A landlord was recently fined €20,000 for renting an Airnbnb apartment that was used for prostitution.
Did he know? The Criminal Court of Thionville, in Moselle (57), estimated that the landlord knowingly rented his residence to tenants who were prostitutes, according to Le Parisien.
The 30-year-old, who was fined €20,000, could have turned a blind eye to the activities of his tenants between April 2018 and May 2021. He objected.
Arrested in front of his children and wife, then placed in police custody, the accused was initially suspected of pandering before investigators accused him of renting his apartment to prostitutes.
“The apartment was always immaculate”
“The accommodation I rented on Airbnb hasn’t been damaged. The apartment has always been clean. Plus, the tenants have never reached more than three. So my client never had any doubts.”, explains Elliot Hillenbrand, the owner’s attorney, in Le Figaro. So the defendant was unaware that his Airbnb apartment had been rented to prostitutes.
A transvestite witness testified to the accused: “The host knew what was going on in the apartment, but he didn’t want to make a fuss. He told me it wasn’t his business and asked me not to make a noise”related to Le Parisien.
“used condoms”
Another element against the man in question: Leave a comment on the booking site on the booking site “Used condoms were found” The prosecutor said during the trial that the owner should have been alerted.
“statistically Add a representative of the Ministry of PublicThe fact that most of your clients are women, mostly from South America, didn’t you find that surprising? “
Tenants do not worry
“My client is not the police,” Reply to Elliot Hillenbrand. “From the moment people rent his apartment, he doesn’t have to ask why or risk giving feedback on his Airbnb profile calling him an unscrupulous host.”.
Arguments that did not convince the court, which sentenced him to a large fine. Tenants are not punished by the courts.
The owner, who has five apartments with his wife, including four for rent online, has pulled his place of residence from the Airbnb platform.