A Netflix executive made the mistake of renting out his $1.8 million Los Angeles home to a musician who then illegally turned it into an Airbnb and stopped paying his rent.
Nikeeta Sriram, 31, works as head of business strategy and growth products at Netflix, after graduating from Harvard Business School a few years ago.
She moved to Los Angeles to take this position in 2021 and took advantage of low real estate prices during the pandemic in 2022 by purchasing a home in the sought-after Mid-Wilshire neighborhood for $1.675 million. He is now worth more than $1.8 million.
However, Sriram was already tied to a lease at the time and decided to rent out her new property until she was ready to move in, she told the LA Times.
The landlady says she is now plunged into a never-ending ordeal with her nightmare tenant, a touring musician who currently sings in British pubs. She says he turned the rental into a lucrative Airbnb program that brought in more than $215,000, while recently refusing to pay her rent.
Nikeeta Sriram, 31, works as head of business strategy and growth products at Netflix, after graduating from Harvard Business School a few years ago.
Nicholas Jarzabek, better known to his fans as Nick Driver, allegedly turned the Los Angeles home he was renting into an Airbnb and pocketed the revenue from those listings.
Sriram took advantage of low house prices during the pandemic in 2022 by purchasing a house (pictured) in sought-after Mid-Wilshire for $1.675 million. The house, pictured, is now worth $1.8 million
Nicholas Jarzabek, better known to his fans as Nick Driver, was initially denied Sriram’s application to rent the property, with Sriram opting for another couple of men working for a start-up. up.
However, when the company went bankrupt in August 2022, the two men moved and Sriram once again found himself looking for a tenant. Jarzabek applied again – and Sriram recognized the name from his initial offer to lease the property.
“I didn’t think about it at all at the time. I thought he really loved the house,” Sriram told the LA Times.
“But in hindsight, it’s obviously suspicious,” she said. “Most renters try to move on a specific schedule, and you don’t see people applying for the same house three months apart.”
At first glance, Jarzabek appeared like a reliable tenant – with $1 million in the bank, a white Tesla and a shiny Rolex on his wrist.
“He spoke kindly about the house and offered to lay down rugs so as not to scratch the floor,” Sriram said. “He said he would treat it like it was his own.”
And he treated it like it was his own. It quickly became clear that Jarzabek had set his sights on Sriram’s house because it was the ideal candidate for a successful Airbnb.
The property had two units, which meant two Airbnbs for the price of one. There was a two-story main house with three bedrooms and a one-bedroom back house with a loft.
After the tour of the house, Sriram never saw Jarzabek again – but she says he eventually became a very significant pest in her daily life.
During the first year of his tenure, Jarzabek caused few problems. He paid the rent of $8,500 each month and did not require repairs.
“He seemed like a very responsible tenant, but now I know it’s because he wanted me to never come to the property,” Sriram said.
However, 16 months later, Jarzabek’s Airbnb listings for the property were revealed on December 29, 2023, when the ADT alarm went off so many times in a row that police were automatically called to the property.
Sriram called ADT and they told him the police had informed them that the Airbnb guests had raised the alarm.
At first, Sriram and her boyfriend, actor Peter Banachowski, thought there was a mix-up, but after checking on Airbnb, she saw her property listed.
The main house was listed at $688 per night, while the back house was listed at $496 per night, according to Airbnb listings included in the eviction lawsuit she later filed.
He was listed on Airbnb under an account named Rich Jacobs – although it’s unclear if that name is a pseudonym or if Jarzabek contacted someone to act as a “host” of the property on his behalf .
The host disguised the house to hide it from Sriram, first by not using any exterior photos – only uploading a photo of the nearby Grove Mall, followed by shots of the interior of the house.
Then, by providing a fake address to Airbnb users, initially telling them that the property was at 1830 S. La Brea Ave, which is actually the address of a motel called Starlight Inn, located in 1.6 km from the house.
The homes performed well on Airbnb, with the largest home scoring 4.76 stars out of five and the guesthouse scoring 4.46.
However, written reviews of the house have raised concerns. “Easy to find once the right address was found, Air BNB gave a different address than the one (sent) by the owner,” said one tenant.
“The host took a very mean and aggressive tone with us when we were having difficulty learning how to cancel on your website,” another guest said.
After learning of Jarzabek’s scheme, Sriram attempted to confront his tenant over the phone. He told her to contact her lawyer.
At first glance, Jarzabek appeared like a reliable tenant – with $1 million in the bank, a white Tesla and a shiny Rolex.
Taking matters into her own hands, Sriram hatched a plan to confront him in person by renting the Airbnb herself so she could communicate with him via the website’s chat function.
“STOP ENDING THIS PROPERTY.” You are not allowed to sublet this property!’ she wrote.
As the drama continued and homes were removed from Airbnb and then re-listed, Sriram filed an eviction petition in Los Angeles Superior Court. In April, she filed a cease and desist request with Jarzabek’s attorney.
But while Sriram struggles to navigate the complex property rights laws, his house continues to be rented out on Airbnb.
Airbnb offered Sriram no assistance – so she once again took matters into her own hands by showing up at the property every time she appeared to have reservations (information she gathered directly through the website) .
She explained the situation to the guests, who were mostly understanding but understandably frustrated with the situation.
‘I felt bad. I didn’t want to spoil their vacation,” Sriram said. “But this is our only recourse since Airbnb has not provided us with any assistance.”
As part of his eviction lawsuit, Sriram subpoenaed Airbnb for information about Jarzabek. She discovered that although he communicated with her using a New York area code, the number stored on his Airbnb account had a code +44, which is the UK area code.
She also gained insight into her profits through the subpoena and learned that over 16 months of her stay on Airbnb, the listing generated $215,954 in payments, an average of about $14,500 per month.
“If the city doesn’t know how to crack down on Airbnb, it should err on the side of caution and ban the platform until it can assemble a task force to manage it,” Sriram said. “The current solution is to let chaos ensue and see what happens.”
After spending months waging legal battles, Sriram finally had his illegal detention case approved recently – allowing him to move forward with Jarzabek’s deportation.
This can only be done by a sheriff, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is currently overwhelmed with eviction requests and waiting three months.
Sriram and Banachowski could sue Jarzabek for damages, given that the owners estimate she has lost $100,000 since the start of the year, but suing someone in another country is a complex and expensive process.
“Nick Diver,” as Jarzabek is known in the music world, has around 6,000 followers on Instagram and 785 followers on the popular music streaming platform Spotify.
“His Instagram shows he has pub tour dates across the UK,” Banachowski said. “I understand why we have eviction protections for Los Angeles residents, but why is it illegal for us to take our home back from a guy who’s not even in the country?”
“Nick Diver,” as Jarzabek is known in the music world, has around 6,000 followers on Instagram and 785 followers on the popular music streaming platform Spotify.
His most recent album, Black Liquorice, was released in 2023 and features a song ironically titled “Life of Crime”, as well as others including “Terrifying Me” and “I Pretend to Know Too Much”.
Jarzabeck’s recent Instagram posts show him wandering around London and Paris – all while continuing to rent Sriram’s house on Airbnb and ghosting her attempts at communication.
DailyMail.com has contacted Jarzabek for comment on his social media channels and has not yet heard from the musician.
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