Thank you for the informative response. Does anyone in this VRBO community know if this requirement exists? We are unsure - but you are quite correct in that the renter must be far more vigilant and perform more than due diligence in order to cope with a new environment. On the other hand, if one is taking a vacation to relax and get away, we would presume their having done so in order to be in a safe, relaxing environment with less stress and anxiety from the day to day rat race. So the answer about informing potential renters about known potential safety hazards and issues are both gray areas.

From the owner perspective, however, it appears to be far more important to rent the property, discrepancies and all, and charge as much as possible with the protection of a potential lawsuit if someone is not 100% correct about the inaccurate property description. Be that as it may, it is far more important to get the property rented as often as possible - and the protections for the renters take second place to the generation of the all mighty dollar. The owner can sue if the claims are not 100% correct; but the renters assume all risk of safety for their children and the owner has no obligation to inform the potential renter of any potential issues and are of secondary importance to the owner, so long as the money flows.

Might as well be running a brothel...Does anyone know the answer about obligations to protect and inform the renter/customer?  We feel that if we were rental owners, our conscience would compel us to educate, inform and warn anyone about any potential dangers. It's what people who care do. God forbid the ca$hflow be jeopardized...

hkquinn,

Great response. It falls on the goodness and the honesty of our fellow men and women to be honest and upfront about things. From our persepctive, if there was a known issue of safety that we cannot control - it would be an owner's "rental suicide by honesty" if they did their civic duty and informed potential renters of potential safety hazards. Most are common sense - but the human element is infinite - and when there is an unpredictable criminal problem in the vicinity - do you have a moral obligation to inform the unknowing? That moral obligation question prohibits us from purchasing a rental property. We have stayed in several rental homes and none are as advertised - except for the one we stayed in recently. It was a bit over the top in presentation, was all form with no substance with outlandish overstatements - none of which were singularly fatal, but when taken on the whole, an egregious lie. We would presume the same vetting process for renters, if the moral obligation is applied, would protect neighborhoods with properties for short term vacation rentals. And therein lies the problem that no one can touch. It appears that no one is allowed to approach the issue without breaking some sort of privacy law that affords protections to the ciminals. So - the two-way street exists, no vetting of renters that rent near us and no knowledge for the renter of criminal trouble that exists near the renter...Vigilance on both sides, common sense and hope that the moral imperative is respected.