According to a lawsuit seen by the Los Angeles Times, a 31-year-old woman rented out her $1.675 million Los Angeles home to a musician, who then transformed it into an illegal Airbnb cash cow while residing in the United Kingdom.
In March 2022, Nikeeta Sriram purchased a property that includes a three-bedroom main house and a separate one-bedroom back house with a loft, as reported by The Times.
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Sriram, who was residing in Los Feliz at the time, chose not to terminate her lease and instead made the decision to rent her home to Nicholas Jarzabek, a 36-year-old individual, as reported by the Times.
Sriram shared with the outlet that the tenant appeared to be ideal at first, but quickly transformed into a living nightmare.
Jarzabek, as reported by the Times, diligently paid his monthly rent of $8,500 on time or even before the due date during his initial year as a tenant. Additionally, he refrained from submitting any repair requests during this period.
In December 2023, Sriram made a shocking discovery – her home was being listed on Airbnb, a clear violation of her lease agreement, as reported by the newspaper.
Police responded to a series of triggered alarms from the ADT security system, as reported by the Times. Sriram was promptly notified by ADT that the Airbnb guests were responsible for setting off the alarm.
Jarzabek denied subletting the property when confronted, however, Sriram discovered listings for it on Airbnb, according to the Times.
The Airbnb account was originally hosted by a person named Rich Jacobs. It is uncertain whether this was a pseudonym for Jarzabek or a colleague.
The Times reported that the main house was listed at $688 per night, while the back property was priced at $496. Together, these two buildings have accumulated over 100 reviews on Airbnb.
According to the Times, the subpoena revealed that the Airbnb listing generated a total of $215,954 over a span of 16 months between 2022 and 2023, averaging around $13,500 per month.
In February, the Times reported that Sriram had reserved the house to contact the account holder, sending a clear message: “Please refrain from relisting this property. Subleasing this property is unauthorized!”
The newspaper reported that she was greeted with a warm response: “Dear Nikeeta, welcome and thank you. You’ll have a wonderful time here.”
New listings quickly emerged after the temporary removal.
The lawsuit, which has been reviewed by the newspaper, alleges that the property listings were misleading. They failed to include exterior photographs and provided a false address that was approximately a mile away from the actual location.
Sriram contemplated the idea of changing the locks, but she was hesitant to infringe upon the lease agreement, as it could potentially lead to her being liable for damages. Instead, she took the legal route by initiating an eviction process through the Los Angeles Superior Court and also sent a cease and desist notice to Jarzabek’s attorney, as reported by the newspaper.
During the legal proceedings, the property remained rented under a new account by Monthier, a rental company with multiple listings in Los Angeles.
Business Insider reached out to Monthier for comment, but there was no immediate response.
According to Sriram, she had to take matters into her own hands and personally visit the property in order to inform the guests about the situation.
“I was devastated. I didn’t want to spoil their vacations,” she shared, while acknowledging, “We had no other option because Airbnb didn’t offer any assistance to us.”
Airbnb has confirmed to the Times that the listing is no longer active and the account linked to Jacobs has been deleted. However, the company has not yet responded to BI’s request for comment.
According to the Times, Sriram, as part of the lawsuit, requested information from Airbnb regarding Jarzabek. In doing so, he uncovered that Jacobs had registered a UK phone number.
According to the newspaper, Jarzabek has been seen performing in London pubs under the name Nick Diver, as evidenced by his Instagram posts.
BI’s request for comment was not immediately responded to by the Instagram account associated with Diver.
Sriram, in an interview with the newspaper, suggested that if the city is unable to effectively address the issues surrounding Airbnb, it should adopt a cautious stance and temporarily prohibit the platform until a dedicated task force is established to oversee its operations.
Jarzabek, as reported by the Times, ceased paying rent once Sriram served her with an eviction notice. She shared with the newspaper that she believes she has suffered a loss of $100,000 this year due to property damage, legal expenses, and unpaid rent.
According to the Times, Sriram’s unlawful detainer lawsuit has recently been approved, granting her the authority to proceed with the eviction.
According to the newspaper, she has also been granted a writ of possession, which allows a sheriff to take control of the property and return it to her. However, there is currently a waitlist of several months for that service.
