squatter

Tenancy is created by facts rather than by labels. The relevant facts are usually how long the person has occupied the property, whether they treat it as a residence, and in some places whether they receive mail there. A 34-night booking and a 27-night booking extended twice can land in the same legal category.

The exact threshold varies by country, state and city, so the number that matters is your local one, and it is worth knowing before you accept a long booking. The mechanics and the extension trap are in the 30-day tenancy trap.

Changing the locks, cutting power or water, removing belongings, or entering to force the issue are all forms of self-help eviction, and they are unlawful in most jurisdictions. They convert a civil inconvenience into a claim against you, and any damage claim you later file is read in that light.

The legitimate steps are documentary: message on the platform, state the agreed checkout, ask for a departure time in writing, and open a case with the platform the same day so the record starts early. The full first-24-hours sequence is in what to do when a guest will not leave.

For a short overstay, the platform can contact the guest, support a departure time and charge for extra nights. For a serious case it can act against the account. What it cannot do is remove someone who has acquired occupancy rights, because that relationship is now governed by local law rather than by platform terms.

Recognising which situation you are in on day one is the whole game. Hosts lose weeks waiting for an escalation that was never available, while the clock runs in the occupant's favour.

Two settings remove nearly all of this risk. Cap the maximum stay length below your local tenancy threshold, so the platform enforces the limit rather than your judgement in the moment. And treat every extension request on an already-long stay as a fresh decision with the cumulative total in view.

Then screen the requests that carry the pattern: a long stay with a vague purpose, an early extension request, pressure to move off-platform, or a local booking for an extended period. The behavioural routine is in screening a booking before you approve it, and the operational picture for month-long stays is in long-term and monthly stays.