long hallway in apartment building
Julie Hambleton
Julie Hambleton
March 29, 2022 ·  4 min read

NYC landlord posts giant signs calling out non-paying tenants

The COVID-19 pandemic was hard on a lot of people. With mass layoffs and difficulty finding work, many struggled to pay their rent. The government implemented many regulations and rules to help tenants get through that time without losing their homes. Of course, this was also extremely difficult for landlords. Now, largely on the other side of the pandemic, many landlords are still struggling. With a historic backlog in eviction cases, these Queens, NYC landlords have resorted to a different tactic to get their tenants to pay what they owe.

Queens Landlords Shame Tenants For Not Paying Their Rent

Landlords Calvin and Jean Thomson in the Queens borough of New York City have been renting their two-family home since 1989. They’ve never really had any problems with tenants until the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Last July, however, is when they began having problems with their first-floor tenants. (1)

The Thomsons increased the rent in July of last year by 5%. This meant the rent went from $1,800 to $1,900. This was the first time they have increased their rent in nearly a decade. Their tenants, Marie and Eugene Lamour and their daughter Kathia, were not happy with the change. The Lamours instead tried to refuse the increase. Kathia tried to bring the Thomsons a check for $1800, the original rent, but the Thomsons refused to accept it. After that, Kathia decided to stop paying altogether. (2)

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The Shaming

The Thomsons, naturally, are frustrated about not receiving the money that they are owed. Allegedly the Lamours now owe them $17,000 in unpaid rent. They have begun the process of trying to evict their tenants, but it is a slow one. There is currently a historic backlog in eviction cases in the city, again thanks to the pandemic. Tired of waiting and frustrated with the system, the Thomsons decided to take a different approach.

The landlords put up a big white sign on the side of the house with bold, black lettering. The sign reads “My tenants on the first floor are not paying rent”. It is a rather large sign and can be clearly seen from the Belt Parkway. A TikTok user also posted a video of the sign on the app which has now received more than 15,000 likes.

“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.”

duplex in New York with sign saying “My tenants on the first floor are not paying rent”
Image Credit: JC Rice | New York Post

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Bad Tenants or Bad Landlord?

Kathia and her parents have rented the three-bedroom space for quite some time already. They have always been amicable with the Thomsons, who live in the other unit of the house. The landlords say that this kind of rent increase is normal and is not a lot, especially considering the price has not changed in 10 years. The tenants, clearly, have a different opinion.

“I don’t think a $100 increase for almost a decade of living is unreasonable,” Calvin Jr. said. “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.”

Kathia and her parents disagree. They are also upset about the shaming they have received from the Thomsons over the situation. The Lamour family doesn’t believe it is fair or just. Kathia had to leave her job in the summer and has been on unpaid medical leave. This has naturally put a lot of financial stress on the family.

“It’s like all of the sudden, we’re bad tenants,” said Kathia.“They were bamboozling me into an increase. They went ballistic on me because I wouldn’t give it to them.”

COVID Rules No More

During the COVID-19 pandemic, New York State put a moratorium on evictions. This protected tenants from being evicted due to financial hardships suffered because of the pandemic. It allowed tenants to put a pause on eviction cases against them by claiming financial hardship. The difference is that, during the moratorium, they didn’t need to prove it. That ended, however, in January 2022.

The system for having tenants evicted, however, is extremely backlogged. There are more than 200,000 pending cases in the city alone. This means that landlords are left waiting, regardless of whether their tenants are trying to pay rent or not. The Lamour’s lawyer says that the Thomson’s sign was a bad move on their part. They say that it is a form of harassment and will only hurt their case in the future.

Keep Reading: Family Rejects Huge Offer From Developers To Keep Their Land And ‘Dream Home’

Sources

  1. NYC landlord posts giant signs calling out non-paying tenants.” NY Post. Griffin Kelly. March 19, 2022.
  2. ‘My tenants are not paying rent’: NYC landlord posts huge sign over ‘being owed $17k’.” Independent. Graeme Massie. March 20, 2022.