Picture this: you’re paying rent like a responsible adult, and suddenly your landlord just… disappears. Not in a “I’m taking a vacation” way, but in a “I’m literally nowhere to be found and your building is falling apart” way. That’s exactly what happened to tenants in London and St. Thomas, and honestly, it’s giving major nightmare landlord vibes.

The whole mess centres around one guy who decided to play real estate mogul across two cities with two different buildings. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well. We’re talking about a situation so bad that tenants are living in what can only be described as unlivable conditions while their landlord has basically vanished into thin air.

Here’s where it gets really wild – this isn’t just your typical “bad landlord” story. This person literally branded themselves on social media as some kind of real estate guru and health enthusiast. They were out there making Instagram videos, standing outside their properties, giving tips on flipping houses and using something called the “cash for keys” model to basically push tenants out.

The irony is almost too much to handle. Someone who positioned themselves as a real estate expert has left their tenants in buildings that are straight-up unlivable. We’re talking about situations where basic services aren’t working, and people are stuck paying rent for places that shouldn’t even qualify as housing.

The whole “cash for keys” thing they were promoting? That’s a tactic where landlords essentially pay tenants to leave so they can renovate and jack up the rent – what’s known as a “renoviction.” So while they were out there teaching people how to squeeze more money out of rental properties, their own tenants were getting the raw end of the deal.

What makes this even more frustrating is that there doesn’t seem to be much tenants can do when their landlord just ghosts them like this. Some Reddit users are suggesting that the Landlord and Tenant Board should have the power to basically take over properties when situations get this extreme – either through expropriation or putting buildings under temporary management.

One suggestion floating around is having tenants pay rent to a third party or fund instead of directly to the landlord when situations like this arise. That way, tenants can prove they’re still paying rent while essential services like electricity and garbage removal get covered from that fund. It’s actually not a terrible idea, but apparently, no such mechanism exists right now.

The whole situation is being called “extreme” and honestly, that feels like an understatement. When someone can just disappear and leave multiple buildings full of people in unlivable conditions, there’s clearly something broken in the system. These tenants are stuck in a legal limbo where they’re paying for housing that doesn’t meet basic standards, and their landlord is nowhere to be found to fix it.

It’s the kind of story that makes you wonder how someone can just walk away from that level of responsibility. These aren’t just properties – they’re people’s homes, and when you take on the role of landlord, you’re taking on the responsibility of providing livable housing. The fact that someone can just vanish while tenants are left dealing with the consequences is genuinely shocking.

The social media angle makes it even more infuriating. Here’s someone who was literally using their properties as content for real estate advice videos, presenting themselves as successful and knowledgeable, while simultaneously creating exactly the kind of housing crisis situation they were probably telling their followers how to profit from.