A property management firm in BC that lists rentals on Airbnb was the target of a legal fight after a renter never received his deposit back.
The renter booked through a property management company called Casa Haven Properties.
According to the renter, after booking his suite, Casa told him after he paid the deposit that the booking was fraudulent. Casa denied responsibility and suggested that the firm’s former manager took the deposit and kept it for herself. On that basis, Casa denied wrongdoing, distancing itself from the former manager’s actions.
The renter claimed $491.96 for the refund deposit and an additional $548.65 to book alternative accommodation.
CP booked a rental property through Airbnb for July 1 to 7, 2023. According to the tribunal decision, Casa is listed as the host. He provided an invoice showing the deposit amount. The tribunal decision mentions that he e-transferred the deposit to Casa’s email address. Evidence shows that it was deposited on May 6, 2023.
On May 31, he attempted to e-transfer the remaining balance for the rental to Casa, but it wasn’t accepted.
According to Casa, CP was communicating with someone referred to as HT, the former property manager.
“Casa said that HT had fraudulently misrepresented Casa, moved the deposit funds into her personal account, and fled.”
Sometime in August 2023, Casa offered to refund half of the amount with the following statement: “Please keep in mind – we did not allow any authorization to take bookings offline from Airbnb.” The statement added that HT was no longer associated with Casa.
CP didn’t accept the partial refund and then filed the tribunal dispute.
“Although Casa argues that the Gmail address [CP] sent his deposit to is not its ‘official’ email address, it also provided a screenshot of the e-transfer notification email for [CP’s] deposit. Casa does not explain how it would have received this email unless it had access to the Gmail address that [CP] sent his deposit to. Casa also does not explain how HT would have been able to deposit the funds into her personal account if she did not also have access to this Gmail address. So, I find the e-transfer notification supports a finding that HT had Casa’s permission to access its Gmail account.”
The tribunal decision notes that offline bookings are against Airbnb’s policies, but Casa did not deny that it accepts bookings through its website. The tribunal ultimately determined that HT acted as Casa’s agent when she accepted the deposit.
The BC Airbnb firm was ordered to pay CP $584.96 within 21 days of the tribunal decision, which included $491.96 for the deposit reimbursement and the rest in tribunal fees.
You can read the entire decision that was posted online here.