The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oregon is getting sued by a couple of Sunriver homeowners for a cool $500,000 after they threw a massive party and trashed the house.
This happens far too often out here. I work at a vacation rental company that manages several homes larger than the one in the article, and you’d be amazed how often, this time of year, these houses will get totally trashed. We always are trying to be careful who we rent to, and while we have houses that sleep about 16 people, we’ll only advertise them as 12 so this doesn’t happen.
My worry is that the guy that rented the house will also get in trouble. The frat obviously over-occupied the house, probably violating county occupancy guidelines for nightly rentals, but the homeowner, if they truly are renting the home on a nightly basis, is required to pay Deschutes County a room tax (7%). The county is trying to crack down on private homeowners who rent their homes out privately but don’t pay the tax, and this may end up opening another can of worms for the homeowner if they haven’t been clean and clear with their taxes. If I were the lawyer for SAE, I’d be sure to bring that up — after I beat the living tar out of my clients for being jackasses.