Airbnb Guest Finally Checks Out After 600 Days And That Too Without Paying Rent – News18

Elizabeth Hirschhorn, known as the ‘tenant from hell,’ has finally vacated a Los Angeles guesthouse, where she allegedly overstayed for 575 days without paying rent. In a dramatic turn of events, the LA police were called to escort Elizabeth out of the Airbnb guesthouse. Originally, the property owner, Sascha Jovanovic, had rented his mansion to Elizabeth for a six month stay, for which she paid over $20,000 (approximately Rs 16 lakh). However, when her reservation period ended in March 2022, she refused to leave and demanded $100,000 (approximately Rs 83 lakh) from the owner to relocate. This dispute escalated, when Elizabeth claimed that the house was unpermitted, providing her with a loophole to avoid paying rent, while Jovanovic opposed that she was preventing him from making necessary repairs.

Due to Los Angeles’ Just Cause law, Elizabeth’s stay in the mansion for six months provided her with protection against eviction without legal cause. This meant that unless Jovanovic paid for her relocation, he couldn’t remove her from the property. Surprisingly, Jovanovic had extended her contract outside of the Airbnb platform, due to which the company refused to get involved in the dispute.

Speaking with News Nation, Sascha Jovanovic said, “It was quite a crazy moment because we were in the house, filming with a news channel. And then these three men started walking on the property, and I had no idea who was walking into it. I approached them, they didn’t want to speak to me. Then I called the police because of a home invasion, three men entering our property.” Reportedly, the three men mentioned were movers.

Meanwhile, Jovanovic and his attorney have taken measures to prevent Elizabeth Hirschhorn from re-entering the house. On the other hand, Elizabeth’s attorney has stated that she has plans to return to the guest house, but the Airbnb guesthouse owner claims he has already changed the locks. According to Jovanovic’s legal team, the woman needs to make the court understand why she should be allowed access to the property once more.

While she’s finally gone, Jovanovic is now dealing with the aftermath, “There were a lot of flies in the guest house. There was a smell. It was dirty. My first reaction was, ‘Everything has to go or be given to charity’.”

As per the portal, a judge stated that since the mansion wasn’t legally permitted when Sascha Jovanovic listed it on Airbnb, he couldn’t evict Hirschhorn without a valid legal reason or paying for her relocation. Interestingly, this isn’t the first scenario when Elizabeth has overstayed in an Airbnb property. She previously filed a similar lawsuit in Oakland, California, after refusing to vacate a cottage or pay rent. As a result of two cases, she has been banned from the platform for lifetime.