One North Carolina Airbnb host is experiencing a nightmare with guests who refuse to leave her rental property.
Farzana Rahman is a resident of the city of Durham who became a host on the online marketplace created for short and long-term vacation rentals across the nation to support herself as a single mother who is now putting her son through college. After her guests checked in on October 25, they were set to check out on May 24; however, Rahman says they are still occupying her space.
“They’re refusing to leave until there’s an eviction order,” she said in an interview with ABC11. “I think they’re just trying to gain time to stay there for free because they haven’t paid.”
“This is my place, and I mean, I’m counting on this income; my son is in college,” Rahman added. “I’m a single parent.”
When cleaners arrived at the property on the date the guests were scheduled to move out, Rahman revealed that the police were contacted after the party declined to leave the house. When the police arrived at the home in response to her reaching out, she said that the renters promised to “leave first thing in the morning.” This, however, never happened.
Not only did they flat-out refuse to leave, but the guests also put up a “No Trespassing” sign that reads, “We will vacate the property when you file the proper paperwork with the civil magistrate for an eviction, for we are legal residents of this home.”
When contacting the police did not work, Rahman reached out to Airbnb for help, noting that she already had another long-term renter who had booked through the site but was unable to move in because the guests refused to leave.
“They’re sending me messages as ‘Please get help for your safety and get whatever legal help you have to get them out,’” Rahman shared.
The Airbnb website, however, features a section of everything to consider before hosting monthly stays. One note from the company “warns hosts who have guests who stay for a month or longer that they may not be able to remove a guest without going to court.”
According to attorney Maya Davis with The Law Offices of James Scott Farin, guests staying at a place for more than 90 days are generally considered to be holdover tenants.
“The longer they stay, the more rights they develop, so the quicker you can act and get them out of there, the better it is,” she explained.
Davis recommends calling the police when the guests won’t leave. In Rahman’s case, since they did not take action, she suggested filing with the courts right away to get the guests to vacate the home.
“You may have to file what we call the summary ejectment, which means that you want this person out, but you have to go through the court proceedings,” said Davis. “So, at that point, you have to give notice. You have to file and serve papers. You have to appear and get the court to grant that before removing someone from the property.”
Rahman has officially filed the necessary eviction paperwork with the courts to regain possession of the rental but says the incident has wasted her time and energy.
“It is stressing me out,” she said.
A court date for eviction is scheduled for the week of June 13.
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