How an Airbnb customer became a 'tenant from hell' for an LA guesthouse owner

09 October 2023

In the upscale Brentwood area on Los Angeles' West Side, Sascha Jovanovic — a native of the Netherlands who has lived in L.A. since 1990 — rented a guesthouse he owns to former Airbnb customer Elizabeth Hirschhorn for $105 per night.

According to Los Angeles Times reporter Jack Flemming, their agreement was that she would stay for six months at that rate. But Hirschhorn, Flemming reports, refused to leave after that period of time and "says she has the right to stay."

Flemming, in an article published on October 9, explains, "So far, a judge has ruled that, under the city's rent stabilization ordinance, he has no legal reason to evict her. When Elizabeth Hirschhorn's Airbnb stay ended in April 2022, she simply didn't move out. She's been living there rent-free ever since, and she refused to budge unless Jovanovic paid her a relocation fee of $100,000, according to a settlement offer reviewed by The Times. Jovanovic said his hillside haven has become a hell."

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Hirschhorn's attorney, Colin Walshok, told the Times that she is not obligated to pay rent because the city did not approve the property for occupancy.

But Sebastian Rucci, Jovanovic's attorney, described Hirschhorn as a "tenant from hell."

According to Flemming, Airbnb has "deleted Hirschhorn's account."

Read the Los Angeles Times' full report at this link (subscription required).

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