'The tenant from hell': She refused to pay for her luxury Airbnb for 540 days. Wants 100k to vacate

[Demovictory9]

Sascha Jovanovic should be living the good life in his private estate perched in the hills of Brentwood, enjoying the spoils of a successful career in periodontics.

But instead, he says he’s scared to walk to his car because there’s a woman who won’t leave his guesthouse. She says she has the right to stay. 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.

____

Hirschhorn declined to speak directly to The Times to give her side of the story. But her attorney, Colin Walshok, said she was not required to pay rent because the city had never approved the unit for occupancy and that its shower was constructed without a permit.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-04/airbnb-guest-refuse-pay-leave-luxury-rental

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Tear it down on a day she goes shopping.

[jimfields33]

26. I doubt that would be legal. She's going by the county laws.

[TheBlackAdder]

30. If the shower was built without a permit, not only should it be removed, no CO should exist.

[Demovictory9]

46. She has done it before. Squatted in an Oakland rental too. Lived w her parents before

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12597887/Airbnb-guest-Elizabeth-Hirschhorn-kicked-Oakland-rental-two-months-moving-Sascha-Jovanovics-Brentwood-mansion-Harvard-grad-overstayed-540-days.html

September 2021 and has been squatting in ever since.


Now, as she is pictured here for the first time, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal Harvard-educated Hirschhorn did the same thing to a Bay Area landlord – and cited Covid-19 in that case as well before eventually settling the case in July 2021.

Hirschhorn, who previously lived in Pasadena, California, and in Tucson, Arizona, with her elderly parents, can been seen in unearthed social media photos posing with fellow alumni at the class of 1990's 25-year reunion in 2015.

Court filings reveal the current Brentwood tenant-landlord dispute is strikingly similar to the Oakland case, which also saw Hirschhorn embroiled in a dispute over cleaning, with the man from whom she initially sublet the property moving out due to her 'hostile behavior', leaving her alone in the house where she continued to stay despite having no tenancy agreement and paying no rent.

[LoisB]

2. Since "the city had never approved the unit for occupancy...", how can she legitimately

"occupy" it? If I were the owner, I would tear it down, at the very least remove the non-permitted shower. She is a squatting con artist and he thought he was going to make some easy money.

[Demobrat]

6. It's probably a converted garage. Lots of those in LA.

Just convert it back to its original use.

[LoisB]

18. That's true. There's one across the street from me.

[Demobrat]

19. I lived in one.

[LoisB]

20. LOL! I did too! It was detached from the main house.

[Demobrat]

22. So was mine. It was a cute little place.

Very well done. No idea if the guy had permits.

[JHB]

3. Very simple: Have the AirB&B Police kick her out. Ooops! They don't have any!

Welcome to "hash the laws out" hell, fella.

Count me in on the "if she goes out, bulldoze it" faction. It's not approved for occupancy, so you're just complying with the law.

[Demovictory9]

28. He messed up. Let her stay past a certain point where the rental is no longer covered by Airbnb

He was nice..letting her stay and stay..it bit him in the ass

[msongs]

4. subscription required. dont waste your time clicking nt

[Celerity]

13. no paywall archive

https://archive.ph/VyWB4

[Torchlight]

44. Sounds serious.

Good luck.

[Demobrat]

5. Take the doors down. All of them.

[Maru Kitteh]

9. And cut the power. Can't risk an injury in that non-permit shower. nt

[brush]

21. That just may work. It's done in Detroit and works.

[Jacson6]

56. No that would be an illegal eviction under California law.

His best option is to settle with the tenant in a cash for keys deal. 30 years ago we had a room mate that stopped paying rent and refused to leave. We paid him $500 after he moved out with all of his belongings and then gave us the keys. We then changed the locks on the door. This was in California also.

[Demobrat]

57. This one thinks she's entitled to $100,000.

Better to go through the process to get a legal eviction for non payment and let the sheriff handle it. Even here in San Francisco you can toss people for non payment.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. While this is an extreme example,

it's why I never want to be a landlord.

[Demobrat]

10. I was a landlord for five years. I could write a book.

I don’t recommend it.

[brush]

23. Pay a property manager 8-10% of the rent. He/she will screen/invesitgate tenants, rent it on your...

approval, and you just wait every month for you rent check/or automatic deposit.

They also take care of any maintenance problems (deducted from your rent check), and it tenant plans to move, they take care of inspection and that premises is broom-clean as specified in the least.

The management professional will also know the ins and outs of evictions and will specify terms in the lease so tenamts don't try fast ones, and certainly won't get their last month's rent back if they skip out overnight. But with thoroughly investigated tenants, it's very rare if that happens.

The manager will also get another tenant, rinse and repeat. Management fees and maintenance are tax deductible, bumps up your income tax return.

I used to do it myself but got smart and leave into the manager.

