Tenants In Entire Building Forced Out Due To Rent-Skimming Landlord

In Rhode Island, a recent story by The Providence Journal describes the stress being placed on local social services agencies due to the increase in local residents facing financial struggles.

Among other accounts, the story tells of the actions of a local landlord that resulted in the displacement of all of his tenants (about nine rent-paying tenants) out of one building. In addition to milking the rent out of his building without paying the mortgage and the water bills, he allowed the property to fall into extreme disrepair, not to mention foreclosure. The tenants lost their water service and, shortly thereafter, local building inspectors deemed the building uninhabitable. The cops ended up coming by one day without notice and announced that the building had been condemned and ordered everyone to leave, giving them two hours to vacate the premises. The building is now locked and boarded up, awaiting further action by the city and a foreclosure sale by the mortgage holder - scheduled for December 7. For the story, see The worst of times?

For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here, or here. equity skimming unwittingly gamma