SabbaticalHomes.comReviews of sabbaticalhomes.com

As a prospective tenant, I got scammed on SabbaticalHomes.com TWICE in 1 week!! Despite SabbaticalHomes' claim of prestige and transparency, both the listings and the platform itself were highly untrustworthy. (Not to mention SabbaticalHomes forcefully charge you $50 for every "match".) 1. Illegal landlord actions: The platform claims to maintain "high standards", yet I have encountered numerous instances of illegal behavior from landlords. First scam: the landlord attempted to sublease to me secretively behind the owner's back. Luckily, I ran my own due-diligence and discovered that the owner had no knowledge of the sublease arrangement whatsoever! Second scam: the landlord suggested we "work out" a lease term shorter than what is legally permitted by their condo building. She asked me to sign a "fake lease" to present to the condo building, then "just leave" halfway. In both cases, I would have been evicted, and still be responsible for paying rent! 2. Highly overpriced: SabbaticalHomes' business model is "exploiting the tenants". Notice how all of their neutral/positive reviews are by landlords, where tenants gave them negative reviews? That's because the landlords pay SabbaticalHomes an annual fee to advertise their overpriced homes that would've been unwanted on any other platforms. Prices of sabbatical homes are Airbnb prices, yet they expect you to commit for 4~8 months. The same units rent for 40% cheaper if you found them through other platforms such as Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, or Realtor.ca. 3. Lack of accountability: I have brought the issues above to the SabbaticalHomes customer service team (who did not even give their names and hid behind the alias "SH", again highly shady despite the platform's hypocritical claim of transparency and trust) repeatedly on several occasions, yet they firmly sided with the owners, claiming my concerns were "unwarranted". They knew about the illicit business, and they blatantly stood behind it. Action speaks louder than words. SabbaticalHomes has unambiguously shown us that making a quick $50 is more important to them than integrity. ----- Given how unethical SabbaticalHomes is, I expect their founder, Nadege Conger, to post a gaslighting response below to somehow claim it was my fault.

I have had two very negative experiences back to back with Sabbatical Homes as a home owner. Two sets of guests found me through the site, they appeared to be quality matches and signed leases to stay in my home. Both guests then changed their mind and reneged on the lease despite it being a legal contract. One decided before moving in they wanted 3 weeks not 6 months noted in the lease and one decided not to stay altogether at the last minute. They both left me out of pocket, scrambling around to find replacement guests. The quality of guests searching for accommodation is low on this site and guests don't feel they need to see out their commitments. Sites like Airbnb may be more expensive but you get what you pay for - you can vet quality guests and the paperwork is done for you. I will not use Sabbatical Homes again.

I recently used Sabbatical Homes for a short-term rental, and unfortunately, I would not recommend this service. While there may be some great hosts on the platform, my experience was disappointing. It's the equivalent of using Craigslist to find a rental, at least in the U.S. No support, no vetting of hosts or tenants at all and no support. And they charge you $50, so maybe Craigslist is the smarter choice. The host I rented from specifically mentioned choosing this site because it doesn’t have the same rules and safeguards that Airbnb or Vrbo do—and that showed. Even more concerning, after I submitted my review of the rental, it was edited by the site. This made me very uncomfortable and raised questions about transparency. Are other reviews being altered as well? They also reached out to me to ask if I would retract the review. If I had to do it again, I would choose a platform with stronger support and clearer policies for renters and hosts.

I spent a long time with the owners (>2 hours) on a listing, only to find out a week later that the apartment they have listed isn't available. They have a current tenant and no move-out date for that person, despite the fact that they'd posted the apartment as available. Worse yet, when I tried to report this and asked for the ad to be removed, I discovered that (1) there's no good way to report a problem to SabbaticalHomes and (2) they don't respond or take action. This website runs on trust and faith and fails as badly as you'd expect it to. IN RESPONSE TO SABBATICALHOMES RESPONSE: I provided the owner with communications on the platform as well as texts that explicitly stated my needed move in date as 9/28 and the owners' confirmation that the apartment was available then. The only "arrangement" was made verbally, and the possible move in date was pushed to 10/1. The owner knows all this and tried to bully me into pulling down this review. Also, the only reason she pulled the original ad (that listed a start date of 9/1 even though the apartment is simply unavailable) is because I explained the meaning of fraud and suggested that she consult her attorney if she doesn't understand the concept.