A woman who has refused to leave a Los Angeles-area Airbnb is now demanding to be paid $100,000 to get out, according to a settlement offer reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.
The host, Sascha Jovanovic, said the woman’s stay was scheduled to end in April 2022, but she then refused to move out. Elizabeth Hirschhorn, dubbed as the “tenant from hell”, has been living rent-free ever since.
Mr Jovanovic, who owns the estate where the homestay is located in the hills of Brentwood, told the Times he cannot go into his home and “know that I’m safe when a potentially hostile person is living there.
“I’m thinking about it at all times,” he added.
Hirschhorn declined to speak to the outlet to share her side of the story; however, her attorney, Colin Walshok, argued that she was not required to pay rent.
“The landlord broke the law and tried to make money by renting out an illegal bootleg unit,” he told the 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 attempt to cover his tracks.”
After deciding to put out his small guesthouse for rent, Mr Jovanovic approved a long-term stay for Ms Hirschhorn in September of 2021.
The space was rented for six months at a rate of $105 per night, which with fees brought the total to $20,793 for 187 nights.
The pair got on well in the beginning, sharing tea and small talk, but there were some warning signs that Mr Jovanovic said he should have listened to.
Another Airbnb host had put out a review on Ms Hirschhorn’s profile that said “she had a lot of particular needs that I eventually could not accommodate.”
And then, Mr Jovanovic claims, he went into the guesthouse to check on electric blinds that had stopped working and noticed there was water damage and signs of mould around the sink, problems he says were not there before Hirschhorn arrived.
Wanting to repair the sink and stop the spread of mould, the landlord said he offered to pay his guest to stay at a hotel for a few days and also offered $1,000 toward a hotel of her choice, according to Airbnb messages and emails exchanged between the two.
However, Ms Hirschhorn declined, saying: “I don’t feel safe being forced to vacate with a housing disability and the high risks of Covid-19 complications.”…
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