Short term rentals during these Covid times?

[Sanjay Sinha]

I had recently bought a home in the San Jose area with the intent of demolishing it and building a new house there. During the time taken to get the permits, roughly 9 months ( May 2021), I was planning to rent out the house. But given these Covid times when eviction is tough, should I even risk it? I will be losing out on some $20,000 in rent. What precautions should I take to minimize my risk? If I were to rent it out, how best to rent it out for such short periods of time?

Also the sellers of the house are currently occupying the house as they had asked for 2 months of rent-back as part of the sale. They are interested in renting it for longer. Is there any additional risk of renting it to them longer? The seller had been to jail some 20 years ago and so he does make me a little suspicious. But another thought process if that if he refuses to vacate later, he might refuse to vacate now too. So in some ways I don't see any additional risk. Any opinions?