I've got nightmare stories to tell also but that's in the past.

[DET]

27. That's How It Works In Theory...

…but not always in practice. We finally found a good management company, but there are lots of incompetents out there who will screw you over as bad as some tenants, often unintentionally (e.g., forgetting that the tenants lease is up, repeatedly fixing an appliance that could be replaced much cheaper, …). Even our good management company made arrangements to have a house totally repainted - but the painters took down and threw out all of my carefully selected and professionally installed window treatments (ultimately resolved, but I was totally pissed). Caveat emptor.

[brush]

37. Yeah well, if due dilegence and reseach/recomendations aren't done and one...

Last edited Thu Oct 5, 2023, 04:44 AM - Edit history (1)

ends up with an incompetent one, that's on the property owner. .I have a 15-year relationship with the property manager I have now. I guess I got lucky.

He handled a couple of properties for me while I did a couple of others that were close my residence, I found he had more resources/experience and did a better job of screening tenants so I finally turned them all over to him.

[Demobrat]

50. I only had one property.

Property managers where mine was, Phoenix AZ, wouldn’t take less than two.

[Maru Kitteh]

15. We had a hoarder. Thank goodness she was too embarrassed to turn squatter as well.

I offered to help her obtain counseling, offered to help her get a storage area(s) and offered to allow a reasonable period of time to comply with making the place safe and sanitary but she rented a gigantic U-Haul and filled it full of clearance-aisle debris and probably a couple hundred mice and left.


Cured us of landlording. Yup.

[NowISeetheLight]

8. Crazy

I found other articles about this that didn't hit an immediate paywall.

https://therealdeal.com/la/2023/10/04/brentwood-airbnb-tenant-wont-leave-or-pay-rent-for-months/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12593365/amp/Airbnb-renter-refuses-leave-LA-home-540-DAYS-judge-backs-efforts-stay-Brentwood-Hills-mansion.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.themirror.com/news/us-news/worst-airbnb-guest-stays-mansion-128264.amp

It looks like the owner made some mistakes. He installed an unpermitted shower that was never approved. He also agreed to extend the time this squatter could stay. That did him in.

Honestly he screwed up. But there are is no way this squatter should be allowed to stay there. This whole thing is ridiculous. The city fined the owner for not bringing it into compliance, but the squatter won't let him in to make repairs. I've read stories about squatters moving into deployed soldiers homes. They come home and people have changed the locks. It's crazy.

Hirschhorn’s attorney, Colin Walshok, said she wasn’t required to pay rent because the city had never approved the unit for occupancy and that its shower was built without a permit.

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

[Demobrat]

11. Doing the right thing? What would that be?

Providing her with free housing for the rest of her life? She’s gotten plenty out of that guy. Time to get out there with a crew and take the front door off it’s hinges.

[Takket]

12. that's one hell of a logical fallicy

"You can't force my client to de-occupy this unit because you never obtained approval for this unit to be occupied."

Seems the city should condemn the unit and force her out.

[msongs]

16. it's what attorneys do when they aren't busy committing crimes nt

[Demobrat]

24. Oh and by the way YOU owe HER

money to get out. Yeah, no.

[Cha]

17. TY.. like you said.. Crazy!

Bet he wishes he would have followed the Airbnb Rules. and had PERMITS

I still don't like her from what I've just read.

[TexasDem69]

14. She's not a tenant

She’s a criminal who has no right to that property.

[Demovictory9]

32. Agreed. She is a scammer

[Demovictory9]

47. More..dailyfail dug up her history. Has done it before. I guees.she.likes living free

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12597887/Airbnb-guest-Elizabeth-Hirschhorn-kicked-Oakland-rental-two-months-moving-Sascha-Jovanovics-Brentwood-mansion-Harvard-grad-overstayed-540-days.html

September 2021 and has been squatting in ever since.


Now, as she is pictured here for the first time, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal Harvard-educated Hirschhorn did the same thing to a Bay Area landlord – and cited Covid-19 in that case as well before eventually settling the case in July 2021.

Hirschhorn, who previously lived in Pasadena, California, and in Tucson, Arizona, with her elderly parents, can been seen in unearthed social media photos posing with fellow alumni at the class of 1990's 25-year reunion in 2015.

Court filings reveal the current Brentwood tenant-landlord dispute is strikingly similar to the Oakland case, which also saw Hirschhorn embroiled in a dispute over cleaning, with the man from whom she initially sublet the property moving out due to her 'hostile behavior', leaving her alone in the house where she continued to stay despite having no tenancy agreement and paying no rent.

[DET]

25. Catch 22

I’ve had dozens of tenants in different properties over the years. We’ve only had one real tenant from hell - former FBI guy with a stick up his backside. Was convinced he could bully us into breaking his lease without penalty (think Jim Jordan).

