Landlord in New York put up a billboard shaming a defaulting tenant

Wealthy Queens landlord posted two giant banners calling on his supposedly dead tenants for $17 in rent debt, reports New York Post.

"Ground floor tenants don't pay rent," read posters hung above a ground floor apartment on 175th Street in Springfield Gardens.

Landlords Kelvin and Jean Thompson have put up banners that can be seen from the Belt Parkway in hopes of shaming their tenants into paying. He has also been featured in TikTok video, which received more than 14 likes - and supportive comments such as: "Not paying bills - ghetto."

https://www.tiktok.com/@spinkii.baddest/video/7075326912238832942?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en

The Thompsons have owned the two-family home since 1989. Last month, they began the eviction process for Marie and Eugene Lamour and their daughter Katia in Queens Housing Court.

But with nearly 200 eviction cases pending in the city after pandemic protection and the state's moratorium on evictions have created a historic slowdown, homeowners are seeing humiliation as the next best tactic.

"This is the only chance we have at this stage: freedom of speech," said the Thompsons' son, Kelvin Jr.

The posters seem to be working: Katia Lamour tried to remove one poster, claims Calvin Jr.

“When she calls Uber, she no longer does it in front of the house,” he said. “She runs to the end of the block so that we don’t see her.”

Trouble began in July when the Thompsons raised the rent on the Lamurs' three-room apartment from $1800 a month to $1900, the first rent jump in nine years, according to Calvin Jr.

This is due to a 5% rent increase.

The Lamurs were reluctant to pay the 5% raise. Katya, who works for the city's Department of Human Services and earns $46,731, according to GovSalaries.com, said that instead of a new amount, she tried to pay $ 1800, but the Thompsons refused to take it - so she stopped paying altogether.

"I don't think a $100 increase over almost a decade is unreasonable," Calvin Jr. said. “Many homeowners have been in a similar situation due to COVID. Many eviction cases are pending. She knows about it and is going to use it.”

The state's moratorium on evictions, which ended in January, has given wide leeway to tenants struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic, but has left many homeowners in the lurch. The moratorium also allowed tenants to stall eviction proceedings against them by claiming financial hardship without having to prove it.

The Lamurs have not filed any claims of COVID-related hardships.

Both families live in the same building and the only thing that separates them is the floorboards.

Lamurov's lawyer, Andreas Spiker, said the poster was a form of harassment and would only harm the Thompsons' case.