A Reddit user has caused a stir on the platform after sharing his story.
User rickky1000 claims his landlord rented his apartment through Airbnb while he was away “a few months” without his knowledge.
However, the Californian tenant then assumed the full cost of the rent.
Worse still, he learned the news after noticing anomalies in his apartment.
“When I got home I noticed that items from my house were missing like my PlayStation, my PC and even an entire safe with a gun in it,” he explained in his post.
“There was no sign of a break-in, I filed a theft report with the police and asked my neighbors if they saw anything,” he added.
Two of his neighbors then told him that they hadn’t even noticed that he had gone on a trip… In fact, there were always a lot of cars parked in front of the apartment and people came and went all the time.
Then he questioned his owner.
He then told him the worst: According to the tenant, he had rented his apartment through Airbnb.
“I’m absolutely furious,” wrote rickky1000.
“He denies any wrongdoing and states that this is his building and that I left the premises for two months. “I paid for my absence every month,” he said indignantly.
Many netizens sharply disapproved of the owner’s actions.
“Your landlord had absolutely no right to double rent your apartment while you continued to pay the rent, whether you were actually in it or not,” one man wrote, urging the tenant to take legal action.
“Your landlord may try to argue that you left the apartment, but if you continue to pay your rent I think that argument is dismissed,” argued a second person.
The remark is in line with advice from other California sources on the rental issue, Dailydot reports.
Writing on RentPrep, author Stephen Michael White writes, “A renter who suddenly goes on an extended vacation or goes to jail is still technically a renter so long as they have not violated the terms of the lease.”
“If a tenant leaves the unit without notice, an eviction process must first be initiated to officially terminate the tenancy,” White said.
Since rickky1000 was paying his rent, the argument that he gave up the property might prove difficult.
TVA Nouvelles has not been able to verify the details of the Rickky1000 story.