Post by High Priestess on Feb 17, 2016 18:12:39 GMT
Tim shared Feb 2014 in Home Sharers of San Francisco:
Insurance doesn't cover squatters, legal fees,loss of income….possible protections?
I just got off the phone with my insurance agent and as I suspected, the vacation rental policy does not cover someone squatting in your vacation home. The policy will not pay for attorney fees nor will it pay for lost income.
I am now requiring all guests to sign a rental agreement that stipulates that I have a loft inside the unit and it is my legal residence. The loft is never rented out. I write in the agreement that I have rights to enter and live there. It is a shared rental.
I am still unsure about the Hotel Occupancy Rules for guests less than 30 days because our business is operating illegally or not recognized as a legal hotel BnB.
Some of my neighbors have taken drastic steps of not renting to anyone under 30 or to anyone that lives in the Bay Area. It saddens me that we now have to consider every guest as a possible threat.
3 comments•1 like
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Albena
Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
Very good step to take, Tim, as regards protecting yourself from possible drawn-out legal battles due to squatting, by establishing your legal residence in the home and your right to enter and live there. This could help enormously in the case of a squatter.
Excellent, really excellent.
I believe the laws that apply to hotels for guests staying less than 30 days also apply to those hosting in their homes, as I believe the laws are not specific to hotels, but specific to the length of the stay. I would guess that even if a host was operating "illegally" that the rules for evicting guests who stay less than 30 days would still apply. The significant point, I believe, is not whether the accomodations are a hotel or a home, but whether the renter is a tenant, or whether they are a guest. See here for info on these distinctions:
www.calodging.com/images/uploads/pdfs/ABCsOfEvictingGuests.pdf
It is sad to have to view every guest as a possible threat, but unfortunately when the laws leave you vulnerable as they do, and when tenants have the excessive rights (to squat and steal accomodations) that they do, and when you live in a very tenant-friendly city, when you live in an area where there are plenty of tenant attorneys ready to capitalize upon any renter with a grudge against someone he rented from, the reality is that things are stacked against you as a person renting out accomodations, and it behooves us to take precautions.
Reply Like
Tim
Tim2 years ago
Thank Deborah! I appreciate your comments very much and am glad to hear about the 30 days rule. Thanks for the link. I will share it with my neighbors.
Reply Like
Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
For guests staying less than 30 days, I believe these can be evicted by lock-out, in accordance with California Civil Code section 1865. See here:
bit.ly/1pxcCeg
If you read that law, you will see that in order to be able to follow that law and evict guests by lock out, you need to have them sign a form in advance indicating that they are aware you have these rights. Here is the text of such a form I have created:
Your reservation is for the __(name of room) ___room from August 15 2014 until August 31 2014. Another guest is due to arrive August 31 2014. If you overstay this reservation, then according to California Civil Code 1865 (c) (1) the Innkeeper may enter this guest room, take possession of your property, re-key the door to this guest room, and make this guest room available for the new guest.
When you check out, you may leave keys to the house in the mailbox by the front porch/stairs. If you don’t turn in your keys I will need to charge you for them and possibly also charge for rekeying of the locks they are associated with. . Make sure you leave the towels and linens in the room – you need not launder them.
Also when you leave make sure you have all your belongings. Thank you for your patronage!
Signed, ______(guest signature here)____________________________
Insurance doesn't cover squatters, legal fees,loss of income….possible protections?
I just got off the phone with my insurance agent and as I suspected, the vacation rental policy does not cover someone squatting in your vacation home. The policy will not pay for attorney fees nor will it pay for lost income.
I am now requiring all guests to sign a rental agreement that stipulates that I have a loft inside the unit and it is my legal residence. The loft is never rented out. I write in the agreement that I have rights to enter and live there. It is a shared rental.
I am still unsure about the Hotel Occupancy Rules for guests less than 30 days because our business is operating illegally or not recognized as a legal hotel BnB.
Some of my neighbors have taken drastic steps of not renting to anyone under 30 or to anyone that lives in the Bay Area. It saddens me that we now have to consider every guest as a possible threat.
3 comments•1 like
Following
Like
Albena
Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
Very good step to take, Tim, as regards protecting yourself from possible drawn-out legal battles due to squatting, by establishing your legal residence in the home and your right to enter and live there. This could help enormously in the case of a squatter.
Excellent, really excellent.
I believe the laws that apply to hotels for guests staying less than 30 days also apply to those hosting in their homes, as I believe the laws are not specific to hotels, but specific to the length of the stay. I would guess that even if a host was operating "illegally" that the rules for evicting guests who stay less than 30 days would still apply. The significant point, I believe, is not whether the accomodations are a hotel or a home, but whether the renter is a tenant, or whether they are a guest. See here for info on these distinctions:
www.calodging.com/images/uploads/pdfs/ABCsOfEvictingGuests.pdf
It is sad to have to view every guest as a possible threat, but unfortunately when the laws leave you vulnerable as they do, and when tenants have the excessive rights (to squat and steal accomodations) that they do, and when you live in a very tenant-friendly city, when you live in an area where there are plenty of tenant attorneys ready to capitalize upon any renter with a grudge against someone he rented from, the reality is that things are stacked against you as a person renting out accomodations, and it behooves us to take precautions.
Reply Like
Tim
Tim2 years ago
Thank Deborah! I appreciate your comments very much and am glad to hear about the 30 days rule. Thanks for the link. I will share it with my neighbors.
Reply Like
Deborah
Deborah2 years ago
For guests staying less than 30 days, I believe these can be evicted by lock-out, in accordance with California Civil Code section 1865. See here:
bit.ly/1pxcCeg
If you read that law, you will see that in order to be able to follow that law and evict guests by lock out, you need to have them sign a form in advance indicating that they are aware you have these rights. Here is the text of such a form I have created:
Your reservation is for the __(name of room) ___room from August 15 2014 until August 31 2014. Another guest is due to arrive August 31 2014. If you overstay this reservation, then according to California Civil Code 1865 (c) (1) the Innkeeper may enter this guest room, take possession of your property, re-key the door to this guest room, and make this guest room available for the new guest.
When you check out, you may leave keys to the house in the mailbox by the front porch/stairs. If you don’t turn in your keys I will need to charge you for them and possibly also charge for rekeying of the locks they are associated with. . Make sure you leave the towels and linens in the room – you need not launder them.
Also when you leave make sure you have all your belongings. Thank you for your patronage!
Signed, ______(guest signature here)____________________________