What Happens if You Get Attacked While Staying at an Airbnb Property?

Whether you’re staying at a rental property for vacation, to visit friends and family, or while working away from home, you have certain baseline expectations. You expect a decent place to sleep and plumbing that works. You also expect to be safe from criminal attack. You don’t anticipate being assaulted in the living room or robbed on the front porch while opening the door.

Most of the time, stays at rental properties go off exactly as planned, with nothing more than a few minor inconveniences, such as a coffee pot that doesn’t work. But sometimes, guests staying at Airbnb homes, other rental properties, or hotels get attacked and injured. And sometimes, the property owner can be held legally liable for the injuries. So if you’ve been assaulted as a guest, it is important to understand your legal rights and how to seek restitution for the harm you’ve suffered.

We can’t provide legal advice for your particular situation in a blog like this—all we can do is explain some of the laws that apply and the rights you may be able to assert. If you contact us for a free consultation, we can apply the laws to the details of your specific situation and explain your options with more precision. Here are the factors that may come into play.

Your Legal Status as a Guest

When you pay to stay at an Airbnb, VRBO property, or other accommodation, you become what is known under Texas law as a “business invitee.” The property owner has invited you onto the premises for the owner’s financial benefit. Because you are there to benefit the owner, that owner (or property manager) owes you the highest duty of care under Texas premises liability law. The owner has a duty to be aware of the property’s conditions and to take appropriate steps to protect paying guests from foreseeable harm.

This includes an obligation to periodically inspect the premises for potential hazards. The owner has that obligation because you are a business invitee. If you were not invited but merely tolerated on the property, then the owner would have less of an obligation to protect your safety. The owner would not have a duty to become aware of potential dangers, but would only need to act to prevent you from getting hurt by known hazards.

When a Host is Liable for Criminal Activity

One of the dangerous conditions guests should be protected from is criminal activity. Even though the criminals are not under the owner’s control, the owner still has a duty to implement appropriate security measures to protect guests. Failure to do so could make the owner liable for negligent security.

Harm Must be Foreseeable

The theory of premises liability doesn’t make property owners liable for every single thing that happens on their properties. For liability to exist, the property owner must have been able to foresee that a condition could cause harm. For instance, if a property owner kept a mop in a locked closet marked “staff only,” the owner would not be expected to foresee that a guest might pick the lock, enter the closet, and trip over the mop. The owner would also probably not be expected to foresee that a guest might pick the lock, enter the closet, and take the mop out to hit other guests. 

Property owners can’t be expected to protect guests from harm that is so unlikely. But if the mop was left lying on the floor in a way that someone could easily trip over it and fall, the risk of harm would be foreseeable, and the owner could be held liable for not moving the mop or putting up a warning barricade to alert guests to the danger.

There Must Have Been Similar Criminal Activity Nearby

If a criminal attack occurs in an area with no history of security problems, a property owner is probably not expected to have foreseen such an attack, and the owner might not be liable for it. But when guests have reported concerns before or police reports show criminal activity in the area, the owner should be aware of the potential risk and should take steps to protect guests. Remember that the owner has a duty to become aware of potential problems, so just because the owner didn’t realize that there had been a series of similar attacks in the area doesn’t mean the owner can avoid liability by pleading ignorance.

The Security Measures Required Vary Depending on the Foreseeability of Harm

An owner becomes liable for a criminal attack not simply because a foreseeable attack occurred, but because the owner failed to put appropriate security measures in place to protect guests. What is considered appropriate will depend on the circumstances. If criminal activity is rare, then the owner might not be required to do much more than to ensure that the door and window locks are working. But if attacks are common, the owner might be required to install motion-sensor lighting, heavy-duty deadbolts, security cameras, and gates on windows and doors.

Enforce Your Rights if You’ve Been Attacked at an Airbnb

While the person who attacked you should certainly be held accountable, police are not always able to locate perpetrators, and recovering restitution is an uncertain prospect. However, an attorney who understands premises liability and negligent security could help you establish liability against the property owner and secure compensation through the owner’s insurance or Airbnb’s insurance. In certain situations, it may also be possible to seek recovery directly through Airbnb, but that would be rare.

At DeKeyzer Law, we know that insurance companies make it very difficult to recover compensation, and in the case of an attack on an Airbnb guest, the insurers will work to shift the burden onto someone else. We understand how to stand up to insurance companies effectively and to secure full compensation for those who have been injured by the wrongdoing of others, including sexual assault. If you or a loved one were attacked or hurt by dangerous conditions at a rental property, contact our compassionate and dedicated attorneys to learn about the ways we may be able to help you obtain justice so you can move forward.