Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO have transformed how people travel. With millions of listings worldwide, guests can book anything from a cozy mountain cabin to a beachfront villa with a few taps on their phone. But the convenience of these platforms can obscure an uncomfortable reality: unlike hotels, short-term rentals are not subject to routine safety inspections, and the responsibility for maintaining safe conditions falls on property owners and managers who do not always take that duty seriously.
As personal injury attorneys, we have seen firsthand how guests can be seriously harmed by hazards that were entirely preventable. Below, we outline three of the most common and dangerous safety failures in short-term rentals, what guests can do before and during their stay to reduce their risk, and what to do if something goes wrong.
Safety Risk #1: Outdoor Cooking Appliances and Fire Hazards
Grills, fire pits, chimineas, and outdoor fireplaces are popular amenities at vacation rentals, and they are among the most common sources of serious injury. Many properties, particularly older cabins and rustic retreats, feature grills or open-flame appliances that are improperly installed, inadequately maintained, or positioned too close to combustible materials like wood decks, overhanging trees, or firewood storage. California Fire Code §308.1.4 and similar laws in most states require that open-flame cooking devices be kept at least 10 feet from any combustible structure. Many short-term rental properties are not in compliance.
What guests should do:
Upon arrival, walk through the outdoor areas and look at how any grill or fire pit is situated. Is it embedded in or directly adjacent to a wood deck? Is there a large firewood pile nearby? Are there pine needles or other debris accumulated around it? Look for fire extinguishers inside the home and confirm they are charged and accessible. Before using any grill or fire appliance, read any posted instructions and check that propane lines or connections appear intact. If anything looks unsafe, photograph it and notify the host through the platform’s messaging system before using the appliance, or don’t use it at all. In high-risk areas such as mountain, desert, or wildfire-prone regions, look up the local fire district’s rules, which may be stricter than state minimums.
Safety Risk #2: Deferred Maintenance and Undisclosed Known Hazards
One of the most legally significant patterns in short-term rental injury cases is when an owner or property manager is already aware of a hazard, such as a broken railing, a faulty appliance, a structural defect, but fails to fix it or disclose it to guests. Under California premises liability law, and similar standards across the country, property owners and managers have a legal duty to warn guests of known dangers and to remedy hazardous conditions within a reasonable time. When they know about a problem and rent the property anyway, their liability exposure increases significantly.
What guests should do:
Read the listing’s reviews carefully, particularly older ones, and look for recurring mentions of maintenance problems, unresponsive hosts, or safety concerns. Before and during your stay, communicate with the host through the platform’s in-app messaging rather than by phone or text to create a timestamped paper trail. If a host promises a repair or replacement before your arrival, confirm it in the app. When you check in, do a brief walkthrough of the property: test smoke detectors, look for carbon monoxide detectors, check that locks work, and note any visible hazards. Photograph anything that looks dangerous. Report issues to the host promptly and in writing and keep those records. If you are staying as a guest of someone else who booked the rental, be aware that you may have independent legal rights even if you are not the named renter.
Safety Risk #3: Over-Reliance on Platform Designations and Ratings
Airbnb’s “Superhost” badge and similar designations on other platforms are marketing tools, not safety certifications. Unlike hotels, which are subject to licensing requirements, health and safety inspections, and local regulatory oversight, most short-term rental properties are never independently inspected for fire safety, structural soundness, or code compliance. Guests often make booking decisions based on star ratings and platform badges, reasonably assuming these signals reflect a baseline of safety. In reality, they reflect guest satisfaction — a very different metric.
What guests should do:
Treat every rental as if it has never been inspected — because it likely has not. Do not assume that a high-rated or Superhost property meets any particular safety standard. Pay special attention to properties in rural, forested, or wildfire-prone areas, where fire risk is elevated, and local inspection requirements may be minimal. Ask the host directly whether the property has smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, and clearly marked emergency exits. Note where your bedroom is in relation to exits before you go to sleep. These precautions take minutes and can make an enormous difference in an emergency.
If You Are Injured at a Short-Term Rental: What to Do and Who May Be Liable
When a guest is hurt at a short-term rental, liability can extend across several parties simultaneously. The property owner has a duty to maintain safe premises and disclose known hazards. The property management company, if one is involved, shares responsibility for inspecting and maintaining the property. The platform itself, while it often tries to deny liability in its terms of service, can face exposure where it actively marketed a dangerous property, collected fees from the transaction, or held a property out as meeting certain quality standards it failed to verify.
If you or someone you know is injured at a short-term rental, take these steps immediately:
Seek medical attention first, even if injuries seem minor. Document everything — photograph the scene, the hazard, and your injuries before anything is disturbed or cleaned. Report the incident to the platform through official channels and request a copy of the incident report. Preserve all booking records, receipts, and every message exchanged with the host. Do not sign any release or accept any payment from the platform or host without first consulting an attorney.
One important nuance for non-renter guests: if you were staying at the property as someone else’s guest rather than the person who booked the rental, you may not be bound by the mandatory arbitration clauses in the platform’s terms of service — which means you may have more direct access to the courts than the named renter would. An experienced personal injury attorney can evaluate your specific circumstances and help you understand who can be held accountable and what compensation you may be entitled to.
Short-term rentals can be wonderful experiences. But knowing what to look for — and knowing your rights when something goes wrong — is the best protection you have.
June Bashant is a partner at Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn, where her practice focuses on improving consumer safety and securing justice for those harmed by medical battery and wrongful death.
