“I pretended to be a tourist to get my apartment back.”

BarcelonaA Barcelona woman has been forced to rent her own apartment through Airbnb in order to recover it from her tenant, who was using it as a tourist apartment without her permission. Montse Pérez made the reservation on the platform through her daughter, Thais Franco, so that the tenant wouldn't suspect her. "I pretended to be a tourist and took advantage of the fact that there was one night left," Franco told ARA yesterday.

It all started on May 12, when the family rented the apartment to a 26-year-old man with dual Chilean and Russian nationality. "It was my grandfather's apartment. When he died, we renovated it so we could rent it out in good condition. We thought that if he sold it to people with purchasing power, they would take better care of him," Franco says. The rent, for a quarter of the apartment, was 950 euros per month, and the contract clauses stated that the tenant could not sublet it or use it for tourist purposes. "We specifically included the clause prohibiting subletting because we're from Barceloneta and we know the tourism problem in the neighborhood," he adds. Montse and her daughter wanted to make sure the young man—who said he'd been transferred from London to Barcelona to work as a financial advisor—was solvent, and he showed them a payroll of 3,000 pounds a month. Once the contract was signed, when the owner tried to contact the tenant to change the name on the utilities, she couldn't find him.

Neighbors told her that people were coming and going from the apartment with suitcases and that it was being used as a tourist apartment. It was then that the family discovered the apartment was advertised on the tourist housing platform Airbnb for 200 euros a night, which could lead to up to 6,000 euros a month.

An organized network

Montse Pérez and her daughter maintain that their case is part of an alleged organization dedicated to renting apartments in Barcelona and then re-renting them to tourists through Airbnb, which does not verify ownership of the property, thus making huge profits. They claim to be aware that this tenant has also rented other properties in Barcelona for the same purpose. "They've changed the host profile several times, and many people have contacted us telling us they also have that same person as a tenant," Franco explains. The family, who were due to leave the apartment yesterday morning, when their Airbnb reservation ended, believe they have the right to recover their apartment because the tenant has breached the terms of the contract. Yesterday they changed the locks and tried to contact the tenant to inform him of the termination of the contract, but the young man did not answer.

Airbnb stated yesterday that it was "actively investigating" the case, but shifted the responsibility to the host. In a statement, the platform asked all hosts to ensure they have "permission to advertise their accommodation." Barcelona City Council sent an inspector to open a case against the tenant so the owner could terminate the contract. In 15% of the 2,105 orders issued so far for illegal apartments, the offenders were sublet.