The nightmare of renting in 2022

The stories you are about to read are true and reflect how renting has changed in 2022 but I am keeping the names private. These truths give insight into why so many people are homeless.

My youngest son who is 30 began telling me nightmare tales about people he knew over a year ago. He said landlords were kicking people out without proper notice and getting away with it which did not seem logical to me at the time. The poor and those with bad credit don't readily think of lawyers and neither can they afford them. Someone who might be a few weeks or even a month behind in rent will believe they have no options because they don't know the law. Keep this in mind as you read about those who had to flee where they lived on short notice.This is why so many ping people are living with family, friends, and strangers.

Amy

Decades ago Amy got a second mortgage on her home but could not pay it so the house she had lived in for 30 years went into foreclosure. The man who bought it allowed Amy to stay there and pay the same amount in rent as she had for her mortgage. This was a blessing as nothing really changes for her but today landlords are not so helpful.

The Johnsons

The Johnson family's landlord said he was selling the property and the new landlord would work something out with them. The Johnson's waited for several months for an official notice that the property had changed hands and for a new lease but it never came. One day their lights and water were cut off without notice because the new property owner had told their old landlord to take them out of his name.

The Johnsons utilities were included in the rent so when the old landlord turned them off they had to have them cut back on in their own names. If they had not they could have been put out immediately for not having electricity and running water which is what the new owner of the home was hoping for. They tried to reach the new owner with no luck. One day a man showed up saying he represented the new property owners and told the family they had to move immediately because the house was not livable.

They contacted a legal aid lawyer who said they would have to have a written notice 30 day notice but it never came. The family was lucky to find somewhere else to move but lived in fear for two months that they could suddenly be put out. The new owners never intended to renew their lease but wanted them out because of liability due to the property being old.

Shortly before the first year was up in their new rental home the new landlord said she decided to allow her niece to rent to people who got rent assistance because she was too old to deal with her various rental properties and renters who were late on payments so the family had to move again and pay higher rent without an increase in income and the are struggling.

Senior dilemma

An older couple in their 70s had lived in a house for 9 years and were paying their rent on time. The landlord had a relative begin to take over but this family member was not paying the bank and they had to abruptly move and the husband was disabled. I don’t know if they found another house or were forced to go into a senior home but this was a shame,

Kelly and her children

Kelly's husband walked out on her and their three children so she move in with family because she could not keep up the mortgage. She had been a stay at home mom and had no income and it took quite a while before she began receiving child support and found a job.

She finally got on her feet and later rented a house for 2 years when the landlord decided he wanted to turn the house into an Air B&B. He gave Kelly and her children four months to move. Although her rent was paid until the end of the final month she was forced out by the 15th and had to leave a lot of her belongings behind. Her water said by the time the case went to court it would not make a difference .

All over the nation stories are being told on social media about renters being forced out without notice and having nowhere to go. Some end up homeless and others move in with family or friends. There is an increase in those renting from family and friends or d leading who don’t have an official lease. They are given short notice when the homeowner decides to move someone else in the house or sell it. If only more landlord were kind and compassionate like Amy's was.