Under premises liability law, a tenant is generally responsible for personal injuries to guests, invitees and others (who are legally on the premises) if the tenant had control of the premises or was responsible for creating the dangerous condition that led to the injuries. IANAL but a quick Google search will provide you with the relevant statutes and case law.
If you sublet your apartment to a third party in violation of your lease and you fail to take reasonable security measures (verifying identities, conducting credit and background checks, signing agreements, etc.), you should expect to be sued for negligence if and when something goes wrong. Might you successfully argue that the injury in question was unforeseeable even under these circumstances? Sure, but you'll still lose because making that argument will be costly.
Finally, even if you somehow believe that there's no risk in subletting your apartment to strangers, you should consider alternative liability scenarios, like your guest suffering an injury while staying in your apartment. This too makes AirBnB a juicy target for cons, as it would be relatively easy to stage an accident with the intention of suing the host.
The net-net:
1. Being sued is an expensive hobby and anyone renting out his apartment to strangers to pocket a few extra bucks is always one guest away from discovering this.
2. There are good reasons most landlords forbid subletting.
If you sublet your apartment to a third party in violation of your lease and you fail to take reasonable security measures (verifying identities, conducting credit and background checks, signing agreements, etc.), you should expect to be sued for negligence if and when something goes wrong. Might you successfully argue that the injury in question was unforeseeable even under these circumstances? Sure, but you'll still lose because making that argument will be costly.
Finally, even if you somehow believe that there's no risk in subletting your apartment to strangers, you should consider alternative liability scenarios, like your guest suffering an injury while staying in your apartment. This too makes AirBnB a juicy target for cons, as it would be relatively easy to stage an accident with the intention of suing the host.
The net-net:
1. Being sued is an expensive hobby and anyone renting out his apartment to strangers to pocket a few extra bucks is always one guest away from discovering this.
2. There are good reasons most landlords forbid subletting.