Airbnb has fully reimbursed Matthew Lyn after his guests he thought were a "nice family" stole $21,000 worth of items from his apartment.

Lyn says he is pleased his case was resolved on Thursday.

"I feel relieved... a large weight has been lifted off my shoulder," he said. "It feels really good."

Earlier this month, Lyn thought he was hosting a woman, her husband and young child. When he returned to his apartment, he found it in a state of total disaster.

"My door was already open, all the lights were on. It was a mess, all my dishes were used, there were towels on the floor, condoms lying about … It was terrible," he said.

His coat and scarves had been taken, his socks had been worn and left lying about and his hard drives full of years worth of his fashion and celebrity photographs were gone.

Even worse, his SIN card was missing, along with his most expensive electronics.

Among the items stolen were an iPad, two iPhones, a Nintendo Wii video game console, expensive designer clothing, memory cards, professional cameras and a drone camera. He said groceries, bottles of alcohol and toiletries like shampoos and face scrubs were also taken.

Toronto photographer Matthew Lyn came home to find his apartment ransacked and electronic equipment missing after renting the suite to a stranger on Airbnb. (Matthew Lyn)

"I immediately got on the phone with Airbnb. I was such a wreck when I called them. I was so mad. I felt so violated. I talked to them about an hour and a half and they could understand my frustration and I just kept realizing more and more stuff was missing," he said.

Lyn said he isn't even sure if it was a family that rented his apartment. He only communicated with the guest through the Airbnb app. He said the guest had an existing positive review on the app from someone who had given many other reviews on the website.

Toronto police have confirmed that they are investigating the theft and say they have seen an increase in crimes like this one over the last few months. Police are warning those who may be considering short-term rentals using services like Airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway to be extra careful when trusting someone with your keys.

"If you're going to be renting your place out to total strangers, you need to know who they are. You need to meet with them, you need to get their identification in person. You need to verify it is them who is renting your property and try and get an idea what they're going to be using it for," said Const. David Hopkinson.