I Can’t Air BnB... now what?

[Julian Mcclurkin]

My brother signed a 15month rental agreement for a studio apartment in downtown Columbus Ohio for his Daughter to live in as a Surprise. Prime location! One problem, his daughter accepted a job out of state a day after he signed the lease. One of the Rules of the apartment complex is that you cannot Air bnb the property. Now one lives there but my brother (who lives out of the city) will use it from time to time when he and his family are in town. Is there any strategy I can put in place to help my brother recover some of this $1700 a month he is paying for this vacant apartment?

[Chris Gottshall]

I'd look at the early termination clause (assuming there is one) in the lease and see if you can ask the PM to re-list it for rent. I allow tenants to terminate early as long as they continue to pay the rent while the apartment is listed (and a nominal marketing fee to compensate for my time and expenses for listing). You might only be locked in for a few months, if they allow that. 

If you don't have that option, you might also look at what the penalty is for breaking that complex rule and if you can factor that into your monthly cost, maybe its worth paying a penalty to recoup part of the rent? If I were the PM and found out you were doing that, I'd probably offer you an early termination regardless. If they fine you $50 per occurrence, maybe you just tack on $50 to each booking. But, make sure you know the local laws before doing something like that. You could get yourself into legal trouble if the city prohibits STR in certain districts. Make sure you're only irritating the landlord, not the local authorities, if you feel you must go that route.

I'd try explaining to the property manager about your situation and seeing if you can early terminate or sublet it to a long term tenant as the first option, though.