A dispute between former roommates has ended with a ruling from the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal and many people renting out a spare bedroom on Airbnb might want to take note.

For three months in 2018, Kaley Antaya was renting one of three bedrooms at a house in Vancouver.

Then another tenant at the house, Amy Wutzke, posted the building’s third bedroom on Airbnb, advertising it as available for short-term stays.

In turn, Antaya no longer felt safe living there, according to the tribunal’s written decision. So she moved out.

In doing so, Antaya broke the lease that she had signed with Wutzke, and so Wutzke refused to return Antaya’s $400 damage deposit. (The building's owner and landlord did not live at the property and was not involved in the dispute.)

But by renting the third bedroom out on Airbnb, Wutzke had also violated the terms of their lease, the tribunal eventually decided.

Wutzke was ordered to return Antaya’s $400 damage deposit plus interest and pay the tribunal's $125 fee.

“The Airbnb ads in evidence show that the respondent rented the 3rd bedroom to “guests” for a nightly fee. I find this type of living arrangement is different from the March 6, 2018 rental agreement,” the decision reads.

“The rental agreement describes three roommates sharing a space long term as evidenced by the 30-day notice period. I find the living arrangement of guests staying nightly through Airbnb is more like a hotel, with strangers coming in and out,” it continues. “I find that the respondent unilaterally changed the nature of the parties’ living arrangement and breached the rental agreement when she rented the bedroom on Airbnb in June. Based on the breach, I find that the respondent is not entitled to rely on the 30-day notice clause to withhold the deposit.”

Landlords and tenants take note: if you want to rent a room out on Airbnb and you’re living with a roommate, it would be wise to get consent and to get the details down on paper and included in your lease.