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By the end of October, everything Carin owns will be packed into moving boxes. He has lived in the house that Carin will now leave for almost 40 years. She has something in her voice when she tells how her four children grew up there, that she always took care of herself and paid the bills.
Many around her were shocked when they learned that she had been fired, all because she had chosen to rent the third in Majorna to guests through the Airbnb rental service, which Hem & Hyra was the first to tell. GP also wrote about her case in the spring that she was fired.
– I know many who do the same. Families with children who rent their house in summer. I want to warn others not to be homeless like me overnight, says Carin.
The abuse led to indebtedness
It all started in 2015, some time after her four children moved house. Slowly but surely he had sunk deeper and deeper into covert alcohol abuse. She never drank in front of her family and no one at work knew anything.
– I feel that it is a shame to be a woman and an alcoholic. It was a struggle to maintain the facade. I was never sick, I took care of my job full time and had a nice house where I dined regularly, says Carin.
But the double life eroded. In the evenings and on weekends, he went to the tavern where the bill grew more and more over time.
– It’s expensive with alcohol and eating out. I ended up in a situation where I had to take out a loan to make ends meet.
The loans created debt that he found increasingly difficult to pay off. He borrowed money from friends and acquaintances, but eventually found out about Airbnb.
– It was an acquaintance who gave me a tip and I thought I could try it for a weekend. I started taking 1200 crowns a night, many said I could have had a lot more, but I did it right, says Carin.
Carin believes he should have received a warning before firing and a second chance, which was also claimed by a member of the rental committee. Photo: Thomas Johansson
READ MORE: Live free – renting
The family economy is stabilizing
The rent is going well, even very well. Carin takes care of her guests, cleans and does nice things. Fill the fridge and fruit bowl if you arrive late at night and meet at the stop. And you can finally fix your home finances.
– It was a great relief. I could pay off debts and even cost me a train ride to my sick father much more often. It kept rolling, but I was never calm, never, says Carin.
He always had a knot in his stomach. She knew there was a risk of being caught. For a year, she says, she rented about 50 people, on weekends and during events like Way out west and the Gothia Cup. She works many nights herself and sleeps with her daughter.
In all, it is estimated that it rented to 124 different guests over four years.
During this time, you also open up to your employer about your addiction and can finally get help.
– I had to come to a treatment house in 2017, it allowed me to leave it. But it was a long time before I could admit to myself that it was actually that I had an addiction.
READ MORE: Reinforcement of the Rent Law: subletting: risk of imprisonment
The rumor is spreading
Over time, her reputation on Airbnb grows, earns rave reviews, and is eventually classified as a so-called “superhost,” a seal of quality that Airbnb only awards to experienced hosts.
But not only do potential guests of the site know about Carin’s rental business, but the owner also opens his eyes to the popular accommodation in Majorna and decides to take action.
One day in the spring of 2019, Carin receives a letter in the mail.
– He was from the emergency service and he just said he was fired. No warning or anything like that, but I lost the apartment right away. I was completely discouraged, I didn’t think you could do that, says Carin.
Carin appealed the dismissal to the Court of Appeals, but the rental through Airbnb was deemed too extensive and similar to hotel operations. Photo: Thomas Johansson
Challenge the dismissal
He had always thought that he would resign if he received a warning, but he never heard anything. No neighbor had complained and there had never been any problems with the guests he received.
– I was very scared and called the person on the emergency call who signed the letter. I told them about my addiction and debt problems, but they couldn’t take it into account. She said that I had rented the apartment illegally and could not deny it, says Carin.
Carin chooses to challenge the termination because according to the law governing illegal subletting, a warning must first be issued. The law will be toughened later the same year in October, but when Carin is fired, the old wording still applies.
READ MORE: Here’s how Gothenburgers increases its cash flow through Airbnb
The matter is taken up in the rental court, where three members make an assessment. The landlord believes that what Carin has done is to perform something similar to the hotel operations in the apartment, which means that the breach of the contract must be considered serious.
Carin openly tells the rental board about her situation. About debt, abuse and fear of backing down and what will happen if you lose your home. She admits that she knew renting was wrong.
Appeals to the Court of Appeal
Susanna Berntsson is a member of the rental committee who is legally trained and assesses that Carin should have a second chance. But the other two are of different opinion, the dismissal is thus fixed.
Carin chooses to appeal to the Court of Appeal and has to wait several months for her case to be heard.
– I call several times but they say they have more important business that should go before. But for me it was my life, my home. It felt important to receive the message to reach a conclusion.
The decision in the rental committee is made in November and only in June, the same day that Carin goes to Malmö for a vacation, the phone rings.
– They announce that the decision of the income court is ratified. I am fired. They felt that the rent and the amount of money he was earning were too serious and high. He would also pay SEK 85,000 in residual taxes. It wasn’t a fun vacation, says Carin.
The rent is too serious and extensive.
The judgment of the Court of Appeal states that Carin has been engaged in such an extensive rental to more than one hundred people for a long time that the warning he believes should be issued before termination does not affect the evaluation.
The Court of Appeal writes: “The breach is so serious that what has emerged about Carin’s personal circumstances does not mean that it is unreasonable for the settlement to be terminated. Therefore, Carin has breached, through the undisputed leases, its obligations as a tenant to such an extent that the contract should not be reasonably extended. Therefore, the appeal must be dismissed “.
READ MORE: Renting a second-hand apartment: these are the most common mistakes
Carin first planned to live with her daughter’s family, but now she has managed to borrow a friend’s house out of town for the first time. But that means you have to get a car. She is still struggling to find a new permanent home.
– I have searched everywhere but have not received anything. I do not deny any blame in this but sorry, what should I do now?
The apartment is still full of empty moving boxes that need to be filled. She trembles before going up to the attic to clean the warehouse.
– The stairs are complicated because I have osteoarthritis and in the middle of all this I have to take care of my job full time. It’s hard to control everything, but I have good support from my family and my employer has also been very supportive.
This applies to the sublease of leases.
– You cannot rent your apartment without the owner’s permission, not even for a short time.
– Today no warning is required if you are exposed. You can be fired immediately.
– The rent is at the same level as the first time rent with a surcharge for furniture, of a maximum of 15 percent and actual costs for electricity and broadband.
– If someone rents without permission and also charges too much, the penalty can be prison.
– The rules of the new law apply to leases, for second condominiums there are not the same restrictions but other regulations apply.
Source: Home & Rent
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