One of the biggest fears of landlords is that tenants will not pay their rent. These disputes usually end up in court with a lawsuit eviction due to non-paymentbut sometimes the owners take the law into their own hands, something that can cause them a lot of problems. This is what has happened to an 81-year-old French man, who after months without collecting rent and with an accumulated debt of 11,000 euros decided to cut off the electricity to his tenant and is now the victim of threats and episodes of violence on his part.
According to reports in French media such as Figaro Immobiler and La Dépêchethe man rented a home that had been occupied for more than a year without payment of rent or supplies. According to their calculations, the debt already amounts to almost 11,000 euros. Although the tenant was convicted by a court in January and faces eviction, he continues to reside in the property without paying.
Desperate in the face of the situation, the owner opted for a drastic measure, cutting off the electricity supply to the house in the presence of the press and the police. However, he restored the power a few hours later, aware that it was an illegal action, since French law, like Spanish law, prohibits cutting off basic supplies even in cases of non-payment.
The elderly man receives threats from his tenant and reports that the situation is “unsustainable”
Beyond this episode, the octogenarian assures that his situation is much more serious than it appears. In a letter addressed to the prefect of Gers and the CAF, he denounces a climate of constant tension with his tenant, whom he accuses of “constant insults”, “macabre threats”, “extortion attempts”, as well as “physical violence” and “vandalism”.
The owner claims to feel vulnerable and unprotected, and demands urgent intervention from the authorities. Specifically, he demands the “immediate eviction” of the tenant in order to put an end to a situation that he describes as unsustainable, even more so considering that he must soon travel to Paris to undergo surgery.
“The authorities must protect the victims before the guilty,” he said, insisting that he has tried to resolve the conflict through legal means, including the seizure of assets, without obtaining results.
For his part, the tenant maintains that he has been looking for a housing solution for weeks, although at the moment he has not abandoned the home.