A man is evicted from his home after renting it out via Airbnb, according to a decision in the Svea Court of Appeal.
But the man has refused to rent.
His explanation: fraudsters have created a fake ad, reports Home and Rent.
Airbnb is a popular app for people looking for accommodation in connection with travel.
Photo: JAQUE SILVA/SOPA IMAGES/SHUTTERS / SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL/IBL
The article in brief
■ A tenant is evicted after renting out his home on Airbnb.
■ He was first right in the rental board, but now the Svea Court of Appeal has come up with a new decision.
■ The man denies renting and blames fraudsters.
The residence in question is a three-room apartment in Nacka outside Stockholm that was previously available on the online platform Airbnb, where hosts rent out residences for shorter periods.
The residence was popular with guests.
Hem och hyra writes that it received great reviews, and was described, among other things, as “cheap” and as a “dream for families with children”, with free parking and close to both swimming, playground and public transport into Stockholm.
Rented out housing without permission
In addition, the host received the “superhost” award, which Airbnb gives to its “best performing hosts” for, among other things, a high response rate and good ratings from guests.
The only problem was that subletting was not allowed.
And when the property owner discovered the ad, the tenant was immediately terminated.
The matter was taken up in the rental committee – where the tenant came up with an alternative explanation, writes Hem och hyra. There, he stated that the Airbnb ad was fake: that someone must have opened an account in his name, taken photos from an apartment exchange site and posted the ad without his knowledge.
The tenant also referred to an article in Hem och hyra, which was about how fraudsters managed to create fake profiles and trick Airbnb’s verification process.
Svea Court of Appeal changes the rental board’s decision
The tenancy board held that it was not completely out of the question that the man’s story was true, and decided that the man would be allowed to stay.
But now that decision is overturned in the Svea Court of Appeal, writes Hem och hyra.
The court believes that the guest’s review of the apartment on Airbnb seemed authentic, and that the man should have noticed if someone lived in his residence. The court also writes in its decision that it speaks against the man that the ad for the three in Nacka was removed from Airbnb after he received a decision to dismiss him.
“Since the “impostor” can hardly have known about the termination, this circumstance is very troubling”writes the Court of Appeal.
Now the man has to move from the apartment.
