AN OWNER is being hit with $180,000 in fees after being accused of running an unauthorized Airbnb.
The owner claimed that he was unaware of the fines and was being deceived by the tenant who lived in his house.
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Xin Tao purchased his five-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Las Vegas in 2021, Business Insider reported.
When Tao originally purchased the house, he considered listing it as an Airbnb, but quickly abandoned that plan in exchange for hosting a long-term tenant.
The tenant moved into Tao’s new home in September 2021, three months after he purchased the house.
While the tenant occupied the Las Vegas home, Tao managed the property from his home in Oregon.
Just a few weeks after the new tenant moved in, neighbors began complaining about the excessive number of cars on the property and noises coming from the house that were disruptive to the community.
Las Vegas employees responded to the property in October 2021 and February 2022 in response to complaints, but instead of being greeted by the tenant, the employees were greeted by Airbnb guests.
After the second incident in February, authorities issued fines of $2,132 against Tao for running an illegal Airbnb.
The fees totaled up to $500 per day during the four days the Airbnb guests said they were staying at the property.
After the incident, Tao was under the impression that his tenant had stopped renting the property as an Airbnb and that everything was resolved.
More than a year later, Tao would discover he was wrong.
Because Tao resided in Oregon, he did not have access to the Las Vegas property to ensure the tenant stopped renting the home to short-term renters.
In September 2023, Tao’s tenant left the property, leaving behind much more than he had brought.
The owner’s cleaning lady arrived to clean the house and found a notice of $180,000 in unpaid fines stuck in the window.
“I was shocked. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought it might be a scam,” Tao told Business Insider.
“How do we go from $2,000 to $180,000?”
In January of this year, Tao begged the Las Vegas City Council to relieve him of the fine, but the council voted unanimously against him.
The Las Vegas City Council’s initiative to crack down on short-term rentals began in 2019 after residents consistently complained about excessive parties, prostitution and drugs in their communities.
“I constantly get texts, emails, calls at the grocery store about short-term rentals,” said Councilman Brian Knudsen.
“If we continue to erode laws by not enforcing the fees and fines associated with them, we will continue to lose the dignity of our neighborhoods.”
Tao continues to fight the heavy fines imposed against him.
Airbnb Law in Las Vegas
Las Vegas City Council officials are shutting down short-term rentals after residents complained about rowdy guests. According to the Las Vegas City Council website:
- Short-term residential rentals are limited to owner-occupied homes with three bedrooms or less that are at least 660 feet from another short-term rental and must comply with licensing, noise and parking regulations.
- Weddings, birthdays, bachelor parties and other special events cannot be held at short-term rental properties
- Anyone renting their property as a short-term rental must obtain a business license
- The city maintains a 24/7 non-emergency short-term rental hotline for neighbors to call in case of disturbances
- All conditions must be met, no waivers or deviations are permitted.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
