A tenant says she experienced a moving disaster when her landlord “accidentally” took all of her belongings from her apartment before the official end of her lease.
In the video, TikTok user @_alrighty__aphrodite_ says this is the “biggest mistake” she has ever seen a landlord make in her entire time renting. In the process of moving apartments, @_alrighty__aphrodite_’s new lease overlapped with the one at her old apartment. That wasn’t a problem, because it gave her ample time to move everything over. Or so she thought.
“Today I pull up to our apartment—the apartment that we paid to rent through the end of this month,” she says. “And I go to unlock the door and I notice, wait a minute the door is already unlocked. I go inside, all of the lights are on, and—get this—all of our belongings are gone.”
She also notices that there are four copies of her house key as well as a ladder in the apartment. This leads @_alrighty__aphrodite_ to believe that her apartment management is responsible for this unexpectedly barren apartment.
“I give my landlord a call, and I’m like, ‘Hey, everything is gone from my apartment. All of my personal [items]—it’s cleared. What is going on?’” @_alrighty__aphrodite_ says. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, we thought your lease ended at the end of November.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m looking at documentation right now that says Dec. 31 and that rent came out in full on the first.’”
@_alrighty__aphrodite_ says her apartment manager acknowledged that they made an error and cleaned out her apartment early without delivering proper notification. They said that because obviously she hadn’t moved out, they would not be charging @_alrighty__aphrodite_ a cleaning fee.
“I wasn’t even thinking about a cleaning fee—don’t talk to me about cleaning fees at this point,” she says she told the management. “I’m like OK what about all the stuff you took?”
@_alrighty__aphrodite_ says the management told her she could assemble an inventory list of her discarded belongings and provide them with a cost estimate.
“‘I mean they weren’t new or anything, but still tell us what you think they’re worth because they’re probably worth something to you,” @_alrighty__aphrodite_ says she was told by the apartment representative. “What a demeaning way to put it.”
The apartment also overlooked that @_alrighty__aphrodite_ paid rent on Dec. 1, which means she legally should have had until Dec. 31 to remove her belongings from the apartment. She says the apartment did say it would likely refund her the rent for the period after the apartment was cleaned.
“I’m very lucky that we have another place to sleep tonight, but what if we didn’t?” says @_alrighty__aphrodite_. “At this point, I don’t know what to do because I’m nervous they’re going to come back and try to haggle with me. And be like, no that dresser’s not worth $900. Then what am I going to do?”
While this may be a violation of her lease contract, @_alrighty__aphrodite_ says she is only 25 and isn’t sure how to hire a lawyer or if hiring one is even warranted in the situation. In the caption, she writes, “Losing my mind dude.”
@_alrighty__aphrodite_ Losing my mind dude
♬ original sound – Alrighty Aphrodite
The video has amassed more than 2.9 million views as of Monday evening. In the comments, viewers offered advice.
One user confirmed, “SUEEEEEE YES ITS WORTH IT A lawyer will take this in a SECOND for free.”
A second user wrote, “NO HAGGLING it’s ILLEGAL period. Yes it’s worth it. SUE THEM IMMEDIATELY.”
And another user said, “I sued a landlord for less and won. You will win. SUE. NOW.”
“It’s market value for replacement not what it’d be worth bought used. Please get a lawyer,” another user urged.
While this is a new one for @_alrighty__aphrodite_, multiple TikTok users also experienced this issue with apartment complexes. One woman reported this summer that her roommate was evicted, but the apartment threw her belongings away by mistake. In November, another user said she returned to her old apartment to retrieve her things only to find they’d been thrown away due to a clerical error.
The Daily Dot reached out to @_alrighty__aphrodite_ via TikTok direct messages for comment.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/landlord-accidentally-takes-all-her-belongings/