Woman experiences ‘scary’ living conditions at Airbnb

MESA, Ariz. (AZFamily/Gray News) — A woman in need of temporary housing was using a popular website to search for houses to rent when she came across a home she thought was perfect.

But when she arrived she says the house was nothing like the pictures she saw online and claims it was downright scary.

Krista Luciano just needed a place to stay for about a month before leaving the state for a job transfer. She went online and found a house on Airbnb with a room to rent.

“The room looked good in the photos,” she said. “You know, it looks clean. The floor looks clean.”

Luciano paid almost $1,200 in advance for a month’s stay. However, when she arrived at the house in Mesa, Arizona, she found the lock on the front door broken and she was able to enter directly.

She thought she could share the house with a family or maybe roommates. It turned out that was not the case at all.

Once inside, she discovered that the whole house had been converted into bedrooms, all of which were available for rent. There was no living room, no kitchen, a green swimming pool and only one bathroom that all the tenants of the house had to share.

When A-Z family visited the house, the bathtub was dirty and had pink mold.

“So I sat down and almost started crying,” Luciano said. “It was just…It was dirty and just weird in a way like I didn’t feel safe at all.”

Luciano said it was impossible for her to share the bathroom and the rest of the house with strangers and immediately contacted Airbnb with the hosts. She told them she wanted her $1,200 returned because the house did not feel safe.

“And they responded very soon after and said ‘Sure, sure,'” she said.

Luciano said she never stayed in the house and waited for Airbnb to change its mind about her refund.

“I didn’t cancel my reservation because I didn’t want to lose my money,” she said.

Luciano then contacted A-Z familywho discovered that Mesa police have responded to the home nearly 20 times in the last year and a half, including calls for sexual assault, burglary, threats and suspicious activity as this list goes on.

“There are a lot of illegal things going on in places like this that hurt people,” Luciano said.

Additionally, the home owner has been cited multiple times by the City of Mesa this year for using a single-family home as a multi-family rental. City of Mesa records show they’re trying to collect $1,600 in fines, but the landlord hasn’t paid.

As the room was still rented to Luciano, she agreed to bring the AZFamily team home.

“As we entered the room, it’s not like that when I left it and I still rent it,” she said. “So someone came here. They slept here.

The bedding was different; a lamp was moved and a bath towel was hanging to dry in the closet.

AZFamily contacted Airbnb and sent pictures of the broken door lock, the dirty towel hanging in the closet, the dirty tub, and that green pool. They also attached a police document detailing the concerning calls for service.

After reviewing the information, Airbnb decided to refund Luciano nearly $1,200.

The company is also launching a survey of hosts, who rent other properties on the Airbnb site.

“They need to do better and they need to verify that the homes listed are up to code,” Luciano said. “If they had done it alone, it would have avoided all of this.”

In the meantime, Luciano rents a hotel room. It’s more money than she wants to spend, but she said it was worth it. She says she feels comfortable and safe.

Luciano said the ordeal was a real eye-opener and she thanks AZFamily for getting involved, saying she might not have gotten her money back without the media’s involvement.

“I’m very grateful,” she said.

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