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Personally, I think this is cool and props to the author for pulling it off. However, the thing that strikes the more scrutinous side of me about all this - the

Personally, I think this is cool and props to the author for pulling it off. However, the thing that strikes the more scrutinous side of me about all this - the elephant in the room, if you will - is that what the author is doing almost certainly conflicts with her rental agreement and were she to be brought to court over it, it would probably be a clear case in the favor of the lessor and she might even have to pay back what she had earned. I feel like this is sort of the dream airbnb sells and here's a model case of someone achieving that dream but at the end of the day it's only possible because she's breaking a legal agreement; this probably wouldn't work if she were responsible for the higher cost of the mortgage and maintenance that comes with owning the property. In this case, the fan falls from the ceiling and she likely just calls her landlord to fix it. So the landlord assumes the cost to fix it and she continues to profit by subletting the apartment for significantly more than she's paying. Airbnb is basically facilitating a situation where the tenant gets to double dip. They profit off of an asset they don't own and don't assume much liability for and the owner is ultimately the loser. I wonder how this will all play out for airbnb on a larger scale over time.

smt88 7y ago
You're right, and on top of that, her behavior artificially inflates rental prices (by shifting some of her rental costs to tourists). In practice, illegal Airbnb's seem somewhat rare, especially compared to the millions of Ikea-furnished semi-professional rat holes that have taken over the platform. There are tools that landlords can pay for that detect illegal sublets based on location and supposedly photos too.
- heavenlyblue 7y ago
  Illegal Airbnb is everywhere, except it’s not really being persecuted as much
- skybrian 7y ago
  Prices going up would be neither natural nor artificial. Some people would gain (the people renting and tourists) and others would lose (long term renters). I think it's enough to say that it shouldn't happen without the landlord's consent.
  - smt88 7y ago
    > Prices going up would be neither natural nor artificial. By artificial, I meant that the rental market would be distorted by Airbnb hosts. Good example: a friend of mine had parents who loaned him money to qualify for a lease. He couldn't afford the lease, so he used Airbnb to make up the difference. This meant that non-Airbnb hosts were now competing with Airbnb hosts for the same leases, which is what I was labeling "unnatural".
    - tlb 7y ago
      In fact, anything anyone does to earn extra income to afford a better home distorts housing prices. It'd have the same effect if they made the same money running a software consulting business in their extra bedroom. Housing prices in desirable downtowns are mostly distortion these days. It's been a long time since they corresponded to the cost of construction.
      - smt88 7y ago
        This isn't "starting a software business" -- it's violating a lease. Not everyone can or will take that risk.
        tlb 7y ago
        In fact, many residential leases prohibit running a business out of the premises [0]. But these clauses are rarely enforced unless you're causing complaints. [0] See clause 7 at https://cozy.co/blog/8-important-lease-clauses-for-landlords/ https://cozy.co/blog/8-important-lease-clauses-for-landlords... for typical terms
        smt88 7y ago
        I lived in a condo building that fined an owner $60k for 2 years of illegal Airbnb leasing (for a $300k condo). I also had a friend who was evicted for leasing a rental. Running a business out of the premises is rarely enforced, but it also rarely creates risk or loss for the landlord the way Airbnb does.
matt-attack 7y ago
It’s more likely that it only works because the author is reaping the benefits of rent control. The landlord is forced to rent to her at sub-market rates, meanwhile she sublets at market rates capitalizing on the difference. Truly a corruption of the law.
dmode 7y ago
The way this will play out in the longer run is that the leasing company will want their share of the double dip and write and agreement with Airbnb directly

smt88 7y ago

You're right, and on top of that, her behavior artificially inflates rental prices (by shifting some of her rental costs to tourists). In practice, illegal Airbnb's seem somewhat rare, especially compared to the millions of Ikea-furnished semi-professional rat holes that have taken over the platform. There are tools that landlords can pay for that detect illegal sublets based on location and supposedly photos too.

heavenlyblue 7y ago
Illegal Airbnb is everywhere, except it’s not really being persecuted as much
skybrian 7y ago
Prices going up would be neither natural nor artificial. Some people would gain (the people renting and tourists) and others would lose (long term renters). I think it's enough to say that it shouldn't happen without the landlord's consent.
- smt88 7y ago
  > Prices going up would be neither natural nor artificial. By artificial, I meant that the rental market would be distorted by Airbnb hosts. Good example: a friend of mine had parents who loaned him money to qualify for a lease. He couldn't afford the lease, so he used Airbnb to make up the difference. This meant that non-Airbnb hosts were now competing with Airbnb hosts for the same leases, which is what I was labeling "unnatural".
  - tlb 7y ago
    In fact, anything anyone does to earn extra income to afford a better home distorts housing prices. It'd have the same effect if they made the same money running a software consulting business in their extra bedroom. Housing prices in desirable downtowns are mostly distortion these days. It's been a long time since they corresponded to the cost of construction.
    - smt88 7y ago
      This isn't "starting a software business" -- it's violating a lease. Not everyone can or will take that risk.
      - tlb 7y ago
        In fact, many residential leases prohibit running a business out of the premises [0]. But these clauses are rarely enforced unless you're causing complaints. [0] See clause 7 at https://cozy.co/blog/8-important-lease-clauses-for-landlords/ https://cozy.co/blog/8-important-lease-clauses-for-landlords... for typical terms
        smt88 7y ago
        I lived in a condo building that fined an owner $60k for 2 years of illegal Airbnb leasing (for a $300k condo). I also had a friend who was evicted for leasing a rental. Running a business out of the premises is rarely enforced, but it also rarely creates risk or loss for the landlord the way Airbnb does.

matt-attack 7y ago

It’s more likely that it only works because the author is reaping the benefits of rent control. The landlord is forced to rent to her at sub-market rates, meanwhile she sublets at market rates capitalizing on the difference. Truly a corruption of the law.

dmode 7y ago

The way this will play out in the longer run is that the leasing company will want their share of the double dip and write and agreement with Airbnb directly