Airbnb Guest ‘From Hell’ Squatting At Home For 500 Days — Wants Owner To Pay $100k

[Sugar Cookie]

Sascha Jovanovic

An Airbnb guest dubbed “the tenant from hell” has been squatting at a luxurious guest house overlooking the hills of Los Angeles for more than a year and a half — and is refusing to leave unless the homeowner pays her a $100,000 relocation fee.

Elizabeth Hirschhorn rented a long-term stay at Sascha Jovanovic’s Brentwood guest home in September 2021 for six months at a rate of $105 a night, with fees bringing the total to $20,793, according to court documents.

But her Airbnb stay ended in April 2022, and Hirschhorn has been living there rent-free ever since.

A judge ruled that under the city’s rent stabilization ordinance, Jovanovic has no legal reason to evict her under Los Angeles’ recently adopted Just Cause Ordinance — and would be required to pay her a relocation fee to evict her.

In an email to Jovanovic’s lawyer obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Hirschhorn’s attorney, Amanda Seward, argued “$100,000 is [Jovanovic’s] cheapest way of getting of the whole ordeal.”

“It is the home of the tenant until the landlord gets a judgment, however distasteful that is to your client.”

Hirschhorn’s attorneys also argue she should not pay rent — and should instead be paid back the $20,793 —because the city never approved the guest house for occupancy, and its shower was constructed without a permit.

“The landlord broke the law and tried to make money by renting out an illegal bootleg unit,” her attorney, Colin Walshok told the LA Times.

“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 an attempt to cover his tracks.”

But Jovanovic’s attorney, Sebastian Rucci, disagrees.

“She’s the tenant from hell,” he said of Hirschhorn. “If she’s right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that isn’t permitted, then you can stay in it rent-free forever.”

According to court documents obtained by the Times, Jovanovic and Hirschhorn were cordial for the first few months she was staying at his guest house — exchanging niceties when their paths crossed and sharing tea and small talk on a deck that separates the main house from the Accessory Dwelling Unit.

The trouble apparently began about five months into Hirschhorn’s stay, when she complained her electronic blinds stopped working.

When Jovanovic went into the unit to repair them, he noticed water damage and signs of mold around her sink, which he claims were not there before Hirschhorn moved in.

He offered to pay her to stay at a hotel for five days while his contractor handled the repairs — either the Santa Monica Hilton or the Sure Stay Best Western in Santa Monica, noting that many of his visiting doctors stay there, according to messages reviewed by the Times.

Jovanovic even offered Hirschhorn $1,500 toward any other hotel, the messages and emails show, according to the Times.

But Hirschhorn declined, writing back: “I don’t feel safe being forced to vacate with a housing disability and the high risks of COVID-19 complications.” She cited the LA County’s COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution and a 2011 doctor’s note about extreme chemical sensitivities.

Apparently still trying to assuage Hirschhorn, Jovanovic then offered for her to stay in his home, but she declined that as well, citing an extreme disability due to cat dander.

She now claims in a countersuit that Jovanovic “inappropriately invited” her to move in with him.

Tensions continued through the rest of her stay, and when it became clear Hirschhorn was not leaving or allowing any access inside the unit, Jovanovic reluctantly agreed she could stay through April 12 to give her time to find another place, according to an email in his complaint.

“She asked for more time, but I told her it wasn’t possible since I had other Airbnb reservations coming up,” Jovanovic told the Times. “But then I tried to be nice and give her an extra few weeks.”

When she still wouldn’t move, Jovanovic resorted to getting the city housing department involved and filing motions to evict her.

Hirschhorn, in turn, reached out to the city’s Department of Building Safety, which found two code violations at the unit — that it was unapproved for occupancy and had an unpermitted shower.

She then sent a complaint to a housing investigator, alleging illegal eviction, harassment and a refusal to pay her relocation fees.

The housing investigator concluded that because the unit violated city codes, Jovanovic had to withdraw his eviction notices until he could prove the guest house was in compliance.

But Jovanovic argues that when he tried to access the unit to make the repairs, Hirschhorn would not let him inside.

He was recently fined $660 for not complying.

Jovanovic is now suing Hirschhorn in two different cases: a damages complaint to recoup $58,000 in paid rent, and an appeal of the judge’s decision to dismiss the eviction case.

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Airbnb guest ‘from hell’ squatting at home for 500 days — wants owner to pay $100K

A woman has been squatting at a luxurious guest house in LA for over a year and a half — and refuses to leave unless the homeowner pays her a $100,000 relocation fee.

nypost.com

 

[knockout]

World has gone nuts, it’s the politicians you vote in that make life miserable for the average person

 

[BuffettGirl]

World has gone nuts, it’s the politicians you vote in that make life miserable for the average person

Or, out here on the Left Coast it's oftentimes the politicians you DON'T vote for that make your life miserable...

 

[thuumpr]

Deed it to her. First pay no taxes.

 

[Future_Milf]

This bitch....

 

[thuumpr]

That's the solution. Pay no taxes and quit deed it to the vagrant!

 

[knockout]

Or, out here on the Left Coast it's oftentimes the politicians you DON'T vote for that make your life miserable...

The majority voted for them and that who I’m posting for, just a reminder they’re part of the problem, not the solution

 

[Josh P]

Not worth renting your house out. If the state decides you don't have any legal rights to the property you are paying for, then the state should pay the bills

 

[Sejanus]

Freeloaders should be shot and pissed on.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Nov. 7, 2023

Elizabeth Hirschhorn, the Brentwood tenant who did not pay rent for her luxury Airbnb rental for 570 days, moved out of the unit on Friday.

The move was exactly one month after The Times chronicled Hirschhorn’s contentious tenancy, which began with a cordial stay on Airbnb and ended with her and Sascha Jovanovic, the landlord and property owner, suing each other.

“I’m a little overwhelmed, but I finally have my home back,” Jovanovic said. “I had such a peaceful weekend once she left.”

During her stay, which began in September 2021, Hirschhorn said that the lease was extended off Airbnb and that the unit was subject to the Rent Control Ordinance, so Jovanovic would have to evict her if he wanted her to leave. She also argued that she didn’t have to pay rent since Jovanovic never obtained an occupancy license for the guesthouse.

Jovanovic, who lives on the property, was at the home on Friday being interviewed for a documentary detailing the battle between him and Hirschhorn when he saw three men, who turned out to be movers, walk into the guesthouse.


He said he asked why they were there, and they didn’t clearly say why. He suspected she could be moving out but feared it also could be a home invasion, so he called the police.

The police arrived, and once all of Hirschhorn’s belongings were packed, they escorted her off the property, Jovanovic said.

Jovanovic and his attorney, Sebastian Rucci, knocked on the door to confirm she was gone and then entered the guesthouse and found it empty. Within an hour, a locksmith arrived and changed the locks.

Elizabeth Hirschhorn moves out of Brentwood Airbnb after 570 rent-free days. She said she had a right to stay

Elizabeth Hirschhorn, who rented a Brentwood guesthouse on Airbnb and stayed 570 days without paying rent, moved out on Friday. She said she had a right to stay.

www.latimes.com

She has a history of being a squatter I hope no one is foolish enough to rent to her.

 

[knockout]

Was thinking of renting out a legal inlaw unit, but now thinking might not be worth the trouble
Too many pro scum laws by scum politicians and judges, working class now just for paying taxes, benefits and wages for the three branches and a few of their appointed leaves