Personally, I would be extremely careful about retaliating in any way against someone like the squatter in question. The situation could quickly go from bad to worse. It’s like dealing with Trump. Just because ‘It’s obvious that…’, ‘Everybody knows that…’, ‘It’s just common sense…’ doesn’t mean that the courts will see it that way. Especially when it comes to landlord-tenant issues. We owned several properties in DC and the laws are totally skewed in favor of the tenant. It wasn’t uncommon for landlords to bribe deadbeat tenants to leave since it’s so hard to evict them. We finally decided to get out after the DC government confiscated and sold one of our reserved parking spaces (which are actually quite valuable) because of a screwup on their part. Wasn’t worth fighting with DC.

If this guy doesn’t have a good lawyer, then he needs to get one fast. If he’s not careful, he could wind up having to turn his home over to the squatter.

[Demovictory9]

29. An attorney has taken up the case on owners behalf

[TheBlackAdder]

31. Zoning is probably R1 or R1.5 and not for second family to reside more than a couple of weeks.

[ecstatic]

33. This story is crazy as hell!

So what is the remedy if a friend or boyfriend won't get the fuck out? Are they allowed to stay indefinitely, rent-free as well? 🙄 Can anyone do that on California State-owned property as well?

[Demovictory9]

34. Not just California..other states have strong protection for tenants..cops won't toss that boyfriend

They will say it's a civil matter..homeowner has to take it thru the court system

Hotels are careful not to let tenancy get established..making long termers check out every xxx days

It's important to know the law before you let a homeless friend bunk with you.

[Stardust Mirror]

35. can't evict? trespass!

If it's his property and he doesn't want her on it, he can have her trespassed.

[DET]

36. Uh, No

It’s not even close to being that easy.

[Voltaire2]

38. His illegal airbnb limits his legal options.

Oh I am so not sympathetic.

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Seems Like There's No "Good Guy" Here

Hard to pick a side when both people appear to be screw-ups.

[Happy Hoosier]

42. That's a terrible take.

It appears he is probably just didn;t realize there were rules. Once he knew, he's been trying to get access to bring the dwelling in to compliabnce, and the squatter has refused.

You think she has the RIGHT to live on his property without paying rent, using his utiltieis at HIS expense, and worse, apparently damaging it?

That's a really shitty take, IMO.

[Voltaire2]

49. Maybe. Or maybe not.

It’s possible that he was utterly clueless about zoning building rental and other regulations. It seems more likely to me that he was instead caught up in the tech wave of disruption of just about every aspect of economic regulation, and like lots of Airbnb landlords thought the rules no longer applied.

[Happy Hoosier]

54. Kinda irrelevant though...

… to the ongoing situation. Even if he did know, that’s no justification for her squatring.

[Voltaire2]

60. Legally it is.

The facts reported appear to indicate that the multiple violations are relevant.

[inthewind21]

51. Really??

He just didn't realize there are rules. WOW, just WOW!

[Happy Hoosier]

53. And?

So let’s say he did know. Now what? He tried to comply. That’s documented. She refuses.

This gives her the right to live on his property without his permission and rent free?

That makes sense to you?

[moonshinegnomie]

40. step 1: cut off all utilities to her apartment

step 2 when shes out of the apartment remove all appliances.

[Demovictory9]

43. Illegal

[moonshinegnomie]

52. dont care

when they came to arrest me id demand a jury trial. explain what happened. no jury will convict her

[Bucky]

41. This is why there are ninjas for hire on Craigslist

[MagickMuffin]

45. Turn off her utilities

That should have some effect.

[Demovictory9]

48. Illegal

[Wingus Dingus]

58. Yup, but if it's illegal to turn them off, is it legal to shut them off to make "repairs" and

then, uh, TOTALLY BY ACCIDENT fuck it up real good? This guy needs to get creative. There has to be ways to make her life hell that are legal.

[ripcord]

55. She has no right to live in a dwelling that isn't permitted

The city has a duty to post that building as uninhabitable until it is brought up to code.

[LeftInTX]

59. I hate California squatters.

No offense to California, but similar to Illinois Nazis.

[TexasDem69]

61. Yep

California needs to get its act together. An embarrassment to Democrats across the country.

[womanofthehills]

62. You can now hire a "consultant" - give them a lease on rental

They move into house as a roommate with squatter. If squatter calls police, they show their lease and police can’t kick them out either. Most squatters move out when the consultant moves in.

[Demovictory9]

63. Thats a great idea

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

64. Make it a brown consultant, with a strong-smelling cuisine

And have him/her bring along the spouse, some kids, some extended family--

Back in my flat days, people used to scream bloody murder when various Asian neighbours cooked curry or adobo or kimchi stew.

Meanwhile, it took all I had not to knock on their door with a bowl in hand and big puppy dog eyes.

[Demobrat]

65. Don't forget a large, protective dog.

Just in case the squatter gets any ideas.