There is a class of real estate rental scammers known as “serial evictees”. A serial evictee will rent an apartment or home with no intention of paying rent (other than the 1 month + security to get in the place). Instead, they plan to get evicted– after they work the system for up to a year in free rent or cut a deal with the landlord to move out.
These deadbeat tenants force the landlord to navigate the cumbersome and costly legal system, which in some cities, like New York or San Francisco, allows rotten tenants ample time and opportunity to game the courts. Once evicted, the nomadic scam artists move on to their next victim. Since this activity is not criminal, yet, there is nothing to lose except their current address.
The more clever serial evictees know the law and how the legal system works. They get cases tossed for procedural errors (usually defective notices). They make it appear they are justified in withholding rent. They make up or create habitability complaints, create (and then report) building code violations, and more, as excuses for not paying rent. Since landlords, as a class, generally have a bad reputation, judges often fall for these ploys and prolong evictions or encourage settlements, which the tenants don’t abide. City resources are wasted as these squatters get a free ride. Many landlords will simply cut them a deal to move out, to avoid the courts.
As a real estate attorney practicing in Manhattan, I ran into a few of these clever folks. One of my favorite stories involves an ingenious young woman who stopped paying rent and then staged her own lock-out (with a police report as proof), knowing the penalty in NYC was triple damages plus legal fees. She wanted my client, a poor spoken immigrant, to give her 6 months free rent…. or else. My investigation uncovered the fraud — turned out she was dating a law student who gave her the idea, which she had used several times with success. When I was cross-examining her on the stand and she realized her cover was blown, she literally bolted from the witness stand and tried to run out of the court room. She was tackled by the court officer and hauled into the judge’s chamber (along with her attorney). Only my compassionate client saved her from a new address, with free rent, at the city jail.
At least one landlord is fighting back. Check out rottentenant.com. The site only lists 4 bad tenants, but it’s a start.
Further Reading:
How renters work the system to live for free… (SF weekly.com) [h/t 360 digest via grow-a-brain]
