So...the property owner had the proper permit and the renter was in direct contact with them which leaves a perfect opportunity to cut out the middle-man (err, middle-person?) and not ruin someone's holiday plans.

A little over a decade ago I was wandering around Europe for a couple months and only stayed in a proper hotel a couple times, once because I needed an address to ship my luggage the airlines lost and the other because I got into town late and there wasn't anyone at the train station hunting for tourists -- every other time as soon as I stepped off the train there were people offering up rooms to rent in private houses for some extra cash on the side. All in all it worked out and I saved a few bucks in the process.