If you’ve ever rented an apartment, you’ve probably had a bad landlord. The Bad Landlord takes many forms: It can be a person who never repairs anything, a guy who randomly decides to hike up your rent considerably, or in the case of the residents of an apartment building in Harvey, Illinois, it can be a dude who decides to board you inside your home.


According to CBS News, police in Harvey have been contacting the owners of this building for months to say that it was unsafe, citing issues like a stairwell that had completely collapsed and unsafe balconies. Residents were aware of these issues — but given that many in the building are low-income, they decided to stay there, pushing these problems to the back of their minds in favor of having a place to live.


This week, however, those paying renters received a surprise: They were trapped in their homes.



In the middle of the night, a construction crew arrived and began boarding up doors and windows. The city of Harvey says it “did not evict anyone nor participate in the board ups,” according to NBC News Chicago, so it’s unclear who exactly called the construction crew.


Residents weren’t aware that this was going to happen. In October of last year, at least one tenant “received a blank form from attorneys telling her the building would close,” though it appears no one was actually evicted from the building, and renters continued to stay in it and pay rent far past that date.


Then, in December, other residents began receiving letters that “the Building Department has decided that it is in the best interest of the residents … and the public to evacuate,” though it said that the actual method and timeline for doing so would be communicated to them by their property manager. Residents didn’t receive any information about this eviction, and so, they continued paying rent and staying in the building.


All that said, a few residents claimed to have received no notice whatsoever that the building was condemned, per NBC News Chicago.


Regardless, the crew came and began boarding up the building, resulting in several people being stuck in their rentals.


@servingyoudaily Tenants living in boarded up Harvey apartment building say they were not warned #greenscreenvideo #knowledgeispower #newstodayrightnow #newstorytime #servingyoudaily #breakingnewsusa #fypシ #harvey #harveyillinois #illinoischeck #illinoischeck #chicago #chicagotiktok #tenant #tenantsrights #tenantproblems #landlord #landlordsfromhell #landlordproblems #propertymanagement #propertymanager #inhumane #eviction #lawsuitcheck #itscoldoutside ♬ Woah! (Instrumental) - Black Rob


While residents tried to get the crews to stop until they could clear the building, some allege that the crew ignored them or “walked right past” them. As a result, they had to find ways to clear the people out themselves. “I had to push my kids out the window,” resident Aces Price told CBS News. “Right now, my son is scraped up.”


Thankfully, community activists came together and ripped off the boards trapping some in their apartments, allowing them to leave. There’s no word from the property managers yet on why or how this happened, but one thing’s for certain: Whoever they are, wherever they are, they’re dicks of the highest order.