A 31-year-old woman who rented her $1.675 million Los Angeles home to a musician is suing him for subletting the property without her permission. This comes as a report for a lawsuit seen by the Los Angeles Times.
The Times has reported that Nikeeta Sriram bought the property in March 2022. At the time, Sriram was renting in Los Feliz and did not want to break her current lease, so she chose to rent her home to 36-year-old musician Nicholas Jarzabek.
“He seemed like the perfect tenant until he turned into a nightmare,” Sriram told the Los Angeles Times.
During his first year as a tenant, Jarzabek paid his $8,500 rent early or on time and made no repair requests. However, the Los Angeles Times stated that, in December 2023, Sriram discovered her home was listed on Airbnb, which directly violated the lease. Police were called after the ADT alarm was repeatedly triggered, and when confronted, Jarzabek denied subletting the property. His guilt was confirmed as the Airbnb listings could be used as proof.
Initially, the Airbnb listing was hosted by a person named Rich Jacobs, though it is unclear if it was an alias used by Jarzabek or an associate. The main house was listed on Airbnb for $688 per night, and the back property for $496. The two buildings collectively have more than 100 reviews on Airbnb.
The subpoena showed that for the 16 months between 2022 and 2023, the Airbnb listing generated $215,954, about $13,500 a month, according to the Times report.
This past February, the Times said that Sriram booked the house to communicate with the Airbnb account holder and wrote: “STOP RELISTING THIS PROPERTY. You are not authorized to sublease this property!”
However, she received a response that said: “Dear Nikeeta, Welcome and Thank You. You will have a great time here.” The listings were temporarily removed, but new ones appeared in their place.
In the lawsuit reviewed by the Times, the property listings omitted exterior shots and provided a false address from the actual location—and though Sriram considered changing the locks, she did not wish to violate the terms of Jarzabek’s lease, which would have resulted in her having to pay for damages. Instead, she filed for eviction through the Los Angeles Superior Court and filed a cease and desist to Jarzabek’s attorney. However, even during the legal proceedings, the property was listed for rent under a new account, a rental company called Monthier.
Sriram eventually resorted to showing up at her property to warn guests about the situation, saying, “I felt terrible. I didn’t want to ruin their vacations.” However, she added, “This is our only recourse since Airbnb provided no help to us.”
While Airbnb confirmed that the listing is no longer active and the account associated with Jacobs has been closed, they did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
As part of the lawsuit, Sriram subpoenaed Airbnb for information about Jarzabek and discovered that the telephone number registered for Jacobs was a UK number. The newspaper stated that Instagram posts show Jarzabek performing in London Pubs under the name Nick Diver.
“If the city can’t figure out how to crack down on Airbnb, it should err on the side of caution and ban the platform until it can build a task force to manage it,” Sriram has told the Times.
According to the Times, Jarzabek ceased to pay rent after Sriram filed the eviction notice. Sriram has stated that she estimates she has lost $100,000 in property damage, legal fees, and lost rent this year. Her unlawful detainer lawsuit was recently approved, allowing her to proceed with an eviction. The newspaper also stated that she has received a writ of possession, which permits a sheriff to take control of the property and return it to her. However, there is a waitlist of several months for that service.
