The pandemic that struck the world over the last two-plus years has placed a burden on many. In 2020, a woman in Missouri stated that her landlord decided to take steps just because she could not pay her rent. Incidentally, her landlord took away her front door due to her inability. But as it stands, this violated a state statute. Hannah McGee, the woman in question, lost her job at a restaurant due to the pandemic. She mentioned that she had been living in her apartment in Fenton, Michigan for around three years now. Interestingly, her own mother lived next door for the last 13 years.[1]
Talking about her landlord, McGee stated, “He’s always been a good landlord. I guess it just took one slip up. I’ve lived here without a problem, no incidents whatsoever. I’ve been on time every month, but since COVID happened, I lost my job. I was working in a restaurant.” She has had to place her closet doors where her front door used to be. “At night, it gets definitely really cold. It’s kind of unbearable without it.” Her four-year-old daughter had been spending the nights with her grandmother to stay warm in chilly December.
McGee had to take recourse to legal action through Attorney Rob Swearingen. According to this attorney, there is nothing uncommon about McGee’s situation. He stated that his law office had often taken calls from renters during the pandemic, and most of them had the same issue. Some of them had their locks taken off, or they were locked out of their own houses.
Read: Landlord Canceled Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants So They Could Afford Food – I Think He Deserves Our Recognition
Woman Gets Her Front Door Taken off By Landlord
Speaking to Fox59, he stated, “We try to call landlords and inform them that they’re violating the law by illegally evicting people. You can only be evicted by court order, and with the sheriff present while executing an eviction, and right now, that can’t be done in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. The landlord needs to realize that the landlord has committed a tort and is liable for anything that happens to this tenant. It’s more than negligence, it’s the intentional infliction of emotional distress. It’s a violation of Missouri statutes and its unlawful eviction.”[2]
When interrogated, the landlord refused to provide any answers. McGee lamented, “I would never be able to do that to somebody, just make things even harder on them, especially with everything going on. My Christmas tree is right next to my door frame where there’s no door. I don’t know how we’re going to open presents on Christmas like that. At least we have three walls. All I can do is find the humor in it and try to get by. I mean, a lot of people go through worse.”
Fortunately, the landlord either grew a conscience or was scared of the law. For, they finally gave back the door. Nevertheless, McGee’s friend had set up a GoFundMe page, which managed to over $9,000 in just a matter of days. One could say that this was the gift of the Magi to Hannah McGee and her family.
So what do you think? Did the landlord go too far, or were they justified in what they did? Let us know in the comments.
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Sources:
1. “Landlord removes front door over late rent after woman loses job during pandemic” Fox59. Dec 15, 2020.
2. “Missouri woman who lost job due to pandemic says landlord removed front door over late rent.” The Hill. Celine Castronuovo. December 16, 2020.