Homeowner discovers their Airbnb host neighbor is advertising their private patio for guests' use, with pictures, after they keep finding strangers on their private apartment patio: ‘Now the Airbnb owner is saying that he will sue me'

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Aug 21, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

Having insensitive and inconsiderate neighbors is always a drag. But inconsiderate neighbors who don't even have to deal with the reality of their own disruption because they're essentially leasing their property as a hotel are on a whole other level. There's some real kind of torture associated with living next to what is basically a hotel in a residential apartment building. Witnessing a constant stream of people who are there to live it up for a couple of nights and have little to no regard for those around them. You know these types from when you've stayed in hotels yourselves: Loud, intoxicated conversations in the hallways after 2 AM, slamming doors, music blasting from their rooms. A couple of nights is tolerable, but when hundreds of people are doing this for one or two nights a year, it becomes a drain for everyone living close to them. 

There's a reason why there are zoning restrictions for hotels, and it's mysterious why this same logic was never applied to homes that are being permanently rented through short-term homestay apps. Leaving the neighbors of those places living in a perpetual disruptive agony. Many people who live in destination areas have come to deride those places, their owners, and their occupants for this exact reason.

This apartment-dwelling homeowner, who purchased their apartment before their hometown became a popular destination area, found that the apartments around them were being bought up by those who were seeking to take advantage of the rising real estate and need for temporary accommodation by advertising the apartments on popular leasing applications. They soon found that there were frequent times when these guests would come to loiter and hang out on their private patio, which belonged to their apartment. After some investigating, they found that the owner of these apartments had been advertising their property for guests' use, which explained the repeated occurrence and the confused looks they got from guests. They shared this story, unsure of what they should be doing next to tackle this problem with their neighbor.

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  • 01

    "[Am I wrong] for not allowing Airbnb guests to use my patio"

    I bought a flat as an immigrant a few years ago in a bad reputation street of a bad reputation city in a bad reputation country in Europe. I won't say that it was just luck, but the country became an attractive country to visit, the city developed a lot, and my street, being in the center, became very attractive to visitors. Now my street has been fully renovated and so has the façade of my building, because we got public funds for that. But the inside is still prewar grey because we are fine wi
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10544982784
    via Jana Heinemann

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 03
    My flat is the only one that opens to the courtyard and after speaking to the neighbours they were all enthusiastic for me to turn my corner of the courtyard into something pretty, on whichever way I felt. In this kind of buildings it is defined how much each apartment owns of the land, but not delimited. So I own, let's say, 5% of the land. Usually I would use it for a parking space but it is not like you have a delimited parking space and since I don't drive I asked the neighbours if I could t
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 04
    After the city and the street blew up with tourism someone did some legal trickery to buy the flats on top of mine that were supposed to be saved for low income people and turn them into Airbnb. We are not happy about it for many reasons, starting with those flats were supposed to be for actual low income people. But to the actual conflict: I let my neighbours use my patio, but I've been kicking Airbnb guests out of it. Apparently the Airbnb host posts pictures of my little corner of the courtya
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 05
    Now the Airbnb owner is saying that he will sue me for discrimination since I share my little patio with the other neighbours but I don't allow tourists in it and he has had some negative reviews. I'm absolutely safe legally, but morally am I the a h_le for not allowing tourists in my space when I let neighbours use it?
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 06
    OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the ah le: I might be the ah le because I don't let tourists use my little patio
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 07
    A group of young people gather on an apartment patio
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    ConflictGullible392 It's your private patio, not public space. You can invite whoever you want to use it, or not. The Airbnb owner is the a hle for advertising space that doesn't belong to them. I feel bad for the tourists, but that's on the host - they deserve the bad reviews. NTA.
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 09
    Such_Bus9665 NTA. Big difference between neighbors who live there and contribute to the community vs. random Airbnb tourists who'll be gone in two days. You didn't agree to host strangers, and that guy using your patio to boost his listing is shady af
    via DisneyWitchyGirl
  • 10
    Young adults hang out together outside of a city apartment building
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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