“She asked for more time, but I told her it wasn’t possible since I had other Airbnb reservations coming up,” Jovanovic told the Times. “But then I tried to be nice and give her an extra few weeks.”
When she still wouldn’t move, Jovanovic resorted to getting the city housing department involved and filing motions to evict her.
Hirschhorn, in turn, reached out to the city’s Department of Building Safety, which found two code violations at the unit — that it was unapproved for occupancy and had an unpermitted shower.
She then sent a complaint to a housing investigator, alleging illegal eviction, harassment and a refusal to pay her relocation fees.
The housing investigator concluded that because the unit violated city codes, Jovanovic had to withdraw his eviction notices until he could prove the guesthouse was in compliance.
But Jovanovic argues that when he tried to access the unit to make the repairs, Hirschhorn would not let him inside.
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He was recently fined $US660 for not complying.
Jovanovic is now suing Hirschhorn in two different cases: a damages complaint to recoup $US58,000 in paid rent, and an appeal of the judge’s decision to dismiss the eviction case.
“This isn’t about one ruling, it’s about the entire foundation,” Rucci argued. “If she’s right, you can rent an Airbnb for two days and refuse to leave on the third, unless the landlord pays you to leave.”
But Hirschhorn filed a countersuit in August, accusing Jovanovic of 15 violations — including negligence, nuisance, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unlawful business practices and a violation of the LA County Covid procedures.
She claims he knew about the potential mold problem before she moved in, and that he harassed and intimidated her to leave the rental by doing unnecessary construction, placing rotting bags of trash outside her door, shutting off her hot water and unlawfully entering the unit.
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As these cases make their way through the court system, Hirschhorn is continuing to live on Jovanovic’s property.
“It’s like a war where no bullets are flying,” he said. “Every time I open the door, I’m afraid she’ll be leaving at the same time.”
“Her door is a few feet from my daughter’s bedroom,” Jovanovic noted. “We don’t sleep well anymore.”
Parts of this article originally appeared in the New York Post and are republished here with permission.
Originally published as Airbnb guest ‘from hell’ squatting at home for 500 days
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