Apartment Complex Places Signs Outside To Publicly Shame Tenants For Not Paying Rent On Time
A video has gone viral for showing a sign an apartment block placed outside to publicly shame tenants who have failed to pay their rent on time.
A video has gone viral for showing a sign an apartment block placed outside to publicly shame tenants who have failed to pay their rent on time.
The clip, which is reportedly from Florida, was first shared on Facebook by Patron Urbaez. The video has amassed over 80,000 views, but quickly garnered more than 2 million views on TikTok.
Screengrab/Facebook
In the video, a large red sign with "RENT IS DUE" in white lettering can be seen. Right next to it, there's another sign
with countless numbers across it. Some of the numbers are circled in red, suggesting a lack of payment.
"Embarrassing! Not only do they have the 'rent due' sign stickers out, but they tell you which unit ain't paid they s***," a person in the video says.
As per Newsweek, Urbaez does not live in the complex but saw the signs when he was visiting a friend, who he said initially did not know about the signs.
"I have mixed emotions about it. On the residents' perspective, I can understand the uproar or frustration, however, I do believe that a complex can be forced to this point by units who do not pay," he told Newsweek. "There may be a deeper perspective here. However, resulting in such a sign is morally wrong."
Earlier in March, a fed-up landlord in New York City posted two giant banners on his property calling out his tenants for allegedly owing him $17,000 (Rs 13 lakh) in rent.
¡°MY TENANTS ON THE FIRST FLOOR ARE NOT PAYING RENT¡± read the banner put on the building owned by landlords Calvin and Jean Thompson in Queens, New York Post reported.
The couple posted the banners in the hopes that it might have the desired effect on their tenants and force them to pay up.
The large sign can be seen by drivers on the city¡¯s busy Belt Parkway and has been featured in a TikTok video that has received more than 15,000 likes.
New York Post
As per the New York Post, the Thompsons have owned the two-family home since 1989 and say they are in the process of evicting the tenants in Queens Housing Court.
¡°The signs are very embarrassing and shameful for them,¡± said the Thompsons¡¯ son, Calvin Jr. ¡°That¡¯s the only voice we have at this stage: freedom of speech.¡±
The problems between the landlord and tenants began in July when the Thompsons raised the rent on their three-bedroom apartment from $1,800 a month to $1,900, the first hike in nine years if the owners are to be believed.
¡°I don¡¯t think a $100 increase for almost a decade of living is unreasonable. There are plenty of landlords in our situation because of COVID. A lot of eviction cases are backlogged. She knows this and is going to ride this out," Calvin Jr. told the New York Post.
But for now, both parties will continue to live in the same building as the legal process plays out.
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