Imagine the scenario. You have just bought your new dream home, moved in and settled and there is a knock on the door. It can’t be the Uber driver, because you didn’t call one. But it could be the Airbnb Tenant you did not know about.
When selling a residential property in Queensland, the Seller is required to disclose any relevant tenancy, which will be in place at the time of settlement. Thus the Buyer takes the property subject to that tenancy. That is, the Buyer can move in only when the disclosed tenant vacates.
However, what is the situation where a Seller has taken the opportunity to rent out all or part of their house on Airbnb? Could you get a knock on the door at your new home, from someone who has previously booked all or part of a house on Airbnb? This is currently becoming an increasingly vexed question in an increasingly unregulated industry. The simple answer is “No”.
Unless a tenancy is disclosed in the Contract, then the Buyer of the property is not obliged to honour any rental obligations.
So when the knock comes at the door, let’s hope it is the Uber driver who has come to take you to a party and not the undisclosed Airbnb tenant who was not noted by the previous owner in the Contract.
