A Seattle landlord claims he is owed £62,905 in rent by a squatter who won't leave his £1.5 million property, so he was compelled to take matters into his own hands.
In the summer of 2022, Jaskaran Singh rented out his five-bedroom home on 123rd Avenue, which is close to Seattle in Washington, to the man's family. He said the tenant stopped paying after he got the first and last month's rent, leaving him out of pocket £62,905.
After the tenant was granted a stay and a court hearing was set for April 5, Singh filed for eviction. However, Singh decided to take matters into his own hands and confronted the renter, arranging a protest with 200 people outside the house.
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Singh told KOMO News: "I have suffered an £62,905 loss. This should stop. This is a fight against injustice." Singh's confrontation with the renter was captured on camera.
Singh approached the 1,900 square foot house and knocked on the door during the demonstration. After opening it, the unidentified tenant emerged. Singh stated, 'You haven't paid the rent in the last year. The tenant attempted to reenter the house, but Singh replied, "Wait, I need to talk..." In six months, you have not paid your rent. This is my residence.
The tenant then returned to the residence and closed the door. Singh told KOMO News, "He's not willing to pay. Essentially, he is manipulating the system."
When the tenant first began to miss payments, Singh sought for eviction; however, the Housing Justice Project (HJP) intervened on the tenant's behalf, paying a portion of the arrears and filing for a stay of eviction.
In order to give the family more time to move out, the HJP even provided a three-month rent advance. However, Singh claims that the family continued to refuse to leave after the three months were over in May 2023 and that they once more began to miss rent payments.
According to Singh, "He never paid rent after May 2023 of last year, so it's been almost 11 months now." The tenant reportedly claimed that he lost his job during the pandemic and has been unable to find new work as a medical consultant. yet Singh's lawyer, Stephen Freeborn, stated, "The guy can't pay his rent, but he has two brand new cars parked in the driveway."
Approximately 200 people showed up for the demonstration that Singh and his attorney arranged outside the house on Saturday. They carried signs and shouted, "No pay, no stay."
Journalist Jonathan Choe from Seattle captured footage of the demonstration. Vice Chair of the King County Republican Party Kory Hahn led a shout in Korean that went, "Get out, con man!," adding, "If you're not going to pay, you shouldn't stay there."