Do you rent an apartment or a home form someone else (like a leasing company or a landlord) and you want to AirBnB out that extra room you have and make some money. It is a great question! From the AirBnB side of things, it is totally fine and legal. No problem at will with creating an AirBnB host account and getting your listing up without any restrictions or issues.
HOWEVER – on the landlord or leasing company side of things it is going to potentially be a problem for you if you just decide to create an AirBnB listing and start renting out one of your rooms in your apartment or home without asking them, and you really need to look into this or you could get kicked out of your apartment, face legal consequences, and financial consequences.
So what do I recommend. Well, when you rent a place, you should review your rental agreement and see if you have the ability to sub-let or sub-lease your apartment or home. This is what you really want to look for. Most landlords and leasing companies do not allow tenants to sub-let or sub-lease without written approval, and some do not allow it all. So you need to check the type of lease you signed for the place you rent. If you can not sub-let or sub-lease, chances are that you are NOT going to be allowed to create an AirBnB listing and rent out that extra room or rooms in the eyes of your landlord or leasing company.
If you still really want to do this, then I recommend that you reach out to them and ask them if they will allow you to put up one of your rooms on AirBnB because you need the extra money. Talk to them about what their expectations would be, how you could manage these guests, any rules or regulations or issues that they have concerns with, and just talk to them. Some landlords and leasing companies may allow you to do this if you talk to them and you may be able to amend or update your leasing contract. But it is very important that you talk to the landlord or leasing agent about this before you do anything as there are legal and other issues going on in the background that the landlord and leasing company have to deal with that you are not familiar with. So do your research, read your lease, and talk to your landlord or leasing agent first!
If your contract says you can sub-lease or sub-let, then you should be fine, but you should still call your landlord or leasing company and let them know what you want to do so you can set expectations and get yourself covered off and legal.
