Photo: Georgie Wileman / DigitalVision / Getty Images
A woman who rented an Airbnb in 2022 has stayed inside the property for more than 540 days without paying rent. The landlord, 61-year-old Sascha Jovanovic rented out the detached guesthouse of his Brentwood to a woman named Elizabeth Hirschhorn for six months for about $20,000. One day in April 2022 she decided to stop paying rent and got a lawyer. Her lawyer says the shower of the guesthouse was built without city permits and the unit was never approved for occupancy. The woman is refusing to leave until the homeowner pays a $100,000 relocation fee.
Here's what her lawyer is saying about the matter.
“The landlord broke the law and tried to make money by renting out an illegal bootleg unit,” the lawyer said. “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.”
The homeowner is forced to live on his property stuck with a nightmare tenant who refuses to pay rent or leave.
“I can never go into my home and know that I’m safe when a potentially hostile person is living there,” Jovanovic said. “I’m thinking about it at all times.”
As of now, a judge has ruled that under the city's rent stabilization order, Jovanovic has no legal right to evict Hirschhorn.