Letter From America

Marion McKeone: ScareBnB – how story of Los Angeles tenant from hell gripped the chattering classes

There’s something about this little slice of upscale suburban drama that resonates with anyone who has ever had a dodgy flatmate, tenant or landlord

Los Angeles periodontist Sascha Jovanovic’s Airbnb guest Elizabeth Hirschhorn overstayed by more than a year without paying

If there’s ever a horror movie made for wealthy landlords – not as niche a genre as you might think – it may well be based on the bizarre story of the Airbnb ‘tenant from hell’.

The 570-day stand-off between Los Angeles periodontist Sascha Jovanovic and writer Elizabeth Hirschhorn reached its denouement last week, with police escorting Hirschhorn from the guesthouse of Jovanovic’s multi-million-dollar home she rented as an Airbnb guest in September 2021.